First Reading (Ex 12,1-8.11-14): A Feast Day, Forever As the Jews were saved by the blood of the Passover lamb, so we remember that Jesus is our savior Passover Lamb.
Second Reading (1 Cor 11:23-26): This is my Body, given to you Saint Paul reminds us that we have to let Jesus do among us, in memory of him, the same thing he did at the Last Supper: give us his body as food.
Gospel (Jn 13,1-1): Wash One Another's Feet: Serve! Jesus washed the feet of his apostles to impress upon them, and upon us, that service is at the heart of the Gospel, along with self-giving.
I HAVE GAVE YOU AN EXAMPLE
Holy Thursday is characterized by the institution of the Eucharist, the priesthood and the reaffirmation of the commandment of love as a fundamental law. This happened in the context of the Jewish Passover celebration. That is why we hear in the first reading a part of the liberation of the Israelite people from slavery in Egypt, since the Passover commemorates that historical event, when the Lord freed the people from him through Moses.
Since then, the symbolic elements of this festival have transcended: the lamb offered as a sacrifice and the shed blood that served to give life to those awaiting liberation. Likewise, the readiness of the people to take what is necessary and begin the march towards freedom.
That Feast was the one that Jesus was preparing to celebrate with his disciples, and from that moment he gave it a new meaning. The paschal lamb that is offered for all is Jesus himself; His blood shed on the cross will bring us salvation, freeing us from death. This is what Saint Paul expresses in the second reading, in which we have one of the oldest written testimonies that speak of the Eucharistic celebration. The words of Jesus will be repeated from then on in every celebration. And his disciples were entrusted with this task of continuing to commemorate that saving Passover.
P. Tarcisio
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