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En la Missa in Cena Domini el Jueves Santo, Iglesia prelaticia de Santa María de la Paz, Roma (21-IV-2011)

1. Dear brothers and dearest sons.

Before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.[1]

St. John’s introduction to his narration of the Last Supper moves us and fills us with gratitude. The great moment, the “hour” for which Jesus had come into the world, is about to arrive: the hour of our redemption. Benedict the Sixteenth has written that “what is essential about this hour is described by John with two basic ideas: it is the hour of ‘passing’; it is the hour of love ‘to the end.’”[2]

The two expressions explain each other. If the death of Jesus on the Cross, and his subsequent Resurrection, form the path, chosen by God, so that the Holy Humanity of the Lord should enter into the glory of the Father, it is also true that this ineffable moment is the result of love that he shows to the very end, offering his life as a ransom for our sins. Jesus had said, Greater love no man has than this: that a man lay down his life for his friends[3]. Now his words will be completely fulfilled. This love to the end, for each and every human being, achieves what seems impossible: it overcomes the barriers of a narrow individualism, closed in on itself by sin, and enters into the realm of the divine, taking all of redeemed mankind with it.

But before taking this great step, through the sacrifice of the Cross, Jesus Christ left us a marvelous memorial. He institutes the sacrament of the Eucharist so that, until the end of time, the Church can always and everywhere make present the sacrifice of his body and blood, through the celebration of the Holy Mass. Once again, he have listened to the words of St. Paul: “the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, ‘This is my body which is given up for you. Do this in memory of me.’ In the same way also the cup, 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”.[4]

Jesus continues loving us to the end, because every time that the priest celebrates the Sacrifice of the Altar, he gives himself up for us again, now in a glorious way, by the working of the Holy Spirit. Let us bow down in reverence before this mystery of faith and love, before this miracle of divine omnipotence, participating with devotion — if possible, every day — in the Eucharistic Sacrifice. As St. Josemaría wrote: «to live the Holy Mass means to pray continually, and to be convinced that, for each one of us, this is a personal meeting with God. We adore him, we praise him, we give thanks to him, we atone for our sins, we are purified, we experience a unity with Christ and with all Christians»[5].

2. Ubi caritas et amor Deus ibi est!; là où il y a la charité et l’amour, là se trouve Dieu. Aussi, là où le Seigneur se rend présent — ce qui est le cas de manière toute particulière dans la Sainte Eucharistie — là règne l’amour. Demandons à l’Esprit Saint que, lorsque nous récitons cet hymne, nous arrivions à mieux comprendre le mystère de don de soi que renferme l’institution de l’Eucharistie et du Sacerdoce, même si nous ne pouvons embrasser son infinie grandeur. Voici la réponse limpide de Dieu aux enfants qui ont besoin de lui, y compris à nous qui l’avons offensé. C’est ainsi que le Seigneur se comporte toujours; il nous invite à changer, à être plus surnaturels et, par conséquent, plus humains.

Dans ce mystère, qui n’a d’autre explication que la toute puissance divine et la miséricorde amoureuse de Dieu notre Père, nous pouvons découvrir combien il nous faut aimer davantage encore. En restant parmi nous, en se donnant à chacun jusqu’au bout, Jésus Christ nous incorpore à sa Vie même, pour que nous puissions exercer pleinement la capacité d’aimer qu’il nous a donnée.

Saint Josemaría, toujours plus étonné devant la manière d’agir de notre Dieu, nous poussait à considérer que le Seigneur ne met pas de limites au don de lui-même. Il nous invitait ainsi à considérer comment nous lui répondons, comment nous nous comportons avec lui, comment nous l’écoutons. Nous savons que nous sommes encore loin de lui répondre comme il faut, mais l’amour se paie avec de l’amour: nous pouvons toujours commencer et recommencer à l’aimer.

Que tu es grand, Seigneur, toi qui ne te lasses jamais de notre inconstance ni de nos manques de fidélité! Tu es le Médecin qui peux guérir toutes nos maladies spirituelles. Avec des mots de saint Josemaría, qui t’a tant aimé et qui t’aime, et qui a appris à tant de personnes à suivre ce chemin, nous te disons: «Seigneur, si tu veux — et tu le veux toujours — tu peux me guérir. Tu connais ma faiblesse; je ressens ce symptôme, je souffre de telles faiblesses. (...) Seigneur, toi qui as soigné tant d’âmes, fais que, en te possédant dans mon cœur ou en te contemplant dans le Tabernacle, je te reconnaisse comme Médecin divin[6]».

