Holy Thursday of the Lord’s Supper is the great with the greatness of the Gift – the Sacrament of the Eucharist, that is, the mysterious presence of Jesus Christ under the forms of consecrated bread and wine transformed into the real Body and Blood of Christ – the Food and Drink of Eternal Life.
This Thursday is the great greatness of the Gift, which is the sacramental participation in the One Priesthood of the New Covenant by virtue of the sacrament of Holy Orders – the great dignity and ministry of priests in preaching the Gospel and administering the sacraments. Especially the Sacrament of the Eucharist, that is, making present the Death, Resurrection and Glory of Jesus Christ present for our and the world’s salvation.
Finally, this Thursday is Great with the greatness of the unsurpassed Love that Christ loved us, giving His life for us through His Death on the Cross, and a great illustration of the Commandment of Love that we love as we are loved: “If I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. For I have given you an example that you should do just as I have done for you ”(John 13:14-15).
If we believe that God is Love, then we must also believe that the more we love, the more we are like God, the more we are of God’s. We may ask ourselves, are we capable of such love? It is the Gift of the Eucharist and the Gift of the Holy Spirit that makes us capable: “God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us” (Romans 5:5). “Do you understand what I have done to you?” (John 13:12)
God knows that we are threatened primarily by ourselves. By our own weakness, naivety, ignorance, and sometimes just our own thoughtlessness. That is why, when the fullness of time is accomplished, God decides to come to us personally. He knows that we really need to experience His presence and His love close. We need the visible love of the invisible God. Christianity is no doctrine, no ideology, no philosophy. Christianity is the story of the most extraordinary love of a God who lives, loves and teaches us to love.