Maundy Thursday

During the next few days I will be sharing stories about the Triduum from my childhood. Refer to my post "Celebrate at Home!" for family activities during these holy days.

Ever since I can remember, I have always enjoyed church. So it wasn't a great surprise when I then chose to study Theology at university. Church was the foundation of our family life. My mom made sure that both my sister and I were up every Sunday for mass. There was no question about it. As long as we lived under her roof we would have to go to church. I am not sure about my sister but I never grudgingly went to church. I truly looked forward to the celebration of mass every Sunday.

We normally attended the liturgies on Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. At that age I personally was not a huge fan of the lengthy Easter Vigil and never came to appreciate its beauty until my time at university. Although at the time I did not know the rich theology that surrounded these liturgies, what I did know was that they recalled the story of the passion, death, and resurrection of Jesus. I was always struck by the emotions that people showed during each of those days. From joy to silence. From silence to tears. From tears to waiting. From waiting to joy. A full circle of real human emotions.

At my parish on Holy Thursday, amongst other things, I remember that after communion, before the Blessed Sacrament was transferred to the place of repose, bread was blessed and distributed to every family. We were to go home and then share this bread with each other (although we weren't very good at sharing in our family!). However, the symbolism of this action of breaking, taking, and eating this bread was to unite our home family to the larger parish family and to an even larger narrative of our faith. Because:

"While they were eating, Jesus took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying, "Take and eat; this is my body." - Matt 26:26

On Maundy Thursday we remember this action at the last supper that we hold as central to our faith. Every Sunday we gather as a faith community to share in the one bread and the one cup. We remember the love of Jesus even to His death. We eat His body and drink his blood, though being many parts we become united in our Eucharistic feast.

This Maundy Thursday I challenge you in your homes and with your families to share in a meal together, and to give thanks to God for the food and for each other. Hopefully this won't be your "last" meal together but take some time to enter deeply into these holy days.

My prayers are with each of you as we begin our journey through these holy days.

in peace,

Rámond