At The Last Supper Jesus Christ gave us the Heavenly Trifecta

Easter Sunday is fast approaching. That glorious day is the focal point of our faith. It is the day that all of us who have followed the Christmas Star have been preparing for.

The day of our passing is our personal Easter. It has been promised to us if we live as asked. On that day, it will not be the morning sun blinding us. We will be looking into a light brighter than the sun and we will not squint or turn away. The light will be the Risen Christ as He welcomes us home.

But we must always remember there can be no Resurrection without the Cross. We all must experience them both.

Lenten Mass Readings – A Definite Purpose

The Lenten readings for Mass on March 4 seem to sum up where our earthly life is taking us. As God’s children, we all make our choices. Some will take one path and some another.

The first reading is from Jeremiah 17:5-10 .  We are told, in part:

“Thus says the Lord: Cursed is the man who trusts in human beings, who makes flesh his strength, whose heart turns away from the LORD.

“Blessed are those who trust in the LORD; the LORD will be their trust.  They are like a tree planted beside the waters that stretches out its roots to the stream: It does not fear heat when it comes, its leaves stay green;

“I, the LORD, explore the mind and test the heart, Giving to all according to their ways, according to the fruit of their deeds”

These words are followed by the Responsorial Psalm; “Blessed are they who hope in the Lord.”

The Gospel

Next is the Gospel, Luke 16:19-31. This is the story of the rich man who sits at his table dressed in the finest clothes and eating the best food. A poor man named Lazarus is lying at his door.  He would gladly eat the scraps that fell from the man’s table. Lazarus is such a mess that dogs come to him to lick his sores.

When Lazarus dies, he is taken into the bosom of Abraham, not because he was poor but because he was kind. When the rich man dies he is not allowed into that place. He begs Abraham to allow Lazarus to dip his finger in some water to touch his parched tongue. His request is denied. He then asks if Abraham will allow his family to be told how things are. Abraham tells him, “if they will not listen to Moses and the prophets, neither will they be persuaded if someone should rise from the dead.”

That Mass and these readings are used precisely thirty days before Easter Sunday, which is April 4.  The readings set the table for the remainder of our Lenten Journey.

There are thirty Collects, Epistles, Psalm readings, and Gospels between March 4 and April 4, that all take us to Easter Sunday. And what is the most profound and deeply mystical thing that takes place as we complete our Lenten journey? Is it not the Last Supper?

Imagining the Last Supper

Have you ever imagined how the Last Supper was? These were thirteen men traveling around Galilee, sleeping under trees or in caves or wherever they may have been invited to stay. There were no showers or laundromats, so they may have been rather ragged.

They all gather in a second-floor room in a building with few amenities to share Passover dinner. It must have been something. Yet none of this is that important. What is important, what is profound, what is mystical and miraculous is what happened at this Passover meal.

This is the moment in time, a moment carved into eternity, when Jesus Christ, the God-Man, gives us the Holy Eucharist. He also gives us the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass and the Sacrament of Holy Orders. We, His people, have hit the Heavenly Trifecta. The Mass, The Holy Eucharist, and the Sacrament of Holy Orders, all initiated at the same time, in the same place, for all eternity.

The Mass

Something deeply spiritual happens during the Catholic Mass that even many Catholics do not understand.   The Mass is a re-presentation of the sacrifice of Calvary but it also commemorates the night when Jesus instituted the Holy Eucharist giving us His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity forever. He did this within the framework of what we call the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

We must have the Mass to have the Eucharist. They are inseparable for it is within the Mass that the ordained Catholic priest, in persona Christi, consecrates simple bread and wine.  It becomes the Body and Blood of Christ. Make no mistake, my friends, this is not just a “remembrance” or a “memorial” or a “tribute.” It is the unbloody sacrifice of the Cross being offered again and again and again to God the Father for all of us, for all time, for eternity.

The True Presence

Our Catholic faith teaches us that Christ is TRULY PRESENT on the altar at Mass. These are some of the words of Eucharistic Prayer 1 in the Ordinary Form: “we, your servants and your holy people, offer to your glorious majesty from the gifts that you have given us, this pure victim, this holy victim, this spotless victim, the holy bread of eternal life and the Chalice of everlasting salvation.” 

Christ is with us, and we, His people, are offering Him to God the Father. Then, we receive the Risen Christ in the form of the Eucharist into our own bodies. This is The Mystery of Faith proclaimed by the priest and this is what we believe. I know this is what I believe.

The meaning of this transcends human comprehension. For this was when yesterday became today and tomorrow became yesterday. The Mass enables us to briefly step into eternity and to take a peek at life within the Holy Trinity and the love being shared inside it.

This Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is being offered somewhere on planet Earth every day, around the clock. Imagine that, somewhere, every day, around the clock. It is the most beautiful thing this side of heaven. (Even during the pandemic, priests are offering Mass every day, all around the world, even if they are alone without laity in attendance).

I wrote this many years ago and I would like to share it with you.

The Answer

By Larry Peterson

Every minute somewhere upon this Earth

Amid chaos and pain, Shadowed by greed and pride

Perfection.

While within so many, Silent screams resonate and fade unheard

Pain unanswered. Yet each minute, a constant Light Always there for us to share

Somewhere—The Answer.

But—choices.  Perfection unbridled, that tells us why and will let us understand

If we choose to see this splendid Oblation,  A perfect purity, this gift called The Mass.

Ignored yet    , Somewhere each minute For us to share

The Answer there, the Perfect Love  . . .

But . . . choices.

The focus of life’s journey is preparation for our transition to and participation in the Resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. When our Easter morning arrives, and we sing out, “Alleluia, Alleluia! Christ has died, Christ has risen, Christ will come again,” that is what will happen. Eternal life with the Risen Christ becomes ours. All we have to do is follow Him. If you do not know how or where to start, the answer is right here, in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.

HAPPY EASTER!