The Cebuano faithful who attended the Last Supper of Christ Mass held last Thursday at the Cebu Metropolitan Cathedral were reminded anew to assume humility as did Jesus Christ, who lowered Himself, to wash His apostles’s feet.
In his homily, Cebu Archbishop Jose Palma said the Last Supper is a reminder of how the Church was instituted or established through Jesus Christ’s perfect sacrifice.
He said the Last Supper of Christ with His apostles, is also the celebration of the Passion of Christ.
“Every celebration of the Mass is a celebration of the new testament, a new offering,” Palma said.
Palma also pointed to Pope Francis’s washing of the feet of the prisoners of Rome as a reminder to Christians to imitate the Lord’s humility especially in the face of His sacrificial death.
“The Eucharist is necessarily connected to service through the washing of the feet. The best proof that we received the gift of love from God is that we will wash each other’s feet,” Palma said.
The washing of the apostles feet as portrayed by lay ministers was held prior to the Holy Communion. It was led by Palma who assisted by five church servers.
The 63-year-old prelate attached a white robe on his waist, knelt on the floor, washed the feet of each of the 12 “apostles” and kissed them, at the center altar of the church.
Instead of their usual attire, the “apostles” wore only plain white polo shirt, black trousers and shoes with matching socks.
The sacred ceremony of the institution of the Sacrament of Holy Communion ended with the removal of the Body of Christ from the tabernacle.
A short procession was held inside the church where the Eucharist was carried by Palma followed by priests and lay leaders. Wooden clamps were used during the procession.
The Eucharist was kept overnight to be distributed during the commemoration of the Lord’s Passion on Good Friday. After the procession, the altar was stripped bare.
All the bells were silent until the Easter Vigil yesterday or Sabado de Gloria.
Palma reminded the people to “accept the love of the Lord.”
“So that we can also give the same love, the same service, the same ministry to others,” he said.
He also asked the people to reflect on how they will become a gift to others.
Through this acceptance of God’s love, he urged the faithful to be prepared for the coming International Eucharistic Congress in 2016.
“May we be prepared by continually asking ourselves, how can I give, how can I share, how can I become a gift like Jesus did to others,” he said. Correspondent Tweeny M. Malinao