During the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, Bishop Nelson Perez talked about the human side of Christ – about how he must have felt the weight of the world on his shoulders, knowing what was about to happen to him.
He said Jesus told the apostles to prepare for his last Passover, which he said would be “the mother of all Passovers.” He talked about preparations to the Upper Room, comparing that to what the cathedral staff did to prepare for the liturgy.
But what happened on Holy Thursday was not a history lesson, the bishop said. “We are gathered to remember the God who delivered us from slavery. They gathered to remember and to fulfill the saving love of Jesus Christ. He knew what was about to happen,” he said, acknowledging that the tension that occurred during Christ’s last few weeks on earth was evident in the Gospels. It was apparent through the Gospel that Jesus was apprehensive. “After the meal, he would go to the garden and have a heart-to-heart talk with his Father to see if there wasn’t another way,” Bishop Perez said. “He may have been preoccupied by his humanity. But a cosmic battle of good and evil was about to play out.”
The bishop said that battle would show love triumphing over hate and life over death. “It was a lot more than just the betrayal of Jesus by Judas and Peter’s denial. The salvation of humanity – for you and I and every human being that has ever existed and will ever exist — was on his mind. He knew his hour had come,” Bishop Perez said.
He talked about how Jesus gathered with his closest friends, who were far from perfect; they had difficulty fully grasping his teachings and caught only glimpses of what he was saying. His last night on earth, he washed their feet – something normally done by slaves, the bishop said, but it was symbolic.
“It wasn’t just about the feet, about the dust picked up while travelling. It was about the dust of life – sin, bad habits – that Jesus wants to clean up. He told Peter, ‘You don’t understand right now, but you will.’”
And on Holy Thursday, the bishop said Jesus left us two amazing gifts: the Eucharist — the gift of himself — and the priesthood. He is present among us in the priesthood today, “a group of imperfect guys,” Bishop Perez said.
He also drew an analogy between the altar, which is the table of the Eucharist, and the table of charity, which is evident in the Diocese of Cleveland by the work of Catholic Charities. About 400,000 people are helped by Catholic Charities every year, one of the largest such organizations in the country, he said. “That table of charity is not surrounded by candles and beautiful music, but by people who need encouragement. Jesus connects those two tables tonight,” he said, urging the congregation “to watch and listen carefully to what is said and done in the sacred triduum,” which runs through Easter. Although the triduum stretches for three days, liturgically it is one day.
During the Mass, the bishop washed the feet of 12 cathedral parishioners – men, women and children.
After Communion, the Eucharist was transferred to a side altar where it will remain until the Easter Vigil. The faithful were invited to stay and pray.
The triduum picks up on Good Friday with the celebration of the Passion of Our Lord at 3 p.m. in the cathedral. The Easter Vigil is set for 8:30 p.m. on Holy Saturday.