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Jesus
realized that his time had come. He thought about the people he had
healed and cured - he knew something utterly important was about to take
place. |
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But
before anything would happen Jesus wanted to have a meal with his
disciples; to break the bread with them, to share the cup. |
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| Great
things happened during that meal, the Sacrament of the Eucharist was
instituted, the ministry of priesthood came about. Everyone was cheerful
and so happy. |
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But
in the midst of all this joy and excitement Jesus' thoughts seemed to
wonder away, from time to time. ...he was thinking of the following
day... |
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| Holy
Thursday Homily - Washing of the Feet |
| The
Little Tree That Wanted To Become... Story |
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| Today
the whole Church begins celebrating the Paschal Triduum; the three days
that commemorate Jesus' Last Supper with his disciples, his suffering
and death on the cross and then, his resurrection and victory over death
and sin. |
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| Today
we remember when Jesus and his disciples gathered together to eat their
last meal. That's how Jesus wanted to spend his last evening before his
death - dining with his friends. |
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| And
that very simple act of human interaction, simply being together,
breaking of the bread and sharing the cup, became the origins of the
Eucharist that is being celebrated up to this day in every corner of the
world. For almost two thousands years all Christians have remembered
Jesus' last meal with his disciples. For two thousand years the
remembrance of that meal gave Christians strength to deal with every day
life and gave them hope for a better future. This eucharistic meal
symbolizes the unity of all Christians and reflects the values of love,
peace, and justice that we all share. |
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| On
this day we also commemorate something else, something that Jesus did
and the people of every culture remembered up to this point. During his
meal with the disciples Jesus washed the feet of all those who were with
him. He did that to show us that no matter how successful in life we may
be, no matter how rich we are, we have to remember that we are here to
serve and to help those around us. And whether you are rich or poor in
the eyes of God we are measured by our compassion, service, and
readiness to help others. |
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| Let
me share with you a short story. |
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| Once
upon a mountain top, a little tree stood and dreamed of what she wanted
to become when she grew up. |
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| The
little tree looked up at the stars and said: I
want to grow so tall that when people stop to look at me, they'll raise
their eyes to heaven and think of God. I will be the tallest tree in the
world. |
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| Years
passed. The rain came, the sun shone, and the little tree grew tall. But
one day a woodcutter climbed the mountain. He looked at the tree and
said, This tree is beautiful. It is perfect for
me. With a swoop of his shining axe, the tree fell. The
woodcutter cut her into strong beams and left her in a lumberyard. What
happened?, the once tall tree wondered. All
I ever wanted was to stay on the mountain top and point to God. |
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| Many
days and nights passed. The tree nearly forgot her dream. But one Friday
morning, the tree was startled when her beams were yanked from the
forgotten woodpile. She flinched as she was carried through an angry
jeering crowd. She shuddered when soldiers nailed a man's hands to her.
She felt ugly and harsh and cruel. But, on Sunday morning, when the sun
rose and the earth trembled with joy beneath her, the tree knew that
God's love had changed everything. And, every time people thought of
that tree, they would think of God. That was better than being the
tallest tree in the world. |
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| Often
times we are like that little tree with our dreams and aspirations. And
that is good. But we cannot forget that we also have to be of service to
other people. Every time people think of us they should also think of
God's goodness working through us. |
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| And
thus the ritual of the washing of the feet. May it remind us that we are
servants to one another, that we live to help and to assist those who
are in need. |
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