Holy Thursday: a Call to Love

It's easy to forget the message of Jesus in Gospels. With the world today filled with so much hate and violence. Society has created divisions of people that decides if we are worthy of love, worthy of likings, worthy of compassion. All of this, leaves room for rejection and dissatisfaction, which has made a path for a culture of death with abortion, war, violence, and murder. With Jesus, it led to his Crucifixion, all because he wasn't what we wanted him to be. It shows how full of change our humanity is, one day we like this and the next day we don't. It was the same with the King who came into Jerusalm on a donkey with crowds of people proclaiming him as the King, the Son of David who is Blessed. (Matt 21:1-11) 

Today, Holy Thursday is the day that emphasizes a call to return to love, it seems to me like a reminder for love and care for everyone, regardless of class. During the Last Supper, the very first mass, Jesus institutes the Holy Eucharist for us to be in union with Him, Jesus is present in the Eucharist body, blood, soul and divinity and its for us to receive. This alone is a declaration of Christs' love for us. It is a call to compassion, peace and unity with all people from every nation. Saint John Paul II said, "The Eucharist is the sacrament of the presence of Christ, who gives Himself to us because he loves us." John in his gospel, writes about this love. Jesus, the Son of Man starts washing the very feet of his disciples, these guys have been walking for days. Jesus in his love for our humanity, not only became man, but became lesser than man by kneeling down to wash the feet of his apostles. (John 13:3-5) The message is to care for those we meet each day, serve the people, be there for them, don't hurt, don't kill with our words, instead of violence show peace, instead of hate show compassion. Jesus not only sets the example to love, but institutes and upholds the role of the priests. "So if I, your Lord and teacher have washed your feet, you must wash each other's feet. I have given you an example that you should follow." (John 13:14-15)

So this Holy Thursday, I remember the act of love that Jesus taught, to love, to care and to serve. To be there for my friends, my family, my brothers and sisters as a reminder to myself that through that love, we are demonstrating that we are also disciples of Christ our Savior.