During the Liturgical year, there seems to be double celebrations, two celebrations with the same theme. We need not spend time on the historical background of this but rather seek to discover the wisdom behind this reality. On the Thursday of Holy Week, we commemorate the Last Supper, when Jesus gave us the gift of the Eucharist. Today we also celebrate with gratitude this same mystery: The Eucharist.

We may understand the connection of the two feasts this way: Holy Thursday is a celebration of the event. That celebration is of one event during the many events we celebrate in Holy Mass, and may be somewhat overshadowed by the celebration of Good Friday and the Resurrection. It is wise, then, to take some other time to meditate with gratitude on the significance of the event and so deepen our comprehension and appreciation of this great gift which we also, in fact, celebrate each time we celebrate Mass. In the Incarnation, Jesus emptied himself of his divinity and became human, as we are. At the Last Supper, he once again emptied himself to become for us the bread of life and the cup of our salvation.