SYN 20A

Overview of Holy Thursday and Historical Context

• Definition of Holy Thursday: Holy Thursday refers to the Thursday evening when Jesus celebrated his last Passover meal with his apostles.

• Passover Context: The Passover was one of the $3$ pilgrimage feasts in Judaism. Every Jew was expected to celebrate this feast by traveling to Jerusalem.

• Population Impact: Due to the pilgrimage requirement, Jerusalem was overflowing with people. At the time of Passover, there were significantly more people in the city than during a normal day or week.

• Significance for the Crucifixion: The timing of Holy Thursday and the subsequent crucifixion is highly meaningful because Jesus was crucified during the "high time" of the year. This ensured that the maximum number of people possible, including Jews from the entire Holy Land region, witnessed the event. It was not a private occurrence witnessed only by local residents.

The Two Instituted Sacraments: Eucharist and Holy Orders

• Instituted Sacraments: Holy Thursday is the night on which Jesus instituted two specific sacraments of the Church:

  • The Sacrament of the Eucharist.

  • The Sacrament of Holy Orders.

• Interdependence: These two sacraments are inextricably linked; they "stand or fall together." One is ordered toward the other.

The Nature and Duty of the Priesthood

• Definition of a Priest: A priest is defined as a mediator between God and man. His central job is to offer sacrifice to God on behalf of the people.

• Chief Duty of a Priest: While priests perform many functions, their essential duties are specific:

  • The Chief Duty: To reconcile sinners to God through the Sacrament of Confession.

  • Secondary Necessity: Confession is a precondition for being in a state of grace, which is required to receive the Eucharist.

  • Non-Essential Duties: Tasks such as running parishes (administrators), baptizing babies (deacons), paying bills (laypeople), or visiting the sick (laypeople/deacons) are not the primary reasons a man is ordained.

• Etymology of Sacrifice: The word "sacrifice" comes from the Latin, literally meaning "to make holy."

• The Ends of the Mass: The celebration of the Mass has two primary goals or purposes:

  1. The glorification of God.

  2. The sanctification of man.

Discernment and Qualifications for Holy Orders

• The Role of the Seminary: The seminary is not only for men who are certain of their call; it is a "school of training" for those who wish to discern their vocation and give it their "best shot."

• Qualifications for Priesthood: A candidate must possess the health and natural drives required for traditional family life. A valid candidate for the priesthood must not have:

  • A natural adversity to family life.

  • A natural repulsion to women.

  • A lack of a natural drive to be a father.

• The Rule of Forfeit: If a man has traits that would forfeit him from being a good husband and father, those same traits forfeit him from being a priest.

• Signs of a True Vocation: The most prominent sign of a calling is a "burning desire" to do what only a priest can do, specifically:

  • To celebrate the Eucharist.

  • To hear confessions.

• The "Prisoner of the Confessional": This phrase, used by Saint John Vianney and echoed by Pope John Paul II, describes the priest's dedication to reconciling sinners. A priest who loves the Eucharist and the confessional will be a "holy priest," whereas one focused on other issues may be miserable.

Hierarchy and Configuration of Holy Orders

• Definition of Holy Orders: The sacrament that configures a man as a deacon, a priest, or a bishop.

• Hierarchical Structure: Everything a lower rank can do, the higher rank can also do.

  • Deacon: The entry rank.

  • Priest: Can do everything a deacon can do plus more.

  • Bishop: The fulfillment of the sacrament; can do everything a priest and deacon can do.

• Vesting Symbolism: At solemn Masses, a bishop's vestments reflect his full authority:

  1. He puts on the dalmatic (vestment of the deacon).

  2. He puts on the chasuble (vestment proper to the priest).

  3. He puts on episcopal garments (e.g., an archbishop puts on the pallium).

Definition and Theology of the Eucharist

• Verbatim Definition: The Eucharist is the Real Presence of the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ under the appearances of bread and wine.

