Do this in Memory of Me
Holy Thursday
Tonight, in the readings, we are taken back to the Upper Room, the night of the Last Supper of Jesus with his disciples. However, this is not just an act of historical remembrance. It is not just recalling the parting meal between Jesus and his disciples.
In the second reading St Paul spoke of a living tradition which was embraced by the Christian communities of his time. The events we recall are at the heart of the living faith of every Christian community over the past two millennia. The purposeful and deliberate actions of Jesus at the Last Supper have been faithfully repeated by the Church. They form the basis and focus of every celebration of the Mass.
The Lord gave a very clear instruction: “Do this in memory of me”. And the Church over time through the ministry of the ordained priesthood has said the words of Christ over the bread and wine, in the knowledge that the elements are changed into the Body and Blood of the risen Lord. The Church is deeply aware of the intentions of the Lord at the Last Supper. With reverence and faith the actions of the Lord are repeated at every Mass.
Through the events of his death and resurrection, his words reveal a profound truth: the bread has become the Body of Christ, the wine has become the Blood of Christ. And approaching the altar each faithful believer is brought into a living communion with the risen Lord.
Jesus taught explicitly: “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in him”. We have no doubt that this is what occurs when we eat the bread and drink the cup. Christ, now risen, comes to us and we are drawn into Him. We are embraced in a sacred union, a holy communion.
St Paul reminded us: “Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death”. Not only are we united with the risen Christ, but we are engaged directly and effectively in his redemptive act on Calvary. We are proclaiming and uniting ourselves with the saving action of his death. We are claiming for ourselves what Jesus did on Calvary. We are embracing the salvation He won for us.
Humanity was redeemed by Christ’s death on the cross. It was a sacrifice offered once and for all. It was definitive. However, Christ offered his disciples, both then and now, the means by which they could enter into the mystery, drawing fresh grace for his saving action. At every Mass the faithful not only commemorate the events of Calvary, but they enter into its redemptive purpose.
The Holy Mass is an extraordinary gift given by Christ, knowing the need of his disciples to be able to unite their lives with him and be drawn into the saving power of His death. As we respond to the Lord’s invitation there can be no better way in which we can unite ourselves with him than by offering ourselves to Him. St Paul teaches in his Letter to the Romans (12:1) to offer “your living bodies as a holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God”. As Christ offered his body for us, in the painful death on a cross, we are asked to make an offering of ourselves, of our bodies, as a “holy sacrifice, truly pleasing to God”. Thus, at each Mass we not only receive from Christ, but we, in our turn, make an offering of ourselves to Him.
This offering is an offering of our faithful love. At each Mass we are drawn into the paschal mystery. We embrace what Christ has done for us. We proclaim our faith that the death of Christ was the means by which we have been saved. We profess that Jesus has truly risen from the dead and that his resurrection is our promise of eternal life. And we await his return in glory.
This is the mystery in which we participate at every Mass.
In a world crippled by sin and shrouded with evil, a light shines forth at every Mass. This tortured world has in fact been redeemed. Human life has hope and final meaning. At every Mass the salvation of the world is advanced.
With each Mass celebrated the Christian community continues to be faithful to what the Lord instructed at the Last Supper. As He requested we do this in memory of Him.
Glory be to Him who is our Redeemer, our Saviour, our Lord.
Archbishop Julian Porteous
Thursday, 1 April 2021