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A good Sunday to all.

In 304 A.D., during Diocletian’s reign, 31 men and 18 women were arrested in Abietene, Tunisia, with accusations of illegal assembly. They were brought before the proconsul and prosecuted. In the interrogation, the priest Saturninus, who had presided over the meeting, was asked for what reason he had violated the disposition of the emperor, and he answered that it was because we have to celebrate Lord's Day; this is our law. Then, Emeritus was questioned about who had taken Christians into his house. The proconsul asked, why did you welcome Christians in your house? He answered: 'because we cannot exist and live as Christians without meeting together. on Sundays to celebrate the Eucharist. Then the virgin Victoria was asked, and she proudly answered, 'Of course, I participated in the meeting because I am a Christian.'

We are at the beginning of the fourth century. Nine years later, the edict of Emperor Constantine gave freedom to Christians, so we are at the end of the era of the martyrs. During these first centuries, the celebration of the Eucharist was always the point of reference for the whole life of these communities. The meetings took place in private homes. They broke the Eucharistic bread at the table at home, not in a sacred environment; the rite was very simple and authentic. Of the early Christians of the Jerusalem community, the Acts of the Apostles say they were assiduous in listening to the Eucharist, the apostles' teaching, in communion, in the breaking of bread, and in prayers. Breaking bread was the technical formula for saying the Eucharist. Therefore, they faithfully participated in the celebrations of the community.

It is beautiful the testimony of the governor of Bithynia and Pontus Pliny the Younger, a pagan who in 112 writes to his friend the emperor Trajan because he does not know what to do in Bithynia because he should put to death those who declare themselves Christians, but he says to the emperor, how do I do it because I find myself before a multitude of people of all ages, of all conditions, of both sexes, scattered not only in the cities but also in the villages and the countryside? He then says that he has investigated because he wants to know who these Christians are and what they do.

Let's hear what he wrote to the emperor about our sisters and brothers of faith from the beginning of the second century.

"They are people in the habit of gathering on a fixed day before sunrise to sing alternately a hymn to Christ as to a God; then they commit themselves with an oath not to commit crimes, neither robbery nor brigandage nor adultery, not to break their word, not to deny a deposit justly claimed. Having fulfilled their rites They are in the habit of separating and meeting together again to take their food, which is ordinary and harmless."

It is touching this testimony of a pagan about the life of our brothers of faith at the beginning of the second century. They would meet early in the morning to pray; then they would go to work because until Constantine, the day of the sun (Sunday) was a working day, and then they gathered again in the evening to break bread. As in all communities, the Eucharistic celebration was the center of their life.

Of course, also in the first centuries, the participation in the Lord's Supper was not always exemplary on the part of all. Let us remember Paul severely rebuking the Corinthian community for celebrating the Lord's Supper. but it was scandalously divided into factions. Even then, there were Christians who were absent from the meetings. The Legend of the Apostles, a book written in Syria in the middle of the third century, mentions some Christians who stayed at work and didn't go to the meetings, and some went to the assembly but then they would chat and even go to sleep.

In the Middle Ages, there were many serious deviations also, both in the way of celebrating the Eucharist and in the understanding of its meaning. Then, in the eleventh century theological disputes began, and it was then that many devotions around the Eucharist arose. Some were respectable, and others were debatable, especially when they led to the eclipse of the true nature of this celebration. It is significant that the Second Vatican Council, precisely to shed light on the true meaning of the Eucharist did not speak of the Eucharistic devotions that had been so important in previous centuries.

The gospel passage that is proposed to us today intends to put before us the original image, the first celebration of the Eucharist cleansed of all the incrustations, of all the veils that have been deposited over the centuries. It is decisive for the life of the Church to become aware of what happened in Jerusalem at that Passover. It is always to that supper that we must refer if we want to understand what we do when we celebrate the Lord's Supper. Let us listen:

"On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples said to him, "Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?" He sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, 'The Teacher says, "Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?"'

Mark gives us a precise date of the episode he is going to relate; it was the first day of unleavened bread, it was that week in which nothing leavened was to be eaten; unleavened bread was eaten, and the feast of unleavened bread began with the Passover supper, which was celebrated on the eve of the day of Passover, which fell on the 15th of Nisan, the first day of the full moon of spring. Therefore, according to Mark, Jesus would have celebrated on the 14th of Nisan, the eve of Passover, the Passover supper like all his people. The information given by Mark contradicts what John the Evangelist says.

