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Maundy Thursday

...the Son of Man came to serve not to be served
 
   If I had to decide which Mass of the liturgical year is my favorite this would probably be it. From the beginning of the Mass where we sing the "Gloria" to the removing of Christ from the tabernacle, we experience the highest of highs and the lowest of lows. And, as humans...our souls need the highs to combat the lows, but we need the lows to appreciate the highs.
   Maundy Thursday is the day we celebrate the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood: two sacraments that remind us of God's imparted grace. During last night's homily, my priest starts out with this, "The body and blood of Christ: it is not cannibalism which is repugnant, nor is it just symbolic which is palatable." So, what do we have? We have the pure body and blood of Christ given in the form of bread and wine. We are the outsiders of the box and yet the truthsayers. We see the Eucharist for what it truly is: the only thing that has metaphysical change in form and still remains the same.
  And, last night, while I anticipated the washing of the feet by my priest, as I listened to the gospel reading, I breathed over the lump in my throat. I knew what was coming. "We are challenged to let Jesus love us. Jesus will always love us, that is no question, but allowing him to--that is acceptance. That is the challenge." Then I watched him disrobe. My priest, my stand in for Christ, took off his chasuble and adorned only his alb and stole...and knelt. He knelt before 12 people, representatives of the disciples. He washed and kissed, washed and kissed.
   Then he took the Savior, my Savior, his Savior, and gently enrobed Him, walking Him out of the sanctuary to leave those of us behind--cold and abandoned and wanting the warmth that comes from the true presence of Christ.
   It is in these two institutions: the priesthood and the Eucharist where Jesus, the Son of God, became slave. "Savior became slave." And, it is Maundy Thursday where we recognize this; we remember this; we see this, and we can do nothing but await his final hours.

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