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Rev. Joseph Keating

Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Homily

Brothers and sisters, the Easter Triduum has finally begun—three days that
commemorate and make present again the most sacred moments in the life of
Jesus Christ and of his Church. These events that took place in a specific moment
in history will play out sacramentally for us in the liturgies of these three days.
The command of the Lord Jesus, given to us thru the Apostle Paul, was to “Do this
in remembrance of me.” As the Lord has commanded, so we remember him in a
very special way in this holy season.

Today, on Holy Thursday, we remember and celebrate the anniversary, the

birthday, if you will, of two of the sacraments: the Most Holy Eucharist and the
priesthood of Jesus Christ.

This is a special evening for all priests of Jesus Christ, for each time we celebrate
the Holy Mass, pray the Divine Office, or administer the other sacraments, we
remember that our ministry flows from this very moment in salvation history.
Certainly, every priest celebrates with joy the day of his own ordination, but it
would not have been possible were it not for that first Holy Thursday in the upper
room.

I remember certain moments from my ordination day, and although it was only
four years ago next month, the finer details of that day have started to slip from
my memory. I think the most vivid memory of my ordination was the moment
the Bishop poured Sacred Chrism on my hands, anointing them to be used in
service of Jesus’ holy Church. In that moment, I remember thinking that, “now I
can finally celebrate the Holy Eucharist, and feed the flock of Christ with the
Bread of Life.” Now, each time I smell the Sacred Chrism, each time I use it during
a baptism or confirmation, some of that smell remains on my fingers, and I
remember my own ordination once again.

I am sometimes asked by faithful Catholics who my patron Saint is. I have picked
up many patron Saints over the years, but I always go back to the Saint I chose as
my Confirmation Saint—Saint Paul. I had once admired him for being a world-
traveler, a tent maker, and a courageous preacher, even in the face of suffering.
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Now, four years into my priesthood, I recognize that I can relate to St. Paul as a
brother priest of Jesus Christ. In our second reading this evening, St. Paul recalls
his own ordination to the priesthood. You’ll recall that St. Paul was not among
the Twelve in the upper room that night of the Last Supper. He did not have his
feet washed by Jesus and so receive the sacrament of Holy Orders on the same
evening as the other Apostles.

On the contrary, that evening of Jesus’ Last Supper, Paul was still called Saul, and
it would not be long before he would begin persecuting the Church in Jerusalem.
Some time later, he was struck to the ground on the Road to Damascus and
blinded by the light of Christ. He spent three days laid up in bed before the
Christian Ananias visited him and baptized him. Paul spent several days
recovering there before he returned to Jerusalem to meet up with the disciples of
Jesus. It must have been in this interim, while St. Paul was recovering, that he
had a unique spiritual revelation and vocation from Jesus Christ himself. Jesus
must have taught St. Paul how to celebrate the Mass, that he was to take bread
and wine, and repeat the words that he had spoken in that upper room. Jesus
instructed St. Paul, just as he had instructed the Twelve, to “do this in
remembrance of me.” Perhaps, when Paul finally met the disciples in Jerusalem,
and after a period of testing, they indeed laid their hands on his head, conferring
the Sacrament of Holy Orders.

It was some time much later that St. Paul would have penned the letter to the
Corinthians that we heard in this Mass. These words from his first letter to the
Corinthians sound so familiar to us Catholics. We can almost recite them from
memory, for it is these words from Sacred Scripture that form the most sacred
part of the Mass—the consecration of the Eucharist. It is no accident that these
words are at the forefront of St. Paul’s mind when he recalls his vocation to the
priesthood, for by the time he wrote this letter, he must have celebrated
thousands of Masses for the young Church, feeding them with knowledge of Jesus
Christ in his word and in his very body and blood.

Just as I remember my own ordination to the priesthood, and just as St. Paul
remembers his ordination in his letter to the Corinthians, today we all remember
and are spiritually present at the moment when Jesus instituted these two most
sacred sacraments: the Eucharist and the priesthood. These two sacraments
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were born at the Last Supper, and it is these two sacraments which have
sustained the Church of Jesus Christ throughout the ages to this very day.

