{"id":3159,"date":"2016-03-24T06:00:40","date_gmt":"2016-03-24T05:00:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/2013\/03\/the-birthday-of-the-chalice\/"},"modified":"2022-04-14T10:25:15","modified_gmt":"2022-04-14T09:25:15","slug":"the-birthday-of-the-chalice","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/2016\/03\/the-birthday-of-the-chalice\/","title":{"rendered":"The Birthday of the Chalice"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Christ%20High%20Priest.gif\"<\/a>Maundy Thursday<\/strong>
\nWe entered singing:
\n\u201cFor us, no boasting\u201d (Gal 6:14).
\nNo boasting, that is, of anything that is ours.
\nFor who am I and who are you to boast
\nin the presence of the Mystery?
\nWho am I and who are you to boast
\non this the night of God\u2019s doing,
\nthe night of the covenant?<\/p>\n

It is all his doing, not ours.
\nIt is time for the Lord to act!<\/p>\n

\u201cFor us, no boasting,
\nbut in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
\nwho is health and life and resurrection to us,
\nby whom we are saved and set free (cf. Gal 6L14).
\nIf you are sick; he is health.
\nIf you are in the grip of death; he is life.
\nIf you have stumbled and fallen low,
\nonce, twice, three times or more,
\nhe is resurrection.
\nIf you are bound up and fettered,
\nif you are pushed down, or held back,
\nor laden with burdens too heavy to bear,
\nhe is deliverance and freedom.
\nIf you are oppressed in sin\u2019s narrow place,
\nhe takes you by the hand
\nand tonight, yes, tonight,
\nhe leads you out into the vast and spacious place
\nof his prayer to the Father.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis Father, is my desire,
\nthat all those whom thou hast entrusted to me
\nmay be with me where I am,
\nso as to see my glory, thy gift made to me,
\nin that love which thou didst bestow upon me
\nbefore the foundation of the world\u201d (Jn 17:24).<\/p>\n

This is the birthnight of Eucharistic adoration,
\nthe night of a hushed amazement,
\nthe night of believing disbelief
\nand of wordless wonder.<\/p>\n

This is the night of God at table with man.
\nNot only does this Companion-God sit at our board to share our bread:
\nhe becomes Bread in every mouth.<\/p>\n

This is the night of the Blood of the Lamb:
\nthe birthday of the Chalice,
\nthe first wave of that immense crimson tide
\nthat tomorrow will flow gushing from the pierced side.<\/p>\n

This is the night of the astonishing humility of God.
\nthe night of God bending low to wash, to kiss,
\nto perfume the very feet
\nthat will run from the fearful garden in the night,
\nand from the proud praetorium,
\nand from the Cross terrible against dark and heavy skies.<\/p>\n

\u201cBefore you run from me,
\nO you whom I have chosen to run after me,
\nlet me wash your feet
\nand mark them sweetly with the imprint of my kiss.
\nYou did not choose me, but I chose you\u201d (Jn 15:16).
\nThis kiss to your feet is the pledge of my paschal absolution.
\nMy feet, you will see them pierced by a nail;
\nyours, I would pierce them with a kiss,
\nthat turning, you would come back to me
\nwho have come so far in search of you.<\/p>\n

Jerusalem, Jerusalem, turn back,
\nturn back to the Lord your God!\u201d
\nTonight our Priest begins his ascent:
\nthe solemn procession to the high place of his preaching:
\nto the noble Tree
\nfrom which his voice will go out through all the earth.<\/p>\n

Tonight our Priest, without leaving us,
\ngoes into the hidden sanctuary beyond the veil (Heb 6:19);
\nhe appears in the presence of God on our behalf (Heb 9:23),
\ntaking not the blood of goats and calves
\nbut his own blood, thus securing an eternal redemption (Heb 9:12).<\/p>\n

Tonight the Lamb without blemish is set before us.
\nTonight his Blood is given,
\nnot to be smeared on doorposts and lintels,
\nbut to sanctify our lips
\nand moisten every parched tongue;
\nto warm every heart grown cold
\nwith a libation of fire;
\nto give sweetness for bitterness,
\nand boldness for fear.<\/p>\n

