Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper
April 1, 2021 •
It was at the Last Supper that Jesus consecrated them priests and bishops. It was at the Last Supper that He gave them the power to transubstantiate the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Christ. That power has been handed down - bishop to priest - for two thousand years, that's what we celebrate tonight.
Because of this great power and authority bestowed upon them, He knew, as with all of us, the temptation is to grow in pride. In arrogance. So when giving them this great gift, and setting them in this great role, He gave them the best sign He could of humility. He washes their feet. ...
In this, we see the great humility of Christ. He truly has come as a servant.
And that's got to be the heart of a priest. If the heart of a priest is not a servant's heart, then he will not be a good priest - he cannot imitate Christ.
We refer back to Jesus' cry from the Cross: "My God my God, why have You forsaken Me?" As we know from our previous homily, Jesus was quoting Psalm 22. It's a long psalm. And I would say it speaks of His priestly heart. He's crying out in agony and expressing to His Father the suffering and death that He is enduring, while simultaneously giving praise to God and defending the holiness of the Lord.
That's what a priest is supposed to do. That's the heart of the priest really.
Is 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9; Rv 1:5-8; Lk 4:16-21
Homily begins at 23:47