“When a One Man Band Gets Hit in the Butt by a Beer Truck, the Music Stops“
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
Holy Thursday – April 1, 2021
Gospel: John 13:1-15
Without the institution of the priesthood, the gift our Lord gave the apostles would have ended when He took the human nature He received from the Blessed Mother to Heaven on Pentecost. When a one man band gets hit in the butt by a beer truck, the music stops. He took the human nature of the apostles and made them into Christs. This was part of their ordination at the Last Supper….to continue the gifts of His love and the fruits of His sacrifice and to feed His people with His most Precious Body and Blood as they were fed. The hands that fed the apostles of Christ so too are the hands that feed you when the priest gives you Holy Communion. The priest acts in persona Christi, in the person of Christ, to feed you the exact same body and the exact same blood. Outward appearances vary, but it is the same Christ who feeds you. It is the same Christ who enters your soul through participation in the Sacraments. It was so great an honor for the apostles, that He reminded them when He washed their feet. Washing feet was a dirty, disgusting job that was left to slaves to do. But, Jesus showed them His humility and told them that they must do the same. “You have been given a great gift. I have chosen you; you have not chosen Me. I have chosen you for the possibility of cooperating with the grace of great teachers, healers, and evangelists of the world. But, to do so, you must be like Me who humbled Himself by taking the form of a slave. You, too, must be willing to do the work of a slave.”
This gift I have been given as a priest, which has been passed on from generation to generation, is not for me. It’s not a reward for my parents for raising a nice little boy. It’s not a reward for me for passing all my courses in seminary. I really did. My degree was not honorary, contrary to popular belief. I really earned it. This gift is not a reward because I could pass tests. It was given for you so that you may have Christ in you and the fruits of His death given to you. It was given so that you could receive the fruits of the Mass by being fed His body and blood. It was given so that your souls could be washed in His blood in the Sacrament of Penance. It was given so that you could be united in the Sacrament of Marriage, strengthened in Confirmation, and healed on the way to salvation by receiving Last Rights. In the past week, I have administered five. It’s been an interesting week. But, this gift is for you. The gift of priests is a gift to the Church. To bring salvation and the gift of the Real Presence of our Lord, body, blood, soul, and divinity in the Most Blessed Sacrament. This is our faith. I am vowed as a priest to protect it with my very life. Priests never talk about that vow. They talk about the promises they made, but they never talk about their vow to protect the Most Blessed Sacrament.
God loves you so much and wants to be with you to help you bear the crosses of this life so that you may have eternal life. That’s His great love. That’s why He gave these gifts to the Church. That’s why He instituted the priesthood – not for me so that I could have a fancy title before my name, but to administer His Sacraments, to teach, sanctify and lead people to Him. These gifts were given for you so that you may have life and have it to the fullest. And, one day after courageously bearing your crosses, and not only courageously bearing them, but getting back up after you’ve fallen, you will enjoy the fullness of His love. Pray for that last Sacrament to be given.
As Saint Simeon said, “Now let Your servant go in peace; Your word has been fulfilled.”