Lạy Chúa Giêsu Thánh Thể, Chiều nay Chúa đã thiết lập Thánh Lễ Hy Tế Chí Thánh, trong đó Hy Lễ cứu độ của Chúa trở thành cuộc Tưởng Niệm vĩnh viễn mà chúng con được mời chia sẻ.
Xin Chúa mở mắt chúng con trước thực tế của mầu nhiệm Chúa Thánh Thể, là cực điểm của Thánh Lễ và Xin Chúa giúp chúng con luôn biết tham dự Thánh Lễ với đức tin sâu săc, và chân thành với lòng tôn kính và yêu mến Chúa luôn mãi trong Thánh Thể.
Hôm nay, thứ Năm Tuần Thánh, chúng ta lại được chiêm ngắm một tình yêu cao cả đã được thể hiện nơi con người chúng ta là Chúa Giêsu. Một tình yêu sáng tạo đến mức độ tận hiến chính thân mình làm của ăn của uống cho người mình yêu.
Một tình yêu cho không để làm nên bí tích nhiệm màu yêu thương là Thánh Thể. Một tình yêu không nói bằng lời mà bằng chính hành vi trao ban máu thịt mình để làm của ăn nuôi dưỡng con người tội lỗi.
Thưa Quý ÔBACE,
Qua Mầu nhiệm thánh Thể chiều nay, chúng ta hãy để Chúa Giêsu rửa chân cho chúng ta. Qua bài tin mừng chúng ta vưa nghe, Chúa Giêsu đã tự tay rửa chân cho các môn đệ của Ngài.
Khi ông Phêrô từ chối để Chúa Ki-tô, thầy của mình rửa chân cho mình, Chúa Giêsu nói ông: : “Nếu Thầy không rửa chân cho con, con sẽ không được dự phần với Thầy”. (Jn 13:8).
Chúng ta hãy đối mặt với sự thật này vì đôi khi chúng ta có thể khó chịu hay xấu hổ với chính mình khi một người quỳ xuống và rửa sạch đôi chân của chúng ta.
Trong cử chỉ này, Chúa Giêsu đã dạy cho chúng ta một bài học khiêm tốn và thương yêu, Ngài cũng kêu gọi chúng ta hãy trở nên yếu đuối và để cho Ngài tỏ lộ tình yêu thương của Thiên Chúa cho chúng ta bằng cách rửa chân cho chúng ta.
Chúng ta hãy khiêm tốn để có thể chỉ cho Ngài thấy những phần xấu xí nhất, dơ bẩn nhất, khó chịu nhất trong thân thể, trong cuộc sống của chúng ta.
Chúng ta hãy để Chúa Giêsu nhẹ nhàng nắm giữ, tẩy rửa và phục hồi những phần thân thể, tâm hồn của chúng ta mà chúng ta muốn che giấu mọi người thế gian.
Chúng ta hãy dâng lên Chúa sự xấu hổ, thất bại và lỗi lầm của chúng ta để Ngài có thể cứu rỗi chúng ta. Nếu là môn đệ của Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta phải để Người rửa chân cho mình.
Vào thời Chúa Giêsu, việc rửa chân cho người khác thường là công việc dành cho những người tôi tớ hay những người hầu thấp hèn nhất.
Hôm nay, Chúa Giêsu đã khuyên các môn đệ là hãy rửa chân cho nhau (Jn13:14). Chúng ta cũng được kêu gọi bắt chước Chúa Kitô rửa cho nhau, và phục vụ cho nhau theo cùng một cách thức.
Mong sao chúng ta tìm cách phục vụ những người khác nhân danh Chúa Giêsu Ki-tô, Đấng Cứu thết một cách khiêm tốn và nhiệt tình. Chúng ta hãy tìm kiếm khuôn mặt của Chúa Kitô nơi những người khác để khi chúng ta phục vụ người khác, chúng ta chu toàn mệnh lệnh của Chúa đã truyền là yêu thương nhau, yêu thương những người chung quanh của chúng ta như Chúa đã dạy trong Tin Mừng Mathêu: “bất cứ điều gì anh em đã làm cho một trong những người anh em bé mọn nhất của Thầy đây, chính là anh em đã làm cho chính Thầy” (Mt. 25:40).
Nếu chúng ta là môn đệ của Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta phải rửa chân cho nhau.
