14 Things that Caught My Eye about #HolyThursday Today (2015)

1.

I can’t believe it is Holy Thursday 2015 already. Lent is over. The Holy Triduum is here.
God bless you. Do sign offline if you can today or and tomorrow. Encounter the Savior who died for us sinners.

2.

What kind of life will you live? #HolyThursday #Triduum #generosity http://t.co/T6gSgyMEBe

— Dynamic Catholic (@DynamicCatholic) April 2, 2015

3. Jennifer Fulwiler:

How could a reasonable person living in the 21st century actually believe that at the Catholic Mass, bread and wine are truly (like, not symbolically) changed into the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ?

4. Msgr. Charles Pope on what Jesus endured at the Last Supper.

5. Via @FrSteveGrunow, from Hans Urs von Balthasar on the meaning of Holy Thursday:

The first thing that must strike a non-Christian about a Christian’s faith is that it is all too daring. It is too beautiful to be true. The Mystery of Being, unveiled as Absolute Love, coming down to wash the feet and souls of his creatures; a love that assumes the whole burden of our guilt and hate, that accepts the accusations that shower down, the disbelief that veils God again when he reveals himself, all the scorn and contempt that nails down his incomprehensible movement of self-abasement- all this Absolute Love accepts in order to excuse his creatures before himself and before the world.

6. Fr. Robert Barron reflects on the Eucharist in three of its primary dimensions, that of sacred meal, sacrifice, and Real Presence.

7. Only love gives true rest, Pope Francis says to priests. He leads priests in an examination of conscience:

Do I know how to rest by accepting the love, gratitude and affection which I receive from God’s faithful people? Or, once my pastoral work is done, do I seek more refined relaxations, not those of the poor but those provided by a consumerist society? Is the Holy Spirit truly “rest in times of weariness” for me, or is he just someone who keeps me busy? Do I know how to seek help from a wise priest? Do I know how to take a break from myself, from the demands I make on myself, from my self-seeking and from my self-absorption? Do I know how to spend time with Jesus, with the Father, with the Virgin Mary and Saint Joseph, with my patron saints, and to find rest in their demands, which are easy and light, and in their pleasures, for they delight to be in my company, and in their concerns and standards, which have only to do with the greater glory of God? Do I know how to rest from my enemies under the Lord’s protection? Am I preoccupied with how I should speak and act, or do I entrust myself to the Holy Spirit, who will teach me what I need to say in every situation? Do I worry needlessly, or, like Paul, do I find repose by saying: “I know him in whom I have placed my trust” (2 Tim1:12)?

We can all meditate on that in our own lives, whatever our vocation. And also take seriously the implication in the beginning: We should be thanking our priests and — God help us if we don’t – praying for them.

8.

"#Pray for & support your priests that they may be more truly that for which they were anointed" #HolyThursday Homily http://t.co/4BuTppmSyr

— Archbishop Fisher OP (@AnthonyFisherOP) April 2, 2015

9. Here’s a brief piece from me on praying for priests; in addition to this being Holy Thursday, I like to think of it as #ThankaPriestDay. And maybe hand one an Easter card this weekend, or drop it in the mail. Easter, after all, isn’t but one day.

10.

Jesus washes the feet of the Apostles. Are we ready to serve others like this?

— Pope Francis (@Pontifex) April 2, 2015

11. I love this hymn, which I believe we think we have St. Bernard to thank for:

O Sacred Head, surrounded
By crown of piercing thorn!
O Bleeding Head, so wounded,
Reviled and put to scorn!
Our sins have marred the glory
Of thy most holy face,
Yet angel hosts adore thee
And tremble as they gaze

I see thy strength and vigor
All fading in the strife,
And death with cruel rigor,
Bereaving thee of life;
O agony and dying!
O love to sinners free!
Jesus, all grace supplying,
O turn thy face on me.

In this thy bitter passion,
Good Shepherd, think of me
With thy most sweet compassion,
Unworthy though I be:
Beneath thy cross abiding
Forever would I rest,
In thy dear love confiding,
And with thy presence blest.

12. Saint Melito of Sardis in the Liturgy of the Hours for today:

It is he who was made man of the Virgin, he who was hung on the tree; it is he who was buried in the earth, raised from the dead, and taken up to the heights of heaven. He is the mute lamb, the slain lamb, the lamb born of Mary, the fair ewe. He was seized from the flock, dragged off to be slaughtered, sacrificed in the evening, and buried at night. On the tree no bone of his was broken; in the earth his body knew no decay. He is the One who rose from the dead, and who raised man from the depths of the tomb.

13.

Mandatum: Medieval window in Chartres Cathedral of Christ Washing St Peter's Feet https://t.co/coa8zNxJxZ

— Fr Lawrence Lew OP (@LawrenceOP) April 2, 2015

14. From the prayer after Communion this night:

Grant, almighty God, that, just as we are renewed by the Supper of your Son in this present age, so we may enjoy his banquet for all eternity. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever.