a free meal
"I am Your servant, the son of Your handmaid; You have loosed my bonds." —Psalm 116:16
When Jesus became a human being, "He emptied Himself and took the form of a slave" (Phil 2:7). Before Jesus died for us, He washed His disciples' feet (Jn 13:5). This was the work of a slave. Jesus was sold for thirty pieces of silver (Mt 26:15; Zec 11:12), the price of a gored slave (Ex 21:32). Jesus died by crucifixion, the manner of death reserved for slaves. From the beginning to the end of His life on earth, Jesus was a slave. He took on our enslaved human condition so we could share in His free divine nature (2 Pt 1:4). "Before the feast of Passover" (Jn 13:1), Jesus did the work of a slave so that we can celebrate forever the Passover, the feast of freedom from slavery (see Ex 12:31).
If you receive Holy Communion with faith and love at the new Passover, the Mass (see Lk 22:15), you are truly free (see Jn 8:36) from sin, death (Jn 6:54), Satan, hell, damnation, addictions, and self-hatred. On this Holy Thursday, receive Holy Communion and begin or continue a series of daily Communions which will be a perpetual (see Ex 12:14) jubilee year—endless, total, and ultimate freedom (see Lk 4:19).
Prayer: Father, may I want to receive Jesus in Holy Communion every day of my life.
Promise: "The Lord Jesus on the night in which He was betrayed took bread, and after He had given thanks, broke it and said, 'This is My body, Which is for you. Do this in remembrance of Me.' " — 1 Cor 11:23-24
Praise: "O Sacrament most holy, O Sacrament divine, all praise and all thanksgiving be every moment Thine."
Reference: (For more teaching on this theme, order our booklet, This is My Body.)
Nihil Obstat: Reverend Edward J. Gratsch, October 10, 1995
Imprimatur: †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 13, 1995