Thursday, March 29, 2018

Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14, Psalm 116:12-13, 15-18, 1 Corinthians 11:23-26 John 13:1-15

DAILY HOLY MASS READINGS

I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:
love one another as I have loved you.Jn 13:34


MAUNDY THURSDAY


Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14,
Psalm 116:12-13, 15-18,
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-15


Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

Nothing happens by accident or coincidence in the Bible. From the moment You laid the foundations of the world, you created man and woman, gave them a home in paradise, they sinned and severed their friendship, God conceived a plan to heal the rift. The whole of the Old Testament sets the stage for what is to come in the New fulfilling everything ever prophesied. Giving everything that occurred then a completely new significance now. 

Salvation History is not only fascinating, it reveals the magnanimity of God as we learn how painstakingly, precisely, step by step, God leads a perverse, recalcitrant people back to Himself and He continues to do so.

The Passover Meal sets the stage for the Holy Eucharist that You will institute. You will become the Lamb of Sacrifice, The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You were at the height of Your beauty and Manhood at 33 and You were the Son of God without blemish who would be offered by as a holocaust for the sins of the world. The bitter herbs that are to be eaten with the flesh of the lamb indicate the suffering You will endure for the sins of the world.

The Blood of the Lamb has power to save from death. Smeared on the lintel and doorposts the angel of death passed over those house for the blood was a sign that they were under the protection of the Most High. So too it is with us who are Baptized, and who eat and drink of the Flesh and Blood of the Son of God. Death passes over us for the Life of God is given to us.

Thank You Beloved for the institution of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist and for becoming our Food and Drink which wells up to eternal life in us.

Psalm 116:12-13, 15-18

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

How shall I make a return to You for all You have done for me? I will partake frequently of the Sacrament of Reconciliation so I can receive You worthily in Holy Communion.   In this is life, that we eat the Bread and drink the Cup and are saved.

Thank You Beloved for instituting the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. Thank You for gathering us every day and especially for commanding us to come together on the Lord's Day as brothers and sisters to the Banquet Table. Here we are nourished by You and are strengthened to face our daily difficulties and challenges.

You are the Son of the Father and yet You came as a Servant and a Slave in order to enter into the human experience and raise us up to the Divine Experience which the Father always intended for His children. Sin separated us from Him and only He could restore what was lost in a manner that He thought fit and satisfactory to make up for the terrible consequences of sin.  

Thank You for instituting the Sacrifice of Thanksgiving and for the grace that is poured upon us as we come together as God's new people.

Thank You.

1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

Thank You for instituting the Sacrament of the Priesthood without which we would not have the Holy Eucharist or the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Were it not for our beloved priests we would all perish by the wayside and never reach our final goal, which is the Kingdom of God.

At every Holy Mass and until You come again we will offer to the Father the only acceptable Sacrifice in reparation for the sins of the whole world. We will be fed and nourished by the Bread of Angels and we will be strengthened and ready for combat with evil. 

You commanded to do what You have done in remembrance of You, proclaiming Your death which gives life to the world, and to do so until You come again in glory.

John 13:1-15

Dear Love, Beloved of my soul,

The Hour for which You were born has finally arrived. Your heart is full of sadness and overwhelmed with love at the same time. You sat at table with Your closest friends and companions they were handpicked by the Father. Judas Iscariot was also the Father's choice; just as we all are or He would not have created us.

The devil had found the weakest link in the chain of God's friends that united them to His Son and entered him. Judas had been plotting against You for a while. It was not just a moment of madness. He knew that the chief priests and Pharisees wanted to kill You and he kept looking for an opportune moment to betray You. That moment was fast approaching. But there were several most wonderful things that You had to do before the world and the devil who had come together, could do their worst.

You were going to give us an example of love, of friendship, of fellowship, that would help us lead holy lives; pleasing to God.

What You will do next is also the Father's plan. You rose from the table, the Son of God, the Word made Flesh removes His outer garment, puts on an apron, takes a basin and a jug of water, kneels before His Apostles, and one by one proceeds to wash their feet and dry them. Every Catholic church will recall this moment as we do this today.

In order to belong to the Family of God, we need baptism but after that we do not need to be bathed again for original sin is taken away. But we do need to wash away the daily sins we commit in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. We need You to wash our feet frequently. Feet that have strayed in ways that took us away from God. You remind Peter and all of us that we do not partake frequently of the spiritual nourishment  that the Sacraments provide, we will soon be cut off from a life of Grace and as You explained to Peter, we cannot share in Your inheritance.

The example of service in humility is given to us all in the church no matter what our place in its hierarchy. Service is our hallmark. You came not to be served but to serve and You command us to do the same. 

"Do you realize what I have done for you?
You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."

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