Today is Holy Thursday and we’re continuing our series of Holy Week meditations with an exploration into the heart of the Christian liturgy, first celebrated on Holy Thursday some 2000 years ago - "Do this in remembrance of me."
Yesterday we looked at the downfall of Judas and how we all can fall under Satan's control through little sins. The call to confession was not insignificant, for to fully enter into the graces of the Mass, we must come before the Lord with clean hearts.
“Blessed are the pure of heart for they will see God.” This promise from our Lord in the Beatitudes is not just a promise that the pure of heart will make it to Heaven, it’s a promise for the here and now. The pure of heart will be given the grace to see God in this life and the next. When we come to worship with purified hearts, truly repentant and confessed, we come face to face with God in the Holy Eucharist. And when we come to see God - to truly see Him - we become witnesses to his work in the liturgy and enter into the heart of Christian worship.
Holy Thursday Mass is famous for foot washing. Every Holy Thursday, the priest washes the feet of individuals from the parish. But, this isn't just a call to service, it is more importantly a directive from Jesus that what is about to happen is for those he is serving. For us, it’s a call to receive. To let Jesus work on us, to prepare us, to purify us. So in a sense, the Mass is a place where we aren't called to be active, but to be receptive to Jesus.
And what is it that he wants us to be prepared to receive? “This is my body, given up for you.” Jesus gives up his body for the Apostles at the table. He gives up his body for the people who will believe in him through the Apostles throughout the ages - that’s you and me. He gives up his body for the Church.
In one sense, the heart of the Mass is the sacred heart of Jesus made tangible in the Holy Eucharist. But, the Holy Eucharist isn't stagnant. It's alive. His flesh and blood are poured out for each of us and given to dwell within the purified hearts of the believers. So, the Mass is about us.
Yes, but not entirely.
“This is my body, given up for you” isn’t only directed to us. At the same time, Jesus is giving his body to the Father. He, the Paschal Lamb, is the sacrifice offered for the sins of the world to God the Father Almighty. While laying his life down for us, he lays his life down in love for the Father. So, the Heart of the Mass is the offering to the Father.
Yes again, but not entirely.
The ultimate task of the Messiah is the restoration of Heaven and Earth as one. The Messiah heals the fractured wound caused by sin and brings God's original plan back together. And in the Eucharist, we become one. This is why we pray the Our Father prayer in the Mass, “on Earth as it is in Heaven.”
So the Mass is about this union. A union that the book of Revelation describes as a wedding feast! The Mass is about the heart of Christ, it is about the heart of the Father, and it is about our hearts for the purpose of bringing everything back together as one. And it is Christ alone who accomplishes this work.
And where does Jesus choose this restoration to take place? Some might say the most sacred place in the Mass is the Holy Altar. It is, but is it not also the altars of our hearts? Jesus brings Heaven to the hearts of all those who receive him with pure intention. "The Kingdom of Heaven is within you." And it is you who are sent at the end of Mass to carry Jesus into the world!
This Holy Thursday, we pray you lift up your hearts to receive Our Lord with pure intention and with him, the fullness of Heaven.
May God bless you this Holy Thursday,
Matt & the Catholic.Store team
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