Nếu chúng ta rửa chân cho nhau, điều đó có nghĩa là có những lúc, chúng ta sẽ là người được người khác rửa chân cho chúng ta. Chúng ta có quá kiêu ngạo khi chúng ta được người khác phục vụ mình không?
Qua bài học Chúa dạy chúng ta hôm nay, Chúng ta hãy tìm cách hạ mình, khiêm tốn và cho phép người khác giúp đỡ chúng ta trong những lúc chúng ta đã phải gặp những khó khăn hàng ngày trong cuộc sống. Chúng ta khiêm tốn cầu xin Chúa giúp cho chúng ta có được những cơ hội và vinh dự để phục vụ Chúa Kitô nơi những người anh em của chúng ta.
Chúng ta có thể thực hành điều này bằng cách làm những việc nhỏ, chẳng hạn như nhận lời khen một cách khiêm tốn và nhã nhặn, chấp nhận lời đề nghị giúp đỡ của người khác với lòng biết ơn, hay chúng ta có thể mạnh dạn đến nhờ bạn bè cầu nguyện cho chúng ta khi chúng ta gặp phải những khó khăn. Nếu là môn đệ của Chúa Giêsu, chúng ta phải để người khác phục vụ và rửa chân cho mình.
Lạy Chúa Giêsu, xin Chúa rửa chân và rửa cả lòng trí cho chúng con. Chúng con xin dâng lên Chúa những lỗi lầm, những thất bại, những tổn thương, những lo lắng và những tội lỗi của con. Lạy Chúa, xin Chúa hãy thương xót và cứu chuộc những yếu đuối và tội lỗi của chúng con. Chúng con cảm thấy rất xấu hổ về những sự thiếu xót và yếu đuối này, nhưng chúng con tin tưởng vào lòng thương xót và tình yêu dịu dàng của Chúa. Xin Chúa giúp chúng con biết sẵn sàng rửa chân cho người khác qua nhưng việc làm phục vụ khiêm tốn của chúng con. Cuối cùng, xin Chúa ban cho chúng con thật lòng biết khiêm tốn khi chúng con cần đến sự giúp đỡ của người khác và cho phép họ được vinh dự phục vụ chúng con khi chúng con cần.
Lạy Chúa Giêsu Thánh Thể, chiều nay, nhờ ân sủng của Chúa ban, xin cho chúng con biết sẵn sàng đảm nhận những công việc tầm thường hoặc khó khăn vì tình yêu dành cho Chúa và những người khác.
Lạy Chúa Giêsu Thánh Thể, xin Chúa giúp chúng con biết nhận ra điều Chúa đã làm cho chúng con khi rửa chân cho các môn đệ. Xin Chú giúp chúng con biết chấp nhận tình yêu của Chúa và học nơi Chúa sự khiêm tôn mỗi khi chúng con đem tình yêu đó cho người khác.
My Sacrificial Lord, this night You instituted the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in which Your saving Sacrifice became a permanent Memorial in which we are invited to share. Please open my eyes to the reality of the Mass and help me to always participate in it with deep faith, reverence and love. Jesus, I trust in You.
Encountering Christ:
1. Let Jesus Wash Your Feet: Jesus washed his disciples’ feet as a sign of love and service and as an outward sign of their cleansing. When Peter refused to let Christ wash his feet, Jesus said, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me” (John 13:8). Let’s face it, our feet can sometimes be unpleasant. Here, Jesus calls us to be vulnerable and allow Him to love us by washing our feet. Let us be humble so we can show him the ugliest, most unpleasant parts of our lives. Let him gently hold, cleanse, and restore the parts of ourselves that we want to hide from the world. Let us offer him our shame, failures, and faults so that he can redeem them. If we are to be Jesus’s disciples, we must allow him to wash our feet.
2. Imitating Christ: In Jesus’s time, washing people’s feet was usually a task for the lowliest of servants. Jesus exhorted his disciples to wash one another’s feet (John 13:14). We are called to imitate Christ and serve one another in the same way. May we seek to serve others in Christ’s name humbly. Let us search for the face of Christ in all people so that when we serve others, we fulfill God’s command to love him by loving our neighbors: “whatever you did for one of these least brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40). If we are to be Jesus’s disciples, we must wash each others' feet.
3. Gracious Receptivity: If we are to wash one another’s feet, that means sometimes we will be the ones receiving the foot washing. Are we too prideful to allow others to minister to us? Let us seek to humble ourselves and allow others to help us in our daily struggles. May we give others the honor of serving Christ in us. We can practice this by doing small things, such as receiving compliments graciously, accepting others’ offers of help with gratitude, or asking friends to pray for us when we are in need. If we are to be Jesus’s disciples, we must allow others to wash our feet.
