MANILA— Here’s the full text of Cardinal Jose Advincula’s homily during the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper at the Manila Cathedral on Holy Thursday, April 17, 2025:
Dearest brothers and sisters in Christ:
This evening, we enter into the sacred silence of our paschal triduum. These most solemn of days invite us toretraceand follow the last days of our Lord Jesus Christ and to pay close attention tohis salvific message, delivered in concentrated form,while on his sojourn towardthe cross.In particular, we commemorate today the gifts of the priesthood and the holy eucharist — sacraments that convey the permanence of the effective and real presence of Jesus’ saving love for us until the end of times. Sa mga mahal naarawnaito, ipinaparatingng atingPanginoongHesuKristona ang pag-ibigniya para saatin ayhindilamangubos, lubos, at buhos, kundimananatili at walang wakas din. Ang atingDiyos ng pag-ibig ay wagas kungumibig.
Brothers and sisters, allour readings today underscore the importanceof heartfelt rememberingand its impact on our faith life. Spiritual forgetfulnesswill be to our detriment as we would not knowwho we are, what we ought to do, and what we can hope for.Constant recollection, on the other hand, would provide us assurance, direction, and inspiration.May silbiat epektongaba ang pananatili ng Diyos kung hindinaman natin itoinaalala at ginugunita?
In our first reading,from the book of Exodus, we hear aboutthe Lord’s instructions to Moses and Aaron to prepare the Israelites for his passing over their houses in Egypt.On account of the blood of the lamb smeared on their doorposts and lintels,their firstborns were to be spared from the punishment the Egyptians merited.The Lord also mandatedthat this salvific action should beperpetuallycommemorated.Through thecreative repetition of that blessed nightduring the annual Feast of the Passover,the Jews are led to collectively renew their trust and confidence in God’s saving and caring arm. The Jewish Passover feast prefigures and shall be fulfilled by Christ’s own Passover and eucharist.
In our second reading, upon learning of the factions that were troubling the Corinthian community, we hear Paul reminding them of the last supper. He addresses their concern, that is rooted in selfishnessand pride, by recalling Jesus’ total self-giving to his disciples: “This is my body… This is my blood… For you”. He teaches them that the breaking of bread they celebrate is done in remembrance of Jesus and intends to transform and configure them to the pattern of hishanding over of the self for others. When one can say, not only inwords but also in deeds, that “this is my body and blood for you”, then there would be no reason for division, since it is the self’s ego that is being divided and sacrificed to give life to, and not to take life from, others.
In our gospel, we hear ofJesus’ humble gesture of washing his disciples’ feet. Even while faced with real threats to his life, and utterly going against the norms of that time, he takes on the role of a slave to continue to serve his neighbor. This, he doesfor a specific purpose:“If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do”.This is what we will rehearse and witness after the homily. This is what we are called to repeat after every mass – to divest of ourselves to lift up others, andtohumble ourselves to take care ofthose in need,especially those who are exhausted and dirtied by life, and even those who betray, deny, and desert us, following the example of our master Jesus.
Kung susumahin,ipinparating ng atingmgapagbasanasapamamagitan ngtaus-pusongpaggunita at pag-alala, napapatatag ang atingpagtitiwala at pananampalatayasaDiyos, nahuhulmaang ating pusoayonsaturo at halimbawaniHesus, at naibubunsod tayo samisyonsainspirasyon at paggabay ng Espiritu Santo. Ito rin ang ritmo, dinamismo, at layon ng bawatmisangatingipinagdiriwang.
The eucharist is essentially a celebration of thanksgiving and praise to the Father due to the remembered good (eu) graces (charis)that come from him. The witness of scriptures and the re-presenting of Jesus’ sacrifice on the altarfacilitate this living and effective memorial. Aware of our sins and grateful for God’s unconditional and endless love, we respond by offering our hearts with our gifts and bysurrendering them to be transformed to be like that of Jesus. Receiving the body of Christ fortifies this re-configuration of the self,paving the way fordeeper communion with God and others. The re-membering to God in trust and to neighbor in charity,effected by the eucharistic remembering, is to be lived out in the day-to-day as we are missioned at the end of every mass. Ite missa est means: go and do likewise, actualize what you have witnessed.The eucharist, therefore, encourages us, transforms us, and sends us to be Christ-like.
Gaya ng salmista, kung isasapusoatsasariwain natin angpag-ibig ng Diyossaatin, lalonangayongmga mahal naaraw, maitatanongtalaga natinsaatingmgasarili: “How shall I make a return to the Lord for all the good he has done for me”?
Let us ask for the grace to be a eucharistic people –willing to die to give life, to be broken in order to be shared – for the story of Christ’s salvation to continue in and through us.This saves us not only from the emptinessand meaninglessness of a selfishlife, but also makes us instruments of salvation by incarnating Jesus’ humble and life-giving service to others in the world today.
PanginoongHesus:
Basbasan ang buhay naming handog,nawa’ymatuladsapag-aalay Mo
Buhay nalaannanglubos,
samundongsapag-ibig ay kapos
Marapatinsakapwamagingtinapay,
kagalakansanalulumbay
Katarungansanaaapi,
at kanlungan ng bayan Mongsawi
Amen.
