Maundy Thursday: The Master becomes a servant

A proof of our transcendence is the possibility we have of inhabiting the present, but also, through memory, we visit the past, and we also have access to the future through imagination and hope.
This interconnection in time is the reality presented to us by Paul, as he recalls what he received from the Lord and simultaneously passed on, in relation to the words of Jesus: “Do this in memory of me.”
To receive, to transmit, to do—these are actions that reveal a bit of the mystery we celebrate today. The conviction that everything in the world is connected, everything is related (Laudato Sí, No. 16), is one of the main pillars running through the entire encyclical Laudato Sí’.

To understand the world as an ecosystem in which no part can be affected without impacting the others, while being aware that there is a constant exchange of energy, matter, and nutrients between the different natural elements—both living and non-living, such as soil, rocks, water… We depend on one another, and respecting this relationship of interdependence creates harmony.

During his life on earth, and especially during the Last Supper, Jesus conveys this message to his disciples: He, the Master, becomes a servant; the Lord becomes a slave, to share his Body, his Blood, his Life with them, thus revealing the deep bond that unites them and gives them life.

At the same time, there is an invitation to continue deepening this bond: “Do this in memory of me,” to prolong the transmission of what we have received—the Life of Jesus, God himself made man, our brother and our savior.

May our daily life modestly bear witness to this immense Love we have received and which we desire to share with our brothers and sisters in a world where everything is interconnected.