• Concept of "Presence": In this context, "presence" does not mean a gift, but rather an "abiding way of remaining among someone."

• Institution of Clergy: The Eucharist cannot exist without the clergy. Christ ordained the $12$ apostles as the first bishops/priests on Holy Thursday night in the Upper Room. This is considered the anniversary of the priesthood.

• Etymology of Eucharist: The word comes from the Greek meaning "thanksgiving."

Scriptural Institution and the Divine Word

• Matthew $26:26-28$ (The Words of Institution): "Now as they were eating, Jesus took bread and blessed and broke it and gave it to the disciples and said, 'Take, eat; this is my body.' And he took a chalice, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them saying, 'Drink of it all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins.'"

• The Power of "Is": In the Greek canonical text, the verb "is" excludes metaphor or figurative language. God does not deal in "legal fictions." If God says something is so, it becomes so through His power.

• Genesis Comparison: Just as God said "Let there be light" (Genesis $1$) and light came into being, His words over the bread and wine accomplish what they signify.

  • Creation of Adam: God breathed into the dirt ($\text{adama}$ in Hebrew) to make a living being.

  • Creation of Eve: Taken from the side of the man.

• The Sacerdotal Mediation: When a priest says "This is my body," the words are effective not because of the man, but because he is mediating the words of God.

Confessional Differentiations and Catholic Rites

• Protestant Views: Generally do not believe the Eucharist is the literal body and blood. They lack the belief that the substance ceases to be bread and wine.

• Eastern Orthodox: Agree with Catholic teaching on the Real Presence.

• The $21$ Rites of the Catholic Church: There are approximately $21$ different rites within the Catholic Church (e.g., Ruthenian, Byzantine, Armenian, Maronite, Latin).

  • They all share the same sacraments, the same beliefs, and governance under the Pope.

  • They differ in expression (e.g., the Byzantine Divine Liturgy vs. the Latin Rite Novus Ordo).

Transubstantiation and Supernatural Reality

• Transubstantiation: The process/moment in the Mass when the bread and wine cease to be bread and wine and become the Eucharist.

  • Verb: To transubstantiate.

• Appearance vs. Essence: There are no perceptible changes. Scientific tests would show no difference because the change occurs at a level of reality beyond sensate experience.

• Critique of Rationalism: Truth is not exhausted by what we can observe or measure. Examples of real things we cannot see with the naked eye include:

  • Nanoparticles, protons, neutrons, and electrons.

  • Angels.

  • The human soul.

• Eucharistic Miracles: Occasionally, God allows a visible miracle to accommodate human weakness.

  • Lanciano miracle: Located in the region of Pescara/Florence area (East Coast of Italy), where bread visibly changed into flesh.

• Adoration: Because the host is actually Jesus, Catholics worship it (Eucharistic Adoration). If it were only bread, this would be the sin of idolatry.

The Liturgical Triduum

• Definition: Latin for "three days." The holiest three days of the liturgical year.

• Components:

  1. Holy Thursday: Lent ends. The Liturgy of the Lord's Supper occurs in the evening, followed by the procession of the Blessed Sacrament and the emptying of tabernacles. This represents the apostles praying with Jesus in the garden.

  2. Good Friday: Formerly called "God's Friday." There is a liturgy and communion service, but no Mass is celebrated. It reflects on the death and absence of God.

  3. Holy Saturday: No liturgy is celebrated during the day. The focus is on God in the tomb. The Easter Vigil begins on Saturday night (technically Easter).

• The Primacy of Easter: Easter is more important than Christmas. Christ's birth alone did not accomplish redemption; it was finalized by His death and resurrection which bought humanity back from Satan.

Questions & Discussion

• Dialogue/Instruction: The professor addresses the students directly during the reading of Matthew $26$, saying: "Yeah. That's who I'm talking to. Yeah. You get your bible out. Don't just sit there like a bump on a lot. There you go. Okay. Thank you."