Conversing with Christ: Jesus, please wash my feet. I offer you my faults, failures, hurts, anxieties, and sins. Dear Lord, please redeem these parts of me. I am ashamed of them, but I trust in your tender mercy and love. Help me to wash other people’s feet through my humble service to them. Finally, grant me the humility to allow other people the honor of ministering to me when I am in need.
Resolution: Lord, today, by your grace, I will take on humble or unpleasant tasks willingly out of love for you and others.
So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “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.” John 13:12–15
The celebration of the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday is one of the most spiritually enriching liturgical celebrations of the year. The Mass begins with an empty tabernacle. After the readings and homily, the ritual of the washing of the disciples’ feet takes place. The Mass culminates with the celebration of the Eucharist, which is then carried in procession to another altar for adoration by the faithful until midnight, during which time we are invited to spend an hour with our Lord, in communion with Him during His Agony in the Garden.
The Gospel for the Mass, from Saint John, presents the beginning of Jesus’ Last Supper with His disciples. Jesus performs the act of a servant by washing the disciples’ feet. Though this surprises them, especially Peter, Jesus insists, saying, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me” (John 13:8). Our Lord says the same to us.
Often people understand the washing of the feet only superficially. Perhaps that is why Jesus said to the disciples, “Do you realize what I have done for you?…” This begs the question: Do you understand the deep and transforming meaning of this most sacred act? This was not Jesus’ way of simply telling us that we should be nice to one another and look for opportunities to do each other kind favors. The meaning is much richer. First, we need to be washed by Jesus. Second, we must participate in Jesus’ washing of others.
How are we washed by Jesus? By His Cross and Resurrection that destroyed sin and restored eternal life. We need to be washed by His blood, which was shed for us and first administered to His disciples at the Last Supper. Jesus was telling them that they need the cleansing He was giving them: the cleansing of sin. Today, this cleansing takes place first in Baptism and then in Reconciliation. If we wish to share in the Eucharist fruitfully, we must first be cleansed through Baptism. When we sin later in life, this cleansing takes place by confessing our sins in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which prepares us to receive Him worthily in the Eucharist. When we receive those sacraments, we should hear our Lord say to us, “Do you realize what I have done for you?”
After that question, Jesus says, “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” Of course, we are not Jesus. We cannot forgive sins and give to others His Sacred Body and Blood, right? Remember that Jesus was talking to His Apostles, the first bishops, so, “Yes,” Jesus was commanding them, and all bishops and priests that followed, to perpetuate His ongoing gift through the faithful administration of the Sacraments He instituted.
Though that is the central command, our Lord also calls all of us to participate in His self-gift. Though only He could offer us the cleansing and transformation we need—which is perpetuated throughout time in the Sacraments—He also commands each of us to imitate His sacrificial love in charity, the “model” He has given us to follow. Forgiven of our sins and strengthened by the Eucharist, we must turn our attention to others, choosing to do everything necessary to be Christ to them, laying our lives down, selflessly and without hesitation. This command applies not only to those we like, but to everyone, equally and unwaveringly. Note that Jesus even washed Judas’ feet, despite knowing Judas would soon betray Him. In doing so, Jesus teaches us that charity extends even to those who wrong us, calling us to love as He loves—without conditions or limits.
Reflect today upon Jesus’ question to the Twelve: “Do you realize what I have done for you?” Ponder that question today, especially this evening. Do you understand the depth of His Sacrifice? Do you understand the Sacraments that perpetuate that Sacrifice throughout time? Do you understand the demands that your reception of His gift places on you? Be open to all that Jesus offers you and, in turn, give what you have been given to others.
My sacrificial Teacher and Lord, You have poured out upon me Your Precious Blood to cleanse me from sin and restore me to life. Though I will never fully fathom this Gift, I pray for Understanding, so that I can comprehend more fully this great mystery. As You transform me, please use me as a gift, poured out for others, in charity and selfless service of divine love. Jesus, I trust in You.
Brothers and sisters: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” 1 Corinthians 11:23–24
We begin the most sacred Triduum, the greatest Feasts in the life of the Church. Tonight we celebrate the Last Supper with our Lord. The Church then keeps vigil in prayer until midnight. Tomorrow, though Holy Communion that was consecrated on Holy Thursday is distributed, the Mass is not celebrated and the tabernacle is empty. We venerate the Cross, recall the Passion, and experience the silence of the death of our Lord. On Holy Saturday, the Liturgy is not celebrated until the sun sets and we begin the Easter Vigil celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord.
