My dear brothers and sisters in Christ, tonight, the Church gathers in a spirit unlike any other night of the year. It’s mostly familiar. However, it’s different than all other nights. There is something deeply intimate, almost tender, about this sacred moment. We are not simply remembering something that happened a long time ago; we are being drawn into it again. Jesus with His disciples held to the annual tradition of the Passover Supper or Seder. They celebrated the Passover as they always did, recalling how God accompanied them in leaving Egypt and as they traversed through the desert to reach the promised land.

Just as every Mass we attend, we, too, enter the Upper Room. We sit at table with the Lord, but something feels different. And there, in that holy silence before the Passion begins, Jesus gives us three extraordinary incomparable gifts: the Eucharist, the priesthood, and the mandate - commandment of love.

Let’s take a look at each of these, one by one.

The institution of the Eucharist

St. Paul tells us with great simplicity and power: “This is My body that is for you… This cup is the new covenant in My blood.” (1 Cor 11:23-26) We know the Eucharist is more than a mere symbol. It is Jesus Himself. As Pope Benedict XVI once wrote: “The Eucharist draws us into Jesus’ act of self-oblation [self-offering] … we are caught up in His self-giving.” (Benedict XVI, Deus Caritas Est, 13)

Tonight, we are not merely spectators. We are drawn into His sacrifice. Every Mass is the Upper Room. Every Mass is pristine, not a repeat performance. Every Mass is Calvary. Every Mass is His love poured out again, a re-presentation of the première for you and me as participants ourselves in the salvific event.

And so, we must ask ourselves: How do I receive the Eucharist? Is it the gift of Christ to us to nourish us and satisfy the longing in our hearts? Or have I allowed it to become routine, matter of fact, with my senses dulled, as though nothing special is happening right before my eyes?  After all, we know in the depths of our hearts: This gift is everything and for all. It is Christ giving Himself completely, totally, holding nothing back all the way “to the end.” (cf. Jn 13:1) It is the totality of Christ’s life and death that is put before us as an example. We are told: “Go and do likewise.”

The institution of the priesthood

On this night, Jesus entrusts this mystery to His apostles: “Do this in memory of Me.” We hear it at every Mass concluding the consecration of the bread and wine into the Body and Blood of Jesus. Through this command, the priesthood is born. It is not a position of honor and glory. Rather, it is to imitate Christ, the author of it, as a life of total self-giving.

As Pope John Paul II, often citing St. John Vianney, reflects his sentiment so beautifully: “The priesthood is the love of the Heart of Jesus.” What does that mean? It means that the priest is called to love as Christ loves. He is to pour himself out, to serve, to sacrifice, to remain faithful, even when it is difficult.

And tonight, as a bishop, I implore you to pray for your priests that we may give our all, freely, joyfully, and totally. Pray for us to be a joyful band of disciples on mission. Pray for us to be faithful to the call we received. Pray for us tonight to be men who live what we celebrate.

As priests, this becomes our identity. We are more than administrators. We are more than functionaries. We are more than technicians. We are men configured to Christ, servants of His Eucharist and witnesses of His love. I confess: We may not do it perfectly, but underneath our individual personalities, it is who we are!

The commandment of love – the Mandate

In fact, the commandment to love is called the Mandate or Mandatum in Latin. It is the command to love one another as I have loved you.

In the Gospel, something striking happens. Jesus, the Master and Lord, demonstrates what this looks like. To their surprise, and perhaps embarrassment, Jesus rises from the table, removes His outer garment, and kneels before His disciples to wash their feet.

Originally, this was the work of a servant, the lowest rank of service. That was His task. Surprisingly, this is how God loves. He doesn’t do so from a distance; not from above, but from below. He stoops down, meeting us in our need, washing what is unclean in our lives and in our souls. And then He says: “I have given you a model to follow.” More than something to admire, it is a model to emulate.

My brothers and sisters, this is the heart of tonight. The Eucharist we receive must become the love we share. The Body of Christ we receive must become the Body of Christ that we are. If we adore Him at this altar but do not see Him and serve Him in others, we have missed the meaning of tonight. If we have received His love but do not share it, we have not yet understood the Gospel mandate given by the Lord Himself to all believers.

It sure is true that the world does not need more words. The world needs witnesses: Witnesses who kneel. Witnesses who serve. Witnesses who love without counting the cost. 

In a few moments, we will witness once again the washing of feet. Do not see it as a ritual alone. See it as a mirror. See it as a window through which we can ask ourselves: What is my attitude toward my brothers and sisters? 

So, tonight, Jesus gives everything, His entire self to us. The Eucharist. The priesthood. The commandment of love. And He gives them not as mere ideas but as a way of life that must be integrated into the very fabric of who we are. After all, we bear the name of Christ as Christian.

Tonight, through His Word and sacrament, we receive Him with gratitude. Tonight, we follow Him with steadfast courage. And, tonight, we love as He has loved us with our whole being.

And when we leave this church tonight in silence, as the altar is stripped, and the night deepens in the intensity of prayer as we watch with Him in the garden, remember this: The love of Christ has already begun to conquer the world and, in the end, He will be victorious over sin and death. Our Lord does not expect instant perfection, but He does require coherence in the way we live. Perhaps that is why we commemorate the Eucharist, the priesthood, and the commandment of love through the Mandate tonight. It is a moment to let the grace of the Eucharist enter our veins and transform us from the inside out. Amen.