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Having my own foot washed and washing the foot of someone else, I realized that it really doesn’t matter whose foot is washed, may they be Republican (Oh, Father! A revelation!!), Democrat, Independent, race, national origin, young, old, sick or in health. I don’t think Jesus really cared. What he bent down to do was give us a mandate, a mandate to do this for one another. And I think that is, through the knowledge of himself, out of his love, he was called to action, even with a bunch of men who never really got it. Isn’t that right, women? Do the men ever really get it? .... Guys, are you going to stand up for yourselves? (Lots of laughter! And a negative reply from men in the congregation.) Wise men. We have wise men at Christ the King!

My understanding of Triduum has evolved over many years. Back in Ireland, as a young altar boy at eight or nine, I got involved in Triduum a few times, but my family were not involved in Triduum. I thought it was something funny the holy people in our parish did. And I got involved in it only because I was on the team for the altar on that particular day. It wasn’t until I went to seminary, and then when I began to realize it was a sense of unity to this special time and there was a call to be part of Thursday and Friday and Saturday. And then, I think when I was in the seminary studying theology in Dublin, I said, “Ah, this is it.” because we went to a homeless shelter and we did all of the Triduum, all of the three days in the homeless shelter. And I thought “Wow! This is what Jesus is calling us to do, to be there with the homeless.” As time has evolved and as I come to this moment, I realize that it doesn’t really matter whose foot you are washing. It doesn’t really matter where the foot is being washed. The important thing is that we wash the foot, or wash the hands, or we serve one another wherever we are planted in the here and now.

You know, the Jewish people, when they do the Passover, as they are doing tonight and as I have done, as I saw our second graders do the other day in the hall. (They celebrated the Seder, Passover.) do it in such a way as it’s the remembrance of now. They are not re-creating some historical thing that happened a long time ago, nor are we re-creating something that happened a long time ago. We are doing what Jesus had commanded us to do, right here, right now, and in this place. And so, there has been an evolution in my understanding, in my expression of my feeling and thinking of what Triduum is about. Tonight, we celebrate the institution of the Eucharist, the first Eucharist. It’s the birthday of the priesthood in a certain sense, as you will see, with a prayer that we will do at the end of the homily. And we have the mandato. It calls us out to service. And we do serve, and serve well, in this parish. And when we go to this place we will pray with Jesus.

And tomorrow, if you walk around and you look at the stations of the cross, I deliberately put up these pictures because they are Maryknoll pictures and all of them are from the now. You have the old traditional ones on the wall, but if you look maybe at number seven, Jesus falls for the second time, the woman is on her knees crawling through the desert in Namibia, with a child on her back and carrying a child by the hand, as she goes on all fours through the desert. Each of the pictures represents something in the now, calls us to reflect on the now, calls us to reflect on where we are at this moment in our faith journey.

Then, on Saturday night, what a gift it is to have walked with our RCIA people because we know their stories! Over thirty of them have walked on a journey. They know our stories. They know the story of Christ the King. They know the story of the Church. As they gather, our stories are merged together. And I always find the Triduum uplifting in that moment when somebody is baptized, when you know their story, and you’ve been praying with them and you have walked the journey together. It is indeed a very powerful experience. So, the Triduum we have tried to foster with this one book telling us that there is a sense of unity as we walk together, as we share the faith story and we do what Jesus did, what we are doing here and in the now. And that’s what we are called to do, and that is indeed what we do this night. In some sense, with all of the ritual and all of the sense of pageantry and the signs and the symbols, there almost is no need for a homily. So, I’m not going to go any further!

But I am going to ask the three priests that are here, and I know there’s a whole bunch of Franciscans and Jesuits here, and I would love to point them out. They are all putting their heads down. But I’ll not do that. But I am going to ask Sister Joanne to come up and do a blessing with us, and I would ask you all to stand.

My brothers, today we celebrate the memory of the first Eucharist, at which Our Lord Jesus Christ shared with his apostles and with us his call to the priestly service of this Church. Now, in the presence of God’s holy people, are you ready to renew your own dedication to Christ as priests of the New Covenant? (Response from priests: “I am.”)

At your ordination, you accepted the responsibility of the priesthood out of love for the Lord Jesus and his people, the Church. Are you now resolved to unite yourself more closely to Christ and try to become more like him by joyfully sacrificing your own pleasure and ambition to bring this peace and love to your sisters and brothers? (Response from priests: “I am.’)

Are you resolved to be faithful ministers of the mystery of God, to celebrate the Eucharist and the other liturgical services with sincere devotion and love? Are you resolved to imitate Jesus Christ, the head of the shepherd of the Church, by teaching the Christian faith without thinking of your own profit, solely for the well-being of the people you were sent to serve? (Response from priests: “I am.”)

Lay ministers, are you too ready to renew your committment to Jesus Christ, and to serve him with loving hearts in the body of his Church? (Response from lay ministers: “I am.”)

I now invite everyone to extend their hands in blessing. My brothers and sisters, pray for your priests and lay ministers and all who serve in your Church. Ask the Lord to bless them with the fulness of your love, to help them be faithful ministers of Christ the High Priest so that they will be able to lead you to him, the fountain of your salvation. May the Lord in his love keep you close to him always and may he bring all of us, his priests, ministers and people to eternal life. Amen.