Pope: The Body of Christ Nourishes for Service to Humanity
The Lord's Supper Mass at the Basilica of St. Peter
Vatican City (AsiaNews) Christians know that they must "remember Jesus" by rendering to one another the "service of charity", according to the example given with the washing of the feet, and by renewing the Sacrifice with the bread and the wine. In the day in which the Church remembers the institution of the Eucharist and of the Priesthood, John Paul II celebrated the Mass "of the Lord's Supper" underlining the connection that exists between these realities and the call to "service".
"Before celebrating the last Passover with the disciples, Jesus washed their feet. With a gesture that had been relegated to a servant, He wanted to deeply impress on the Apostles the meaning of what would happen shortly after. In fact, the Passion and Death constitute the fundamental service of love with which the Son of God liberates humanity from sin. Then: 'Do this in memory of me' (1 Cor 11,24.25), He said twice, distributing the bread that had become His Body and the wine that became His Blood".
Christians know, therefore, "that they must remember their Teacher in rendering one another the service of charity: 'to wash one another's feet. Particularly, they must remember Jesus by repeating the memorial of the Supper with the bread and the wine consecrated by the minister".
"To remain faithful to this command, to stay in Him like shoots united to the vine, to love like He loved, it is necessary to nourish oneself on His Body and His Blood. When He said to the Apostles: 'Do this in memory of me', the Lord bound the Church to the living memorial of His Passover. Being the one Priest of the New Covenant, He needs men who, consecrated by the Holy Spirit, work in union with Him, to distribute the Bread of Life. Through this, while we fix our gaze on Christ who institutes the Eucharist, we have a renewed awareness of the importance of priests in the Church and of their union with the Eucharistic Sacrament".
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