3. Ci sentiamo nuovamente invitati ad entrare nel Cenacolo di Gerusalemme. Al Signore non dispiace che ci mescoliamo ai Dodici; anzi, desidera che ci accorgiamo di essere trattati con lo stesso amore con cui Lui si rivolse agli Apostoli.

Disponiamoci ad ascoltare sempre il Signore, specialmente nella Santa Messa. Se siamo coerenti, insisto, non ci accontenteremo di andarci la domenica e gli altri giorni di precetto, ma avremo fame di partecipare ogni giorno al Santo Sacrificio, di ricevere Gesù nella Comunione, di farGli visita spesso nel Tabernacolo. Siamo persone che amano questo mistero, che si addentrano nel mistero di un Dio che si dona a tutti noi, a ciascuno di noi.

Soffermiamoci sul discorso di Gesù durante l’ultima Cena, così ricco di contenuto e di suggerimenti per chiunque desidera comportarsi da cristiano. Facciamo attenzione a quella sua affermazione: Io sono la vite e voi i tralci[7]. Vuole farci partecipi della sua stessa Vita e vuole che la comunichiamo agli altri. San Josemaría, avendo meditato spesso questa lezione del nostro Salvatore, ci suggeriva: «Ascolta dalle labbra di Gesù la parabola che San Giovanni racconta nel suo Vangelo: “Ego sum vitis, vos palmites” — Io sono la vite; voi, i tralci.

Hai già nell’immaginazione, nell’intelligenza, l’intera parabola. E vedi che un tralcio separato dal ceppo, dalla vite, non serve a nulla, non si riempirà di frutti, farà la fine di un pezzo di legno secco, che gli uomini o le bestie calpesteranno, o che verrà gettato nel fuoco...

— Tu sei il tralcio: deducine tutte le conseguenze[8]».

4. Vivir a fondo la Santa Misa, llegar a ser sarmientos cargados de jugosos racimos, exige que seamos amigos de la Cruz. En el Gólgota, Jesús, Sacerdote y Víctima, ha llevado a cabo la redención de la humanidad. Allí cumplió físicamente, con el derramamiento de su sangre, lo que la noche anterior había realizado anticipadamente, de modo sacramental, en el Cenáculo. Y espera que nos unamos personalmente a su sacrificio, cada día, ofreciéndole en la Misa nuestras penas y nuestras alegrías, nuestros trabajos y nuestros descansos, nuestra vida entera.

Y luego, durante la jornada, miremos a Jesús crucificado para participar en el diálogo que Él quiere establecer con nosotros. Os aconsejo que llevéis en el bolsillo un pequeño crucifijo, para mirarlo de vez en cuando y renovar el ofrecimiento de vuestra existencia. Es bueno —decía nuestro Padre— «ponerlo sobre tu mesa de trabajo. Y besarlo antes de darte al descanso y al despertar: y cuando se rebele contra tu alma el pobre cuerpo, bésalo también»[9].

No hay mejor Maestra de amor a Cristo que la Virgen Santísima. Juan Pablo II, que pronto será beatificado, con intuición profunda, la llamó Mujer eucarística; no sólo porque el Hijo de Dios se encarnó en sus entrañas purísimas por obra del Espíritu Santo, sino porque se mantuvo junto a la Cruz de Jesús, llena de fortaleza y de fe, participando como nadie en el Sacrificio del Calvario. «Nuestro Señor Jesús lo quiere: es preciso seguirle de cerca. No hay otro camino. Esa es la obra del Espíritu Santo en cada alma —en la tuya—: sé dócil, no opongas obstáculos a Dios»[10].

Tratando a María, siendo hijos buenos de tan buena Madre, nos iremos pareciendo más y más a Jesús, hasta llegar a ser en la realidad existencial de cada día lo que ya somos por el Bautismo: otros Cristos, el mismo Cristo. Así sea.

[1] John 13:1-2

[2] J. Ratzinger-Benedict XVI, Jesus of Nazareth, vol. II.

[3] John 15:13

[4] 1 Cor 11:23-26

[5] St. Josemaría, Christ is passing by, n. 88.

[6] Ibid., n. 93.

[7] Gv 15, 5.

[8] San Josemaría, Forgia, n. 425.

[9] Camino, n. 302.

[10] Surco, n. 978.

Romana, n. 52, Enero-Junio 2011, p. 64-67.

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