When the evangelist John tells us of Jesus's death, he says he was hastily deposed from the cross. Also, the two thieves by his side on the cross were not yet dead, and they hastened to take him down from the cross by breaking their legs because they were in haste to take them down immediately from the cross and bury them because that night, they had to return home in haste. That night was the 14th of Nisan, and they were all going to celebrate the Passover meal. It also gives us a very nice piece of information: John says that that year (and in this Mark, the evangelist also agrees), the Passover was especially solemn because it coincided with the feast of the Sabbath. Then, the scholars tried to see when the Passover fell on the Sabbath and discovered it was in the year 30. after Christ, so Jesus died on the eve of Friday, April 7, year 30.

Why does Mark present Jesus' Last Supper as a Passover meal? The reason is straightforward. He wanted to relate the Passover of the Christians with the Passover of the Jews. To grasp the meaning of our celebration of the Eucharist, it is indispensable to understand what the Passover meant for the Jews. In chapter 12 of the Book of Exodus, the Lord commands the Israelites to celebrate the Passover feast every year as a memorial of their deliverance from Egypt. It was on that Passover that they were born as a people.

'Memorial,' the Hebrew word is זִכְרוֹן - zikkaron; it is not a trivial anniversary feast; it is the celebration of a rite by which the Jews personally participated together with their ancestors in the liberation from Egypt. There, they were born as a people, and each one of them had to feel united at that moment when they were born as a people. Also, our celebration of the Eucharist is the memorial; it is the zikkaron, not the liberation from Egypt but of the event that refers to our whole history, our whole life.

In the Eucharist, we celebrate our origin, our birth, because, as Christians, we are born at Easter. Today, the Jews still commemorate their birth as a people with a meal called the Passover meal. We celebrate our birth with the Lord's Supper, as Paul calls it. Let us now try to understand the last supper of Jesus with the disciples. It is a supper that, like the Jewish supper must be prepared. Jesus wanted to celebrate it because he had to establish the sign by which the communities of all the centuries would present his whole love history to the world.

We have observed an air of mystery surrounding this preparation of the supper; why? Jesus realized that Judas had decided to betray him to the religious authority as a dangerous subversive, and he was concerned about celebrating that supper well; he must have agreed with the owner of the house, and they agreed on a sign with which it would be easy to identify him, a man with a water pitcher. It was easy to identify him because the woman carried water with the pitcher on her head, and the men carried the wineskins.

This fact carries with it a message. A man performing a humble service, which is that of the woman. Who introduces you to a true celebration of the supper like that of Jesus? He introduces you who becomes a servant of the brethren and is not ashamed to perform a very humble service, reserved for women. Let us hear how will be the room in which the supper will be celebrated:

“Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there. The disciples then went off, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them, and they prepared the Passover.”

Jesus sent out the two disciples to prepare the Passover, but we will observe that throughout the account of Jesus' last supper with the disciples, there appears nothing of what characterized the Jewish Passover supper; no mention of the lamb, unleavened bread, bitter herbs, spring vegetables; all these were indispensable in the Jewish paschal supper. It means a new supper. Jesus will celebrate the Christian Passover, which will remain a memorial of his Passover. Jesus' interest in this preparation is in the room in which he specifies all the characteristics, which means that they are important, and we must first grasp their significance.

The first feature: is on the upper story, where the real Lord's Supper is celebrated. Today, there is a synagogue on Mount Zion. which had already been used by the first generation of Christians. And on top of this synagogue there was a room in which these first Christians celebrated the Eucharist. The historian Eusebius of Caesarea tells us that before the year 70 when the city of Jerusalem was destroyed, the Christians, remembering what Jesus had foretold that the city would be destroyed, left Jerusalem and went to Pella, a city beyond the Jordan River, then returned and resumed using that synagogue. as a place to celebrate the word, where the sacred books were read and then they went upstairs to celebrate the Eucharist.

What is the meaning of this upper floor? Jesus means that the disciples who want to celebrate an authentic Eucharist must detach themselves from the Eucharist, from the lower floor, which indicates where one reason, according to the world's logic, is not Christ's. The Beatitudes preached on the first floor are not those of the upper plane, those presented by Jesus. Those who want to celebrate an authentic Eucharist cannot reason as they reason on the lower level; they cannot live as one lives on the first floor according to the criteria and values that are valued there.

On the lower floor, those who serve count for nothing; they are despised; the servant is worthy of honor on the upper floor. On the lower floor, the masters are the dominators, the over-bearers who can raise their voices and silence everyone. These are the successful people on the first floor; above are the failures. Here is a reflection for you to make those celebrating the Eucharist know they must detach themselves from the first floor.

