HOLY THURSDAY

The Last Supper John 13:1-15 If you know that tonight will be your last day on earth and tomorrow you will be gone, how will you treat your family and friends? Jesus, the night before His crucifixion He gathered His disciples and instructed them what to do. He left them something to remember Him. First, He instituted the EUCHARIST. “Do this in remembrance of me.” Jesus instituted the Eucharist because it is dangerous for us to be alone. The Eucharist is Jesus. He is physically absent but Hes with us. “I am with you always until the end of age.” Pope Pius X once said: “the Eucharist is the safest, surest and shortest way to heaven.” The washing of the disciple’s feet captures the genuine meaning of the Eucharist, He emptied himself and took the form of a slave. He comes to nourish and provide us life everlasting. Friends, St. Teresa of Calcutta reminds us of this: “If people spent one hour per week in Eucharistic Adoration; abortion would be ended.” If we wanted to eliminate faces and forces of evils in our society, love and live the Eucharist. Be a Eucharistic person! Second, Jesus before His expiration He instituted the PRIESTHOOD. Eucharist and priesthood are entertwined with each other. Without the priest there will be no Eucharist. Friends, satan is upset and jealous with the priests. He is always looking chance and ways to destroy the priesthood. Recently, I started to post my sermons online and to tell you honestly not all are welcoming readers and viewers. Besides the affirmations, bashing, negative comments and discouraging feedbacks were part of my social media ministry. Friends, the devil finds deceptive ways to discouraged young men to dedicate their life to the priestly vocation. The devil will make young men believed that priesthood os boring, depressing and not imteresting. In doing so, it is the devil plan to gradually eliminate the Eucharist in the face of the earth. The Eucharist is very important because it is the meeting junction of heaven and earth. As your priest, I am not here as your boss but as your servant and I always remember that. Im here not as your master to serve but as your slave. Friends, if there are times that I behave as if im the most important figure in our community please remind me to act like that of Jesus. If there are times that I seek importance kindly remind of the nsture of my calling. You know what, it is my wish to be a VIP- Very Ignorant Priest. Ignorant in a sense the world is asking people to dominate but we priests chose to obey our authorities. It is difficult to obey but its the wisest and fulfilling way to live. Ignorant in a sense the world aspire to accumulate more, to have more but we priest chose to live in simplicity and poverty by renouncing earthly treasures and pleasures. TO HAVE LESS IS OUR SATISFACTION. Ignorant in a sense, the world is seeking to find a partner in life to live with but we priest choose to be celibate. Pray for me and all the PRIESTS. If there are times that we hurt you because of our words, I am offering my sincere apology. If there times that you were exhausted of our long and boring sermons, please pardon me/us for being insensitive of the time. If there were times that you were scandalize by the way we live, sorry for our misconduct. If there were times that we behave like goat not as sheep, sorry. If there are times that you find us unapproachable and not friendly, kindly understand our swing moods. For all our limitations and weaknesses please forgive us. Keep me and all the priests you know in your prayers. Finally, Jesus gathered His diciples in one table and told them not to forget to exercise humility. Service is the best expression of love. Friends, bend your knees and wash each other’s feet. Bend your knees and let us clean/remove the dirt attached to our body. Jesus said: “Not all of you are clean.” Don’t be shy to show your dirty feet to Jesus. Allow Jesus to clean it because it will take us where our hearts wants to go. The best way to have a FOOT-SPA experience is to walk towards others. Let us use our feet to welcome people, to forgive them and serve them. Brethren, use your feet not to kick and hurt people. Use it to go everywhere to spread the message of love. Its called Maundy Thursday because we are mandated to show our love in humility by washing each other’s feet. We are called to serve not to be served! Blessings Fr. Jhack