These two sacraments are inextricably bound together. In his Holy Thursday
address in 2004, St. John Paul II wrote to his priests:

We were born from the Eucharist. If we can truly say that the whole Church
lives from the Eucharist… we can say the same thing about the ministerial
priesthood: it is born, lives, works and bears fruit from the Eucharist. There
can be no Eucharist without the priesthood, just as there can be no
priesthood without the Eucharist.

Indeed, the very command of the Lord, to eat his body and drink his blood, cannot
be fulfilled without his priesthood, which he shares with the men he calls to
sacred orders.

St. Paul knows this, and it is clear from his letter to the Corinthians that he has
great reverence and respect for the sacrament of the Eucharist. For, in the verses
immediately following the ones we just heard, St. Paul writes these words:

Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord unworthily
will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord. A person should
examine himself, and so eat the bread and drink the cup. For anyone who
eats and drinks without discerning the body, eats and drinks judgment on
himself. That is why many among you are ill and infirm, and a considerable
number are dying. If we discerned ourselves, we would not be under
judgment; but since we are judged by [the] Lord, we are being disciplined
so that we may not be condemned along with the world.1

The Church is hurting right now, both the Universal Church and our Local Church
of Fort Worth. We are hurting because we are separated from one another and
from our Lord in the Most Blessed Sacrament. The Eucharist is the sacrament of
unity with Jesus and among the members of the Body of Christ, and so, during this
pandemic, each celebration of the Eucharist is tinged with sadness for every
priest, for we are not visibly gathered to pray together. Until we are able to
gather again at Mass, we make an act of spiritual communion as we watch or

1 1 Corinthians 11:27-32
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listen to Mass. In this moment, we ought to ache for our Lord. Our souls ought to
yearn for his sacramental presence within us.

I fear that the reason so many in our world are sick and dying is that so many do
not, in fact, recognize Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. So many Catholics do not
believe that this bread really becomes Jesus’ Body, and this wine becomes Jesus’
blood. Even the way we speak about the Eucharist reveals what we believe.
During flu season, are we upset because we “can’t have the wine?” Or maybe, do
we shop around for a parish where we hear a good “sermon,” not recognizing
that the focal point of the Mass is the Eucharist, not the homily? Do we value the
Eucharist enough to go spend time in Adoration and even to encourage our own
sons to become priests, so that the Eucharist will always be provided?

This day, on which we as a Church remember the institution of the priesthood, we

must humbly and constantly beg our Lord Jesus to call men to the priesthood. I
believe he already is. So, then, why do so few men respond to the call? Perhaps
we distract ourselves with so much technology or entertainment. Perhaps the
parents among us fail to encourage their sons to be priests. Perhaps the allure of
riches, financial security, sex, or worldly possessions is too great, that the very
thought of sacrificing it all for the Kingdom of Heaven is repugnant to us.

I firmly believe, brothers and sisters, that this parish is capable of raising up good
young men who understand sacrifice and the true meaning of love. I believe
Jesus is calling the boys of this parish to give their lives in service of the Church
that introduced them to Jesus. I believe that, in 20 years or less, some of those
boys will come back as priests and celebrate a Mass of Thanksgiving right here on
this altar. But it will not happen without prayer. For it cannot happen without
Jesus Christ.

One year ago, Pope Emeritus Benedict issued a statement in response to the
various crises in the Church. He gives a crystal-clear explanation of the roots of
our problems, and I would encourage all of you adults to read it. When it comes
to a solution going forward, one thing is clear—Pope Emeritus Benedict insists
that renewal will come from devotion to the Eucharist. Adoration, daily Mass,
processions, holy hours, etc. We must love our Lord in the Eucharist.
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We, as a parish, must participate in Eucharistic Adoration. We must pray for

priests, and we must bring our young people to Adoration with us. We need
priests, and we need them right here in our Diocese. Without the priesthood,
there is no Eucharist.

Do we yet hunger for the Eucharist?

If the answer is yes, then the Lord will provide priests to then provide the Lamb’s
Supper. Jesus calls all kinds of men to his priesthood. But one thing we all have in
common, we love Jesus Christ in the Eucharist. If you love him too, then pray for
priests. If you are a young man, become a priest. The Lord is calling you to serve
his Church.