At the Last Supper Chapter 17

The Gospel of John—Chapter 6 The miracle of the loaves and fish: a foreshadowing of the Eucharist. Everyone can have their fill. Walking on water: Jesus tells the disciples not to be afraid, for he was coming to them. People seek Christ: To do the works of God, we must believe in Jesus “Bread of Life” Discourse: Jesus is the Bread come down from heaven. This Bread is for the life of the world. It is his Body and Blood.

Celebrating Freedom--Passover Every year the Hebrew people celebrated the feast of Passover with a special meal of unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The Jewish still celebrate it today. It is a time to remember how God set them free from the Egyptians by giving Moses special instructions to keep them safe. To keep His people safe, God told Moses to have each family: Kill a spotless lamb; Eat all of the lamb; Put the blood of the lamb on their doorpost as a sign of life Part of the Passover ritual is eating unleavened bread. The reason the Israelites had to eat unleavened bread was to remind themselves that they didn’t even have time to let their bread rise before they left Egypt.

The Last Supper Mt 26: 17-30 On the first day of Unleavened Bread the disciples came to Jesus, saying, “Where do you want us to make the preparations for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man, and say to him, ‘The Teacher says, My time is near; I will keep the Passover at your house with my disciples.’”  So the disciples did as Jesus had directed them, and they prepared the Passover meal.  When it was evening, he took his place with the twelve; and while they were eating, he said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me. ”And they became greatly distressed and began to say to him one after another, “Surely not I, Lord?”  He answered, “The one who has dipped his hand into the bowl with me will betray me. The Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.” Judas, who betrayed him, said, “Surely not I, Rabbi?” He replied, “You have said so.”  While they were eating, Jesus took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to the disciples, and said, “Take, eat; this is my body.”  Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you;  for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.  I tell you, I will never again drink of this fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new with you in my Father’s kingdom.”  When they had sung the hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives. Mk 14: 13-26  So he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him,  and wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, ‘The Teacher asks, Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’  He will show you a large room upstairs, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”  So the disciples set out and went to the city, and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.  When it was evening, he came with the twelve. And when they had taken their places and were eating, Jesus said, “Truly I tell you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.”  They began to be distressed and to say to him one after another, “Surely, not I?”  He said to them, “It is one of the twelve, one who is dipping bread[a] into the bowl[b] with me.  For the Son of Man goes as it is written of him, but woe to that one by whom the Son of Man is betrayed! It would have been better for that one not to have been born.”  While they were eating, he took a loaf of bread, and after blessing it he broke it, gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.”  Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he gave it to them, and all of them drank from it.  He said to them, “This is my blood of the  covenant, which is poured out for many.  Truly I tell you, I will never again drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.”

…Bible accounts of the Last Supper continued Lk 22: 7-22  Then came the day of Unleavened Bread, on which the Passover lamb had to be sacrificed.  So Jesus sent Peter and John, saying, “Go and prepare the Passover meal for us that we may eat it.”  They asked him, “Where do you want us to make preparations for it?”  “Listen,” he said to them, “when you have entered the city, a man carrying a jar of water will meet you; follow him into the house he enters  and say to the owner of the house, ‘The teacher asks you, “Where is the guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’  He will show you a large room upstairs, already furnished. Make preparations for us there.” So they went and found everything as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover meal.  When the hour came, he took his place at the table, and the apostles with him.  He said to them, “I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer;  for I tell you, I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.”  Then he took a cup, and after giving thanks he said, “Take this and divide it among yourselves;  for I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.”  Then he took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and gave it to them, saying, “This is my body, which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.”  And he did the same with the cup after supper, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood. But see, the one who betrays me is with me, and his hand is on the table.  For the Son of Man is going as it has been determined, but woe to that one by whom he is betrayed!”  Then they began to ask one another which one of them it could be who would do this. 1 Cor 11:23-26 The Institution of the Lord’s Supper  For I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took a loaf of bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it and said, “This is my body that is for[a] you. Do this in remembrance of me.”  In the same way he took the cup also, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

The Final Meal Why did Jesus choose the date of the Jewish feast of Passover for his death and Resurrection? Jesus celebrated a meal with his apostles the night before he died. Jesus chose the Passover feast of his people Israel as a symbol for what was to happen through his death and Resurrection. As the people Israel were freed from slavery to Egypt, so Christ frees us from the slavery of sin and the power of death. [571-573] He challenged their faith by offering his own Body and Blood for them to drink. By offering Himself as the sacrifice of the Passover meal, Jesus established the New Covenant.

Why Sacrifice? Jesus was the perfect sacrifice…both priest and victim Ever since Adam and Eve fell, we have felt the need to somehow make up for our own sins and ask God for forgiveness. (ATONEMENT…to make one with) In the Old Testament, this was done by offering something important-an animal or something from the fields. This showed that everything belonged to God-even life itself. (REDEMPTION…to buy back, pay the price) Jesus was the perfect sacrifice…both priest and victim He had to willingly choose to die for us and make up for our sins. Because he was God, he could have come down from the cross anytime-but love held him there. His offering was a free, selfless, total one.

The Real Presence in the Eucharist Transubstantiation is the act of changing the substances of bread and wine into the substances of the Body and Blood of Christ. The Holy Eucharist refers to Christ’s body and blood present in the consecrated host. We believe that the consecrated bread and wine are actually the body and blood, soul and divinity of Christ. The presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist isn't just symbolic, it’s real. When you receive Holy Communion, you’re intimately united with Jesus Christ — he literally becomes part of you.

Transubstantiation Before After What is present before and after the Consecration of Bread and Wine? Before After Appearance Substance Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul, Divinity Bread Bread Bread Christ’s Body, Blood, Soul, Divinity Wine Wine Wine

Holy Orders Jesus instituted the Sacrament of the Holy Orders at the Last Supper.  By saying “Do this in remembrance of me,” Jesus gave his power to the apostles to consecrate the Eucharist.  This power has been passed down to all bishops and priests through their ordination. Priests at Christ's own command At the Last Supper, as we know, Jesus made his Apostles priests, when he gave them the command (and with the command, the power) to do what he had just done. "Do this," he said, "in remembrance of Me" (Luke 22:20) As time went on, the Apostles consecrated more bishops to carry on their work. These bishops in turn ordained other bishops and priests, and these bishops in their turn, still others. So that the Catholic priest of today can truly say that the power of his priesthood has come down, in the sacrament of Holy Orders, in an unbroken line from Christ himself.

The Everlasting Sacrifice Jesus made his apostles priests at the last supper by telling them to do as he had done. Every sacrifice of the Mass is the same sacrifice offered at the last supper and on the cross. Approach the Eucharist like it is truly Christ who died for your sins-because it is!

I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst. John 6:35 Reflection: Jesus did not stop those who found this difficult to believe from leaving. Why was and is this statement so difficult to believe/understand? How do you explain to someone that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist?