The Triduum begins

"For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over, took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me." In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying. "This is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me." 1 Cor 11:23-25

Tonight commemorates the Institution of the Holy Eucharist and the Sacrament of Ordination at the Last Supper. Holy Thursday also celebrates the agony of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot, events that took place on the night before Jesus' crucifixion. Like Paul in his letter to the Corinthians quoted above, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke all use the same phrase to describe the Last Supper on Holy Thursday. Jesus took the bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it to his disciples and said "This is my Body". These sacred words must be taken literally. Christ repeated over and over again "Eat My flesh and drink My Blood". The Mass or Eucharist is a true sacrifice and a representation in an unbloody manner of the sacrifice of Christ.

As we remember what happened this night more than 2000 years ago, we also must stop and give thanks for our Holy Priests. As Pope John Paul the Great said “There can be no Eucharist without the priesthood, just as there can be no priesthood without the Eucharist” Now, more than any other time in history, our Priests need our daily prayers.