Holy Thursday – The Last Supper

   There are so many important theological truths to be gained from the events of this day.  I choose to focus on one.  It is what makes me a Catholic Christian.

   When Jesus speaks, reality is changed.  Water becomes wine, the winds and the sea obey.  The blind see, the deaf hear, the lame walk.  Even the reality of death is changed at the word of Jesus.  “Lazarus, come out!” (John 11: 42) and the man who had been dead for four days came out.

   At the last supper Jesus instituted the Eucharist, the sharing in His Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity.  This miracle is what makes me Catholic.

   “While they were eating, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, ‘Take and eat; this is my body.’  Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, ‘Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on the behalf of many for the forgiveness of sin.’” (Matt 26: 26 – 28).

   The Word of God changed reality.  The bread and the wine became the Body and Blood of our Lord.  It would seem impossible for such a thing to happen, but so is a virgin birth, or restoring life to the dead.  Miracles, by definition, can’t be explained.  They occur outside our ability to understand.  They are not subject to the physical laws, they just are.

   I am not Catholic just because of the Pope, Bishops or Priests.  It is not only the doctrine, Dogma and precepts of the Church that make me Catholic.  I am Catholic because of the miracle of the consecration; the real presence of the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Christ within the bread and wine of the Eucharist.  I am Catholic because the Word of God changes reality.

   “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 up on the last day.  For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” (John 6: 53 – 56)