Tonight we especially ponder the words of Jesus: “Do this in remembrance of me.” This is not only an invitation; it is a command. A command of love. A command to share in the Memorial Sacrifice of the Savior of the World. The word “memorial” is important to understand. When Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me,” He was not simply asking us to remember Him, or to celebrate the Eucharist as a memorial in the normal sense of a memorial. Normally, a memorial is something that is used only to remind us of something that previously took place. There might be a memorial plaque placed at a location of some important event, commemorating the event with a description and date. Or there might be a memorial ceremony where we honor someone who has gone before us. But the Mass is a memorial in a much different way.
As a memorial, or remembrance, our Church teaches that every time the Mass is celebrated, the saving events of the Paschal Mystery are truly made present. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, in quoting the great Council of Trent, states it this way:
The sacrifice of Christ and the sacrifice of the Eucharist are one single sacrifice: “The victim is one and the same: the same now offers through the ministry of priests, who then offered himself on the cross; only the manner of offering is different.” “And since in this divine sacrifice which is celebrated in the Mass, the same Christ who offered himself once in a bloody manner on the altar of the cross is contained and is offered in an unbloody manner. . .” (#1367).
In other words, when we participate in the Mass we are participating in the Sacrifice of Christ; we are present at the Cross. It is His offering that culminated in His victory over sin and death. Thus, when we celebrate this “remembrance,” we do more than remember the Last Supper. We are truly there, truly participating in it, truly experiencing the saving grace of Christ’s gift. It is very easy to “forget” what we actually participate in. Sometimes we can become distracted at Mass. If Mass is celebrated in an irreverent way, if it is rushed or if our minds are somewhere else, then we are standing at the foot of the Cross more like a soldier or bystander than like the Mother of God or people of deep faith.
As we participate in the Last Supper and the saving Sacrifice of Christ this night, reflect upon what you participate in every time you celebrate the Most Holy Eucharist. Pray for the eyes of faith and for the gift of reverence and awe. Pray that the veil be lifted and you be invited to gaze upon the greatest act of love ever known. Allow this night to be a true reminder to you that the Mass is real, is the Holy Sacrifice, is the most important Gift you will ever receive. It is the Gift of the Sacrifice of the Savior of the World.
My Sacrificial Lord, this night You instituted the Most Holy Sacrifice of the Mass in which Your saving Sacrifice became a permanent Memorial in which we are invited to share. Please open my eyes to the reality of the Mass and help me to always participate in it with deep faith, reverence and love. Jesus, I trust in You.
This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me. (1 Corinthians 11:24)
Today we celebrate Holy Thursday, the day when Jesus instituted the Eucharist and told us, “Do this in memory of me.” Since that day, Mass has been celebrated hundreds of millions of times in every corner of the world—all in obedience to Jesus’ command.
There is an intimate relationship between what happened on Holy Thursday and what happened on Good Friday—and that relationship applies to us today. On the cross, Jesus gave up his life for our sins and reconciled us with his Father. But his death on the cross doesn’t mean that we go to heaven automatically. We need to cooperate with the grace that he poured out on the cross. And this is where the Eucharist comes in.
The Jesus who died on the cross is the same Jesus who is now present on the altar at Mass. The One who paid for our sins on the cross is the same One who freely pours out the blessings and grace of our redemption on the altar. The One who said, “Father, into your hands I commend my spirit” on the cross now offers himself to us—body and blood, soul and divinity—in the form of bread and wine.
On the cross, Jesus offered a perfect sacrifice that never needs to be repeated. On the altar, that once-for-all sacrifice is made present to us again so that we can marvel at our redemption. On the cross, he took away our sins. On the altar, he offers us continued strength to overcome the pull of sin and enter into his presence more fully. In effect, the work of the cross continues on the altar. That’s how committed Jesus is to bringing us fully into his kingdom!
So when you go to Mass today, be sure to lift up your heart to the Lord. Look intently at the consecrated Host, and see Jesus there before you. See him pouring out his mercy. See him pouring out his love. He is there, at every Mass, always working to draw us closer to himself.
“Jesus, I am in awe of your redemption. Open my eyes, Lord, to see you on the altar today and every day. Lord, I give you my heart.”
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