Reflection: Holy Thursday "Do this in remembrance of Me."

Today is Holy Thursday. the day that Christ celebrated the Last Supper with His disciples and only four days after His triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday to shouts of, "Hosanna!"

Holy Thursday commemorates the institution of three pillars of the Catholic Faith:  The Priesthood, the Holy Mass and the Institution of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. 

During the Last Supper, Jesus took the bread and wine and blessed it with the words that priests use to consecrate the Body and Blood of Christ during the Mass.

"Do this in remembrance of Me." With these words, Jesus instituted the Mass and made His apostles the first priests.

At the Last Supper, Jesus washed the feet of his disciples as a sign of the new commandment to His disciples to love and serve one another. He told them they would not understand what He was doing now but they would understand later.

Holy Thursday commemorates the institution of the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Jesus gave the priests the power to change bread and wine into His Body and Blood, Soul and Divinity. He did this so that we may remain attached to Him and nourished with the Eucharist. At the end of the Mass on Holy Thursday, the priest removes the Body of Christ from the tabernacle in the main church. The Eucharist is carried in procession to another place where it is kept overnight, to be distributed during the commemoration of the Lord's Passion on Good Friday. After the procession, the altar is stripped bare and all bells in the church are silent until the Gloria at the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday.

Meditation:
Today as we begin the Sacred Triduum, give thanks for the Institution of the Eucharist, the Priesthood and the Holy Mass. Place yourself in the Presence of the Lord and be silent. It is in the silence that you can hear Him speak to you. He wants you to know how much He loves you. Spend some time thinking about the healing power of the Eucharist. Invite Jesus to come into your heart. Pray for a priest who has made a difference in your life. Ask Jesus to bestow a special blessing upon him. Ask Mary, Mother of all Priests, to wrap her mantle around him and shower him with her grace and loving protection.

How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good He has done for me? I will take up the cup of salvation and call upon the name of the Lord. Psalm 116:12-13