Those marked by the Blood of the Lamb,
\nthose with the Blood of the Lamb wet upon their lips
\nand fragrant on their breath
\nhave passed from death to life.
\nEvery mouth sanctified by the Blood
\nis, in the Father\u2019s eyes, the mouth of the First-Born Son.<\/p>\n

Every prayer uttered from Blood-blessed lips,
\nevery kiss offered,
\nevery sigh and every groan,
\nthe Father receives
\nas coming from the Son.
\n\u201cIn that day you will know
\nthat I am in the Father,
\nand you in me, and I in you\u201d (Jn 14:20).<\/p>\n

The psalmist too sang of the Chalice and of the Blood:
\n\u201cI will lift up the chalice of salvation,
\nand call upon the name of the Lord\u201d (Ps 115:13).
\nLifted up, it is our thanksgiving: a sun blazing red against the sky.
\nPressed to our lips, it is our salvation: the antidote, the remedy,
\none drop of which is enough to cure this weary world of every ill.<\/p>\n

The Apostle handed on to us
\nwhat had been handed on to him.
\nO humble and glorious Tradition!
\nOurs it is to receive what he received,
\n(to transmit and not to betray,)
\nto cherish what he cherished,
\nto obey the commandment he obeyed,
\nto adore the mystery he adored.
\n\u201cThis is my body which is for you.
\nDo this in remembrance of me. . . .
\nThis chalice is the new covenant in my Blood.
\nDo this, as often, as you drink it, in memory of me\u201d (1 Cor 11:24-25).<\/p>\n

This is the night of the new priesthood.
\nAwed they are, not quite understanding and not quite misunderstanding
\nthe fearful spectacle of God bent prostrate at their feet.
\nHe, sinless, kneels to absolve the sinner
\nwhile the sinner, seated,
\nhas nought to offer but two bare journey-worn feet
\nand the story they tell.
\n\u201cWhat I am doing you do not know now,
\nbut afterward you will understand . . . .
\nFor I have given you an example,
\nthat you also should do as I have done to you\u201d (Jn 13:7, 15).<\/p>\n

Feet they will wash, kneeling before them,
\nbut more than feet,
\nhearts caked with the hard crust of sin,
\nand polluted souls,
\nand faces bearing the traces of blood and tears.
\nThen we did not know what he was doing,
\nbut now we understand the mystic absolution.
\n\u201cReceive the Holy Spirit.
\nIf you forgive the sins of any, they are forgiven;
\nif you retain the sins of any they are retained\u201d (Jn 20:22-23).<\/p>\n

For us, no boasting but in what Love has left us:
\nthe Bread and the Chalice
\nmaking present His Sacrifice;
\nand priests with feet washed clean and anointed hands
\nto pronounce the Absolution,
\nto lift high the Oblation.<\/p>\n

And behind the sacramental veils
\nshines the Face for which we yearn:
\nthe Face of immolated Purity,
\nthe Face of Beauty humbled,
\nthe Face of the Priest,
\nthe Face of the Victim,
\nthe Face of Holiness,
\nthe Face of Crucified and Triumphant Love.<\/p>\n

In looking, adore Him.
\nIn adoring, look at Him.
\nAnd so, pass over
\nfrom what is old to what is new,
\nfrom the land of heavy burdens to the land of freedom,
\nfrom darkness to life,
\nfrom sin to holiness,
\nfrom groans to jubilations,
\nfrom tears to laughter,
\nfrom sorrow to bliss,
\nfrom combat to peace,
\nfrom struggle to rest,
\nfrom death to life
\nIt is the Passover of the Lord (Ex 12:11).<\/p>\n

Exodus 12:1-14
\nPsalm 116:12-18
\n1 Corinthians 11:23-26
\nJohn 13:1-15<\/em><\/small><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Maundy Thursday We entered singing: \u201cFor us, no boasting\u201d (Gal 6:14). No boasting, that is, of anything that is ours. For who am I and who are you to boast in the presence of the Mystery? Who am I and who are you to boast on this the night of God\u2019s doing, the night of <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"advanced_seo_description":"","jetpack_seo_html_title":"","jetpack_seo_noindex":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[53,226],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3159","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sacred-paschal-triduum-2008","category-sacred-paschal-triduum-2016"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/paVypq-OX","jetpack-related-posts":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3159"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/4"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3159"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3159\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":24455,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3159\/revisions\/24455"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3159"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3159"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vultuschristi.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3159"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}