DAILY HOMILIES #evening mass

If by the words “do this in memory of me”, priests are other Christs (capable of turning bread and wine into Christ’s body and blood and performing other sacraments), then priests have been entrusted with so much power. Yes, priests have the power to bind and lose; they can forgive (or retain) sins. (Cf. John 20:21-23). Knowing immediately that this could lead to pride and abuse of power, Jesus did something that would make a lasting impression, an act we shall repeat during this Mass – Jesus bent down to wash His disciples’ feet.

For if the sprinkling of defiled persons with the blood of goats and bulls and with the ashes of a heifer sanctifies for the purification of the flesh, how much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without blemish to God, purify your conscience from dead works to serve the living God.” (Hebrews 9:11-14). In other words, when we eat the flesh and drink the blood of Christ, we are smearing our lips with the blood that saved the Israelites from the Angel of Death that night.

During the Easter Triduum, we go beyond retelling the stories of salvation to “re-creating” these events to deepen our reflection of what happened during those last days of Christ walking the face of the earth. Hence, our celebrations are marked with a lot of symbolism and deep historical relevance