He says this room is big. It is not only physical grandeur but also the image of the welcoming Church, which is communion. Let's remember in the parable of the banquet, a slave is sent out three times because the master wants the room, where there is always room, to be full. So, a great hall means a hall where everybody is welcome, even those who have led a less than exemplary life are admitted into this hall; of course, they should reflect on the fact that it is an upper room, but no one will be expelled, not even those who have gathered together on the cross streets, so they're pretty much mistreated. And the community is not ashamed of the brothers. Those who have made mistakes in life are not considered as bales; they need their attention more, and they should be the most loved because they are the most loved by Christ. Also, on the top floor, no one is to be judged, not to gossip, not to talk again about the mistakes made. This is what this great hall means.

And he says it's already furnished with couches, ready for a party. It's the feast of the free people because the Jews had adapted themselves to the custom of the Greeks and Romans, who, in their turn, had copied from the Persians who were reclining at the table. It was an uncomfortable position; the left elbow was leaned on the ground, and the right hand was used to take the food. They assimilated this use because it indicated free people. This is the symbolism of the room where the Eucharist is celebrated. Those who are still slaves should know they must let themselves be set free because that is the room where free people lie down.

Free from what? Those who are slaves of their possessions think only of accumulating goods. They must liberate themselves to celebrate an authentic Eucharist and share their goods with their brothers. Those who are slaves of their selfishness think only of themselves; they must let themselves be liberated. He who remains a slave of his grudges or even of regrets or affective errors, who are still slaves of the image of the righteous God, who punishes the wicked; all these must let themselves be set free, otherwise, they will not celebrate an authentic Eucharist. Let us now listen to what happens during the supper:

“While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, gave it to them, and said, ‘Take it; this is my body.’"

Jesus knows his end is near. The chief priests have already decided his death. Let's imagine then what Jesus had most in his heart. What was the most important thing for him? Only one thing that those disciples would carry forward the new world he had initiated. who had believed in him, met him on the shores of the sea of Galilee, and followed him. That is the reason why, during that last supper, he wanted to institute a rite to seal their adherence and love for him.

Just as in the wedding celebration, the two newlyweds met, knew each other, and loved, but at some point, their promise of faithful and unconditional love must also be declared with a rite. Indeed, they stand before the congregation; the priest blesses their decision and exchange rings. This is the rite that seals their definitive and unconditional love. During that supper, Jesus instituted the rite by which the community of disciples, like a bride, is called to declare to him their unconditional love.

Let us now try to grasp the meaning of every gesture and every word of this rite. “While they were eating, he took bread.” He did not take 'a' bread, which seems to have raised the white host. He took bread from the table; he could have taken another food; why did he choose bread? What is so special about it? Let's pay attention because every detail of this rite is significant; we must grasp its meaning to understand what happens and what we do when we eat the Eucharistic bread.

In the culture of all the peoples of the Middle East, of the Mediterranean basin, we know that bread is the primary food for life. In the Bible, this term appears 500 times in the Old Testament and 100 times in the New Testament. To eat bread simply means to be nourished. What is so special about bread? Where does it come from? It comes from nature. In bread are present all the forces of creation, the forces of heaven: the light, the warmth of the sun, the air, the rain, and those of the earth that make the ear of wheat grow. And in all this, man has nothing to do. All is the gift of God, who has prepared this creation for the life of all his sons and daughters. But bread does not grow in the field; the grain grows in the field, and for the grain to become bread, it needs the intervention of man with his labor. In the book of Genesis, God says to man, 'You shall eat bread by the sweat of your brow' therefore, bread means all that is necessary for life.

Then he pronounces the blessing; he does not bless the food. God is blessed for the food he gives us. Blessing means to recognize that all that we need is the food for life that comes from the Lord; it is his gift, and nothing is ours. When we pronounce the blessing, we declare that we have become aware that everything is God's. He is the one who has prepared this table for his sons and daughters. We are not masters; we are diners. We participate in a banquet, but we are guests, and after us will come other guests. We must become aware of this truth. This is what the Eucharist tells us when we come to communion. Become aware that everything belongs to God and that you are not the owner of these goods necessary for life.

And Jesus breaks that bread. What does it mean to break bread? It means to share it. Only in sharing becomes the Eucharist based on the gift that can make the new world flourish, the fraternity among men. If there is no sharing, there can be no fraternity and peace; there will always be competition, and each one will always try to accumulate more and more as if he were the master; no, you are a guest; after you come other guests.

