Holy Thursday: “I am the Bread of Life”

Our Lenten pilgrimage comes to its end this evening, as we celebrate the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. This celebration commemerates the institution of the Eucharist, the source and summit of Church life.

Unlike most Protestants, the Catholic and Orthodox (and others of the Apostolic Tradition) believe that God is really there, wholly present in the consecrated bread and wine.

It ain’t just holy crackers, bub; it’s God.

Don’t believe me?

Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.

(The Gospel according to Saint John 6:47 – 51, emphasis mine)

Now Jesus uses parables and metaphor all the time – you are a light, you are the salt of the earth, the kingdom of heaven is like all the chocolate you can eat, etc. What makes us orthodox Catholics think that this particular bit is literally true?

Like everything else: Tradition and Scripture.

The teaching tradition of the apostles, as found in the writings of the earliest Church Fathers, is unanimous in proclaiming the literal meaning of the Eucharist.

I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible.

(St. Ignatius of Antioch: Letter to the Romans 7:3 [A.D. 110]).

[T]he food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nurtured, is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus.

(St. Justin Martyr: First Apology 66 [A.D. 151]).

“Eat my flesh,” [Jesus] says, “and drink my blood”. The Lord supplies us with these intimate nutrients, he delivers over his flesh and pours out his blood, and nothing is lacking for the growth of his children.

(St. Clement of Alexandria: The Instructor of Children 1:6:43:3 [A.D. 191]).

And in the scriptures, we have this:

Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.

For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.”

These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum. Then many of his disciples who were listening said, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?”

Since Jesus knew that his disciples were murmuring about this, he said to them, “Does this shock you? What if you were to see the Son of Man ascending to where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life, while the flesh is of no avail. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and life. But there are some of you who do not believe.”

Jesus knew from the beginning the ones who would not believe and the one who would betray him. And he said, “For this reason I have told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by my Father.”

As a result of this, many (of) his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.

(The Gospel according to Saint John 6:53 – 66, emphasis mine)

It’s not a hard thing if it’s a metaphor. It’s not a hard thing if it’s a symbol. Disciples left him because they couldn’t accept this as true.

To this day, people refuse to believe it.

Pope Benedict XVI, in his book Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance Into Jerusalem To The Resurrection, spends some time discussing whether this was a traditional Passover meal, or whether perhaps it was celebrated the day before the date of Passover to specifically impress upon the Apostles that this was an entirely new Passover.

Issues of the date aside, tonight is the beginning of the shortest season of the liturgical year: the Holy Triduum (Triduum Sacrum): Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday (the Vigil of Easter). The principal liturgies for these days, from tonight’s Mass through to the Easter Vigil, are really one continuous liturgy, with the Entrance Rites on Thursday night and the final Recessional at the dawn of Easter.

It begins with the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper. The Church explains “the mysteries that are commemorated in this Mass: the institution of the Eucharist, the institution of the priesthood, and Christ’s command of brotherly love” (Paschalis Sollemnitatis, 45).

Why an evening Mass? Passover is celebrated in the evening.

A rite particular to this Mass is the “Washing of the Feet”, where the priest washes the feet of twelve men of the Parish, recalling Christ washing the feet of the Apostles at the Last Supper (John 13:1-15). I have always found this particular rite a touching moment of simple humility.

“Gifts for the poor, especially those collected during Lent as the fruit of penance, may be presented in the offertory procession while the people sing Ubi caritas est vera.”

There are any number of musical versions of this great text.

This is the Choir of King’s College, Cambridge, singing Duruflé’s magnificent polyphony setting:

And here is Paul Mealor’s recent version, from the royal wedding of the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge:

Here is the version, however, you’re most likely to hear tonight:

After the Communion Prayer, there is no final blessing. The Holy Eucharist is carried in procession through Church and then transferred into a place of reposition. We chant Saint Thomas Aquinas’ great hymn Pange Lingua.

After the Mass, it’s back to Gethsemane. The altar is stripped bare, crosses are removed or covered, and the church is open for silent adoration, to answer Christ’s invitation “Could you not, then, watch one hour with me?” (Matt 26:40)

In short, this is the beginning of the high holy days of the year. I invite you to come join in!

Please pray for me, as I do for you.

(reprint)