READ Mk 14:12-16, 22-26 On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb,* his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” CLICK HERE TO READ THE REST OF THE GOSPEL.
UNDERSTAND | By Father Greg Friedman, OFM Some years ago I was privileged to attend a Passover Seder with a Jewish family. It was a truly special night, since my hosts welcomed guests who had recently come from a country behind the then-crumbling Iron Curtain. It was their first Seder as truly free people. My Seder hosts understood a timeless truth: that they were celebrating God’s liberating deeds in the Exodus, as well as God’s continuing care down through the ages. Eating the Seder meal is a way to experience the power of that liberation, as our special guests that night knew better than any of us. Our Scriptures today emphasize the Jewish roots of our Eucharist. We hear how Moses and the people celebrated their liberating covenant with God. Our second reading connects that covenant with Jesus, our high priest. We hear in the Gospel how he asked his disciples to prepare the Passover meal, a meal where he would give them his body and blood as food. It’s rare we Christians have the chance to welcome to the Sunday Eucharist at our parish, people who have escaped tyranny and oppression, but it’s our faith that each Mass allows those present to experience liberation—from selfishness, from sin, from the burdens of human existence. May we celebrate each Eucharist aware of the liberating presence of Jesus Christ.
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