Therefore, the first meaning of the eucharistic communion is the awareness of being God's guests. in this world, diners at the banquet of his kingdom, brothers and not rivals. Then he gives this bread. This gesture of breaking bread and giving it to the disciples is the whole meaning of Jesus' life who made himself bread for the life of all; he did not keep for himself even a crumb of his time, of his abilities, of his strength, he gave all for life. He made himself bread and said, 'Take, this is my body.

What does ‘body’ mean? We identify the body with the muscles, with the physical part of man, as distinct from the soul, no. This is Platonic Greek philosophy. Biblical anthropology makes no such distinctions. Man, the person, is a unit. The person has a body. What does Jesus mean when he says, 'This is my body'? He is simply saying this is me; this is my whole life given, my life that has been transformed in love for the life of the other in this bread. Do you want to know who I am? Jesus says, 'I am bread,' I have become bread all my life. We say, 'good as bread.' It is not the bread that becomes the body of Christ; Jesus became the bread, presented himself to us as bread, and said, 'Take this bread. That is me.’ He means assimilate this bread that is me; assimilate the whole love story of my life, donate it, and make it your own. When you eat this bread, you declare with the rite that you unite your life to mine and therefore that you become bread as I have become bread.' This is the Eucharist and only this.

Let us now listen to the second sign placed by Jesus:

"Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, ‘This is my blood of the Covenant, which will be shed for many. Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.’ Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.”

Let us now try to understand the meaning of the second element in the Eucharistic celebration: the wine. Let us also find a way to introduce the drinking from the chalice in each of our celebrations. Mark says that they all drank of it. It can be done by insertion, but the sign must be made if we want the rite to be complete in its meaning.

Wine is very important in the Bible; it is mentioned 141 times in the Old Testament and dozens of times in the New Testament; it symbolizes joy and feasting. Bread is necessary for life; wine is not. Wine is a plus, but you need it if you want to feast. The prophets announced the kingdom of God. Let's remember Isaiah chapter 25, which speaks of a feast one day, God will prepare a banquet of succulent food and fine and refined wines for everyone. And Jesus fulfilled this prophecy. Jesus wants to introduce us to this kingdom of joy and feasting by offering us his wine.

And Jesus also explained what wine he offers us: his blood of the Covenant. We know what blood represents in the Bible and the cultures of all Semitic peoples: blood is the seat of life, and how God is the Lord of all life. Man cannot take hold of the blood or eat meat in which there is blood, much less drink blood. To have the same blood means to be in communion with life.

When Jesus offers us the chalice and says that this wine is his blood and invites us to drink it, he is offering us his own life, his Spirit, he is offering us the opportunity to enter into communion of life with him. So, when we drink from that cup, we declare that we welcome this gift of his life. And it is the blood of the Covenant; the Covenant is the bond by which two people belong to each other. It is the bond of mutual belonging between husband and wife. When we receive the blood of Christ between us he establishes the Covenant, the unity of life. Israel had entered into a covenant with the Lord at Sinai.

What had Moses done? He had precisely used the rite of blood and shed the blood upon the altar and the people to say that the same life united God and the people. But we know this Covenant was broken several times by the unfaithful people. They renewed this covenant relationship with God but broke it again. Why did this happen? Because the Covenant was made based on a law written in stone, the commandments, which the people had to keep; and the commandments said not to steal, not to lie, not to kill, not to commit adultery, but the heart of the Israelites told them the contrary: to commit adultery, to steal, and even to kill the enemy.

What did God intend to do? The prophet Jeremiah tells us that God promised that one day, he would make a new covenant, but not based on a law written in stone that would be impossible for men to fulfill, but that he would make a new covenant his law in the heart of every person. This would be the new Covenant, and thus, the heart would dictate the impulses for living according to the will of the Lord. It is like when a woman becomes a mother, she does not need external rules; it is her heart that tells her what to do for her baby, and so when one receives this new life, the person has a new heart that compels him to live according to God. Jesus offered us his life, and when we drink from that cup, we receive his life; then the Eucharist is authentic; if it is not hypocritical, it must manifest itself concretely in daily life, a life that must perfectly conform to the life of Jesus of Nazareth.

The passage's conclusion presents us with some somewhat mysterious expressions of Jesus saying he will no longer drink of the wine until he drinks it again in the kingdom of God. Beautiful is this promise of Jesus; he says that days will come of great pain because 'I will have to give my life, it will look like a failure, all that is about to happen... Remember that one day, we will drink the wine again; that is, the time will come when the joy will be full and definitive, and it will be in the kingdom of God when the Lord's plan of love is fully realized. for this world fully realized.’ This will be the day we shall drink the wine again; our joy will burst when we realize God's plan for the world.

I wish you all a good Sunday and a good week.