Apr 9, 2025 Written by 

Supper and apron

«Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end» (Jn 13:1).

The washing of the feet done by Jesus to his own was a school of life for Francis. He understood the profound meaning of that gesture to the full, reproducing it on his journey.

The Poor Man of Assisi all his life washed the feet of his brothers and the neighbour he met, always ready to serve and help anyone in need.

Francis not only loved the Eucharist, but he himself lived in a Eucharistic manner, making his body and blood bread for his brothers and sisters and caring for them.

Scanning the Sources we realise how much emphasis and Eucharistic solicitude covered his days.

How ardour and evangelical penetration ran through his bare existence as a friar, who always returned to God and his brothers what he had freely received.

Francis' last days also clearly set out his gaze towards the Lord's Supper.

We read in the Sources:

"While the brothers were shedding bitter tears and lamenting in despair, he had bread brought, blessed it, broke it and gave each one a piece to eat.

He also wanted the book of the Gospels and asked that the Gospel according to John be read to him, from the passage that begins:

«Before the feast of Easter», etc.

He recalled at that moment the Most Holy Supper, which the Lord had celebrated with his disciples for the last time, and he did all this precisely in venerable memory of that supper and to show how much tenderness of love he bore the brothers" (FF 808).

Clare too had great devotion to the Holy Supper of the Lord, living the paschal mystery in unity with her Bridegroom.

"The day of the Most Holy Supper had once come, in which the Lord loved his own to the end.

Towards evening, as the agony of Christ approached, Clare shut herself, sad and afflicted, in the secret of her cell. And accompanying the Lord in prayer, her sad soul to the point of death became imbued with the anguished sadness of Him, and her memory, little by little, became fully filled with the capture and all the mockery: so that she fell back on the bed" (FF 3217).

And the Sources record his intense love for the Eucharist saying:

"When she was about to receive the Body of the Lord, she first shed hot tears and, approaching then with trembling, feared Him who is hidden in the Sacrament no less than the Sovereign of heaven and earth" (FF 3210).

Francis and Clare made the Eucharist the place of learning in the art of living.

 

 

Holy Thursday «Lord's Supper»  (Jn 13:1-15)

141 Last modified on Wednesday, 09 April 2025 05:51
Teresa Girolami

Teresa Girolami è laureata in Materie letterarie e Teologia. Ha pubblicato vari testi, fra cui: "Pellegrinaggio del cuore" (Ed. Piemme); "I Fiammiferi di Maria - La Madre di Dio in prosa e poesia"; "Tenerezza Scalza - Natura di donna"; co-autrice di "Dialogo e Solstizio".

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The Eucharist draws us into Jesus' act of self-oblation. More than just statically receiving the incarnate Logos, we enter into the very dynamic of his self-giving [Pope Benedict]
L'Eucaristia ci attira nell'atto oblativo di Gesù. Noi non riceviamo soltanto in modo statico il Logos incarnato, ma veniamo coinvolti nella dinamica della sua donazione [Papa Benedetto]
Jesus, the true bread of life that satisfies our hunger for meaning and for truth, cannot be “earned” with human work; he comes to us only as a gift of God’s love, as a work of God (Pope Benedict)
Gesù, vero pane di vita che sazia la nostra fame di senso, di verità, non si può «guadagnare» con il lavoro umano; viene a noi soltanto come dono dell’amore di Dio, come opera di Dio (Papa Benedetto)
Jesus, who shared his quality as a "stone" in Simon, also communicates to him his mission as a "shepherd". It is a communication that implies an intimate communion, which also transpires from the formulation of Jesus: "Feed my lambs... my sheep"; as he had already said: "On this rock I will build my Church" (Mt 16:18). The Church is property of Christ, not of Peter. Lambs and sheep belong to Christ, and to no one else (Pope John Paul II)
Gesù, che ha partecipato a Simone la sua qualità di “