Br. Josép Martinez-Cubero, OHC
Maundy Thursday - April 9, 2020
Exodus 12:1-4, (5-10), 11-14
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-17, 31b-35
Psalm 116:1, 10-17
Click here for an audio version of this sermon.
Here is the source of every sacrament,
The all-transforming presence of the Lord,
Replenishing our every element
Remaking us in his creative Word.
For here the earth herself gives bread and wine,
The air delights to bear his Spirit’s speech,
The fire dances where the candles shine,
The waters cleanse us with His gentle touch.
And here He shows the full extent of love
To us whose love is always incomplete,
In vain we search the heavens high above,
The God of love is kneeling at our feet.
Though we betray Him, though it is the night.
He meets us here and loves us into light.
The three readings tonight have three common themes: gathering, a common meal and remembrance. In the reading from the Book of Exodus, we hear instructions about gathering for the passover meal. It ends with the injunction: “This day shall be a day of remembrance for you.” In the second reading from the First Letter of Paul to the Corinthians we hear how, on the night he was betrayed, Jesus gathered his disciples for a meal, offered his body and blood and said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” In the reading from John’s Gospel, Jesus washes feet and commands love in remembrance. “You also should do as I have done to you.” In this sense remembrance is not simply about recalling or returning or recreating the past. I want to suggest that remembrance is an active process of bringing an event from the past into the present moment that it may have a continuing effect and impact on our lives. It is the window into a new and larger life. There is something about the human condition that hungers for remembrance because remembrance has the ability to feed and nourish life.
So here we are, at the beginning of these most holy days of remembrance in the Christian tradition. Two years ago Br. Robert Leo encouraged us to enter them “in the spirit of praise and thanksgiving to our Creator for having brought us once more to this holy season”, and to enter these days with a “child's eyes and a beginner's mind” and “as if it were the first time.” And it does feel very much like a first time this year. We don’t have a guesthouse full of guests. Our services will be modified. There was no ritual of foot washing and there will be no night vigil. The Passion narrative won’t be sung as we’ve done in the past few years, and there will be no communion from the reserved sacraments tomorrow. It all makes sense since we don’t have our guests. I am beginning to understand that our hospitality to our guests is about inviting them into our way of life, our rhythm of prayer and our practices, yes, but a lot of it is also a generous presentation to them in the form of ministry. Some of the ways we do things just don’t feel quite the same without our guests.
I miss our guests. It is true that our vibrant guesthouse ministry can be exhausting and overwhelming at times. We need all the breaks we have set in place. It is also true that we fulfill our “vows to the Lord in the presence of all his people”. Hospitality is our main ministry, and as Br. Aidan reminds us, our guests help us to live our spirituality as Benedictine monks more fully, to welcome our visitors as Christ. There is a void in our monastery during this Easter Triduum, and a certain sadness in the air as we carry out our observances in remembrance. And the sadness echoes the sadness around the world during this time of pandemic. We “weep with those who weep” and I certainly have done my share of that. But we are also people of the resurrection. We know that Jesus took the sacrifice of his body and blood and turned it into the bread and wine that holds the promise of the resurrection to come and God’s promise of eternal life. We know that these coming days will take us into darkness and despair, but on Sunday that Easter fire will be kindled, and we will hear the Exsultet.
There has been much debate lately within dioceses of the Episcopal Church and also within other Eucharistic Christian denominations about virtual communion, drive through communion, whether or not virtual consecration is valid, and so on. I’m in absolutely no position to share an opinion on the matter. Indeed, I hear the strong arguments from different angles and know that they all come from a good place. And I’m aware of our privileged position here at Holy Cross as our participation in the sacrament of Holy Communion remains uninterrupted. Instead, I want to share with those who will read and/or listen to this homily, an alternative for consideration (or perhaps a reminder for those who already know) that I learned in my childhood in Puerto Rico, from the Sisters of Saint Joseph of Brentwood.
There is a very old practice called Spiritual Communion, which is the practice of desiring union with Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist. As a child, I learned it as a preparation for Mass. But it is also used by individuals who, for whatever the reason, cannot receive Holy Communion. St. Thomas Aquinas defined Spiritual Communion as "an ardent desire to receive Jesus in the Holy Sacrament and a loving embrace as though we had already received Him."
Spiritual Communion has been practiced for centuries by Christians in times of persecution, as well as in times of plagues, and it is the preferred practice in many other countries during the present Coronavirus pandemic. I, for one, have been in situations many times in my life when I cannot attend church and receive communion, and have used this practice. It has always been effective and fulfilling to me. In the eighteen century, St. Alphonsus Liguori wrote a special prayer for Spiritual Communion:
“My Jesus, I believe you are really here in the Blessed Sacrament. I love you more than anything in the world, and I hunger to receive you. But since I cannot receive Communion at this moment, feed my soul at least spiritually. I unite myself to you now as I do when I actually receive you.”
May we approach these Great Holy Days of the Easter Triduum, wherever we may be, with honesty about the void we may be experiencing, openness about our vulnerability, with receptivity, and with steadfast love, gratitude and hope. ¡Que así sea en el nombre del Padre, del Hijo y del Espíritu Santo! ~Amen+
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