(Holy Thursday 1977: This homily was given on March 27, 1997 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read 1Corinthians 11: 23-26; Luke 22:39-46; John 13:1-15.)

"The word for Holy Thursday is ‘commitment’."

The word for Holy Thursday is "commitment." That’s the word to remember. That’s the word that ties everything together.

I was reminded of this a couple of days ago, when I met an old friend from high school at a bagel shop near my sister’s home in Barrington. How surprising to find Fr. Ray in a bagel shop! How unusual! Anyway, we began to discuss and solve all the problems of the world (as many people do over bagels and coffee), and eventually the subject turned to religion. At that point Peter said to me, "The Church needs more young priests. That’s why she needs to change that rule on celibacy. Celibacy is turning off a lot of young people today."

I said to him, "Peter, don’t be fooled. The problem is not celibacy. We’re proving that in Westerly. We’ve got a number of young men down there right now who are discerning a call to the priesthood. They are normal, healthy young people, and they are well aware of the fact that celibacy is part of the deal if they get ordained. But they are still pursuing the goal! That fact is not stopping them! So that can’t be the real problem. The real problem today in the Church (and in the world) is not celibacy, it’s commitment. We live in a culture where permanent, lifelong commitments are not taken very seriously. You know that, I’m sure. You’re a married man, Peter. You know that it’s not easy to be faithful to that commitment. [He nodded his head in agreement.] And let’s face it, there are many voices out there in the world that say to you, ‘Don’t be foolish, Peter. If your wife doesn’t meet all of your needs, if your children don’t please you one hundred percent of the time, then leave. Why should you be subjected to that type of treatment? Take the easy way out. Think of yourself first. If you don’t, who will?"

I concluded by saying, "Peter, I had a very wise professor at Providence College many years ago who said something I’ll never forget. He said, ‘When you look at the history of the world since the time of Christ, you notice something: you notice that whenever marriages were strong, the priesthood was strong; and whenever you come to a period of history when marriages were weak, the priesthood was weak. That’s because both marriage and priesthood are rooted in a commitment--a total, lifelong, faithful commitment to God and to others.’"

My brothers and sisters, this is why the world needs to get in touch with the powerful message of Holy Thursday. Tonight Jesus, in effect, says to us and to the world, "Be committed. Be as committed to God and to one another, as I was committed to my Heavenly Father and to you during the very first Holy Week. Because that type of commitment will change your families. It will change your churches. It will change your society. It will change the world." Jesus gives us this message in and through the themes of this liturgy. Traditionally, this particular Mass (the Mass of the Lord’s Supper) has two focuses: priesthood and Eucharist. And both of those realities, the priesthood and the Eucharist, are rooted in a commitment--the commitment of Jesus Christ to God the Father and to us. And this is the type of commitment that Jesus wants us to emulate in our lives. As he said to his disciples at the end of today’s gospel text from John 13: "As I have done, so you must do."

First of all, let’s look at the priesthood: What is a priest? A priest by definition is "one who offers a sacrifice." The Letter to the Hebrews calls Jesus our "great high priest." That’s because his sacrifice was not a bull or a goat or a ram. (Old Testament priests offered sacrifices like those.) Our Lord’s sacrifice was himself--his own life, for the salvation of the world. That, by the way, is the sacrifice that I offer each and every time I say Mass. The Church teaches that the Mass is the unbloody representation of the one sacrifice of Jesus Christ on Calvary. And you see, this sacrifice was the ultimate expression of our Lord’s commitment to his Heavenly Father and to you and me. The attitude of Jesus was, "Father, I am committed to your will so completely, and I’m committed to the salvation of these poor men and women so completely, that I am willing to take on myself their sins and die." Talk about a difficult commitment to honor! How about that one? On the first Holy Thursday night we’re told that our Lord went across the Kidron Valley to a place called Gethsemane. There St. Luke tells us that "in his anguish he prayed with all the greater intensity, and his sweat became like drops of blood falling to the ground." The commitment of Jesus Christ was a commitment that drew blood--even from the pores of his own body.

And as if this were not enough, Jesus went one step further. St. Paul tells us tonight in this text from 1 Corinthians 11, that at the Last Supper Jesus took bread, gave thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body, which is for you." I ask you to try to hear that line with your own name in place of the word, "you." "This is my body, which is for Fr. Ray, Mary, John, Lucy . . . " Here Jesus is saying, "Look, I love you so much, I’m so personally committed to you, that I’m willing to become your food! I’m so committed to your eternal salvation that I’m willing to let you consume my Flesh and Blood." Could Almighty God be any more committed to us? No way! This is why we should have great reverence for the Eucharist; and this is why we should express that reverence externally. Someone was talking to Bishop Mulvee the other day (Bishop Mulvee who will take over for Bishop Gelineau when he retires); and he (Bishop Mulvee) recommended making a slight bow before we receive the Eucharist. He said it would not be a good idea to genuflect because that could be dangerous for the person behind us in the communion line. But he said that bowing would be most appropriate. And so, practically speaking, while the person in front of us is receiving, we could make a slight bow, so that when the person in front of us has moved out of the way, we will be ready to receive the Body and Blood of our Lord. That’s one concrete way of saying, "Thank you, Jesus. Thank you Jesus for being so totally committed to me and my salvation."

Amy Grant came out with a song a couple of years ago entitled, "We believe in God." Many of our young people are familiar with it. The first line is, "We believe in God, and we all need Jesus; ‘cause life is hard, and it might not get easier." Yes, being faithful to our commitments in this life is difficult; and very often, as time goes on, it doesn’t get any easier. But on Holy Thursday Jesus, who was perfectly faithful to his commitments, reminds us that HE is there to help us. We don’t have to rely on our own power. And he offers us his help, most especially and most powerfully, through the Eucharist which we’re about to receive. May we always be open to the many graces that God wants to give us through the Blessed Sacrament.