Sacraments of Eucharist and of Orders, Offering Self for the Other

We remember Jesus by serving our brothers and sisters, by washing their feet (John 13). We remember Jesus by eating His body given up for us and by drinking His blood poured out for us (Luke 22). At the last supper Jesus offers His heart for us, His offering self for us His brothers and sisters before His merciful Father by His Breath. He, Child of Mary and Joseph and of His Father by His Breath, speaks to us the meaning and purpose of His life and history for our lives and history to be witnessed in the coming passion and resurrection and ascension and the outpouring of his Breath in us. We remember Jesus offering self for the others.

The sacrament of the body and blood of Jesus is symbol and source of Him the Merciful to us the miserable in our heart and conscience and every trouble. We remember Him through His word and bread and wine meal that makes Him truly present offering His body and blood among and for and with us to be heard and offered and received and approached by us. This way He makes us more trustful in His merciful Father and more helpful to our brothers and sisters, and this by His Breath in our hearts.

The Last Supper, by A.N. Mironov

This sacrament is the reality and mystery of our Jesus of Mary and Joseph offering Himself among and for and with us. We believe in and love our Jesus in this sacrament. We celebrate each day this sacrament. We try to live each day this sacrament. We want our heartbeating and breathing and moving to be: this is my body for you my brothers and sisters, this is my blood for you my brothers and sisters, with and like and through our Jesus and His friends, especially Mary and Joseph before His merciful Father by His Breath.

Priestly people of baptism and confirmation and the priest servants of orders, we want to be the family of friends of Joseph and Mary and Jesus. We want to be His family of friends in His heart and hands, as His heart and hands, offering among and for and with and helping us brothers and sisters. His words of institution and consecration that make present this offering tone and shape our hearts and hands: this is my body for you, this is my blood for you. His offering kindles our offering.

This reflection is based on the Gospel of Luke and of John, Benedict XVI's Sacramentum caritatis and 2006 homily at Chrism Mass, John Paul II's last Holy Thursday letter to priests, and St. Thomas Aquinas on sacrament and eucharist and orders.

Father Don