{"id":30835,"date":"2014-05-26T16:57:06","date_gmt":"2014-05-26T20:57:06","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/?p=30835"},"modified":"2014-05-26T16:56:08","modified_gmt":"2014-05-26T20:56:08","slug":"pope-francis-offers-mass-in-the-cenacle","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/2014\/05\/pope-francis-offers-mass-in-the-cenacle\/","title":{"rendered":"Pope Francis offers Mass in the Cenacle"},"content":{"rendered":"

\u00a0The Mass was offered in the Cenacle<\/strong><\/a>, the site of the Last Supper, the Upper Room with the \u00a0Ordinaries of the Holy Land, those of the papal delegation, and those who safeguard the holy sights –the places of redemption. Can you image the\u00a0profundity and supreme intimacy of this experience with the Lord! The Mass was offered in private due to the size of the room. It is here that Jesus instituted the sacraments of the Eucharist, the priesthood, Confirmation and Confession. Please pray with the Pope’s homily, and keep in mind this line: the\u00a0events that happened at the Upper Room: the feet washing, the Last Supper, the Pentecost –represent service, sacrifice, conversion and the promise of a new life. The Upper Room is a particular sign of the Lord’s friendship. In the days before we celebrate the Ascension and Pentecost, this homily is an excellent reminder of what it means to a Christian.<\/em><\/p>\n

\"Pope<\/a>It is a great gift that the Lord has given us by bringing us together here in the Upper Room for the celebration of the Eucharist.\u00a0 Here, where Jesus shared the Last Supper with the apostles; where, after his resurrection, he appeared in their midst; where the Holy Spirit descended with power upon Mary and the disciples. Here the Church was born, and was born\u00a0to go forth<\/strong>.\u00a0 From here she\u00a0set out, with the broken bread in her hands, the wounds of Christ before her eyes, and the Spirit of love in her heart.<\/p>\n

In the Upper Room, the risen Jesus, sent by the Father, bestowed upon the apostles his own Spirit and with this power he sent them forth to renew the face of the earth (cf.\u00a0Ps\u00a0104:30).<\/p>\n

To go forth, to set out, does not mean to forget. The Church, in her going forth, preserves the\u00a0memory\u00a0of what took place here<\/strong>;\u00a0the Spirit, the Paraclete, reminds her\u00a0of every word and every action, and reveals their true meaning.<\/p>\n

The Upper Room speaks to us of\u00a0service<\/strong>, of Jesus giving the disciples an example by washing their feet.\u00a0 Washing one another\u2019s feet signifies welcoming, accepting, loving and serving one another.\u00a0 It means serving the poor, the sick and the outcast.<\/p>\n

The Upper Room reminds us, through the Eucharist, of\u00a0sacrifice<\/strong>.\u00a0 In every Eucharistic celebration Jesus offers himself for us to the Father, so that we too can be united with him, offering to God our lives, our work, our joys and our sorrows\u2026 offering everything as a spiritual sacrifice.<\/p>\n

The Upper Room reminds us of\u00a0friendship<\/strong>.\u00a0 \u201cNo longer do I call you servants \u2013 Jesus said to the Twelve \u2013 but I have called you friends\u201d (Jn\u00a015:15).\u00a0 The Lord makes us his friends, he reveals God\u2019s will to us and he gives us his very self.\u00a0 This is the most beautiful part of being a Christian and, especially, of being a priest: becoming a friend of the Lord Jesus.<\/p>\n

The Upper Room reminds us of the Teacher\u2019s\u00a0farewell\u00a0and his\u00a0promise\u00a0to return to his friends<\/strong>: \u201cWhen I go\u2026 I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also\u201d (Jn\u00a014:3).\u00a0 Jesus does not leave us, nor does he ever abandon us; he precedes us to the house of the Father, where he desires to bring us as well.<\/p>\n

The Upper Room, however, also reminds us of\u00a0pettiness, of\u00a0curiosity\u00a0\u2013 \u201cWho is the traitor?\u201d \u2013 and of\u00a0betrayal<\/strong>.\u00a0 We ourselves, and not just others, can reawaken those attitudes whenever we look at our brother or sister with contempt, whenever we judge them, whenever by our sins we betray Jesus.<\/p>\n

The Upper Room reminds us of\u00a0sharing,\u00a0fraternity,\u00a0harmony\u00a0and\u00a0peace among ourselves<\/strong>.\u00a0 How much love and goodness has flowed from the Upper Room!\u00a0 How much charity has gone forth from here, like a river from its source, beginning as a stream and then expanding and becoming a great torrent.\u00a0 All the saints drew from this source; and hence the great river of the Church\u2019s holiness continues to flow: from the Heart of Christ, from the Eucharist and from the Holy Spirit.<\/p>\n

Lastly, the Upper Room reminds us of the birth of the\u00a0new family<\/strong>, the Church, established by the risen Jesus; a family that has a Mother, the Virgin Mary.\u00a0 Christian families belong to this great family, and in it they find the light and strength to press on and be renewed, amid the challenges and difficulties of life.\u00a0 All God\u2019s children, of every people and language, are invited and called to be part of this great family, as brothers and sisters and sons and daughters of the one Father in heaven.<\/p>\n

These horizons are opened up by the Upper Room, the horizons of the Risen Lord and his Church.<\/p>\n

From here the Church goes forth, impelled by the life-giving breath of the Spirit.\u00a0 Gathered in prayer with the Mother of Jesus, the Church lives in constant expectation of a renewed outpouring of the Holy Spirit.\u00a0 Send forth your Spirit, Lord, and renew the face of the earth (cf.\u00a0Ps\u00a0104:30)!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

\u00a0The Mass was offered in the Cenacle, the site of the Last Supper, the Upper Room with the \u00a0Ordinaries of the Holy Land, those of the papal delegation, and those who safeguard the holy sights –the places of redemption. Can you image the\u00a0profundity and supreme intimacy of this experience with the Lord! The Mass was … Continue reading Pope Francis offers Mass in the Cenacle<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[84],"tags":[32103,2107,32107,31998],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30835"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=30835"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30835\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":30837,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/30835\/revisions\/30837"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=30835"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=30835"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/communio.stblogs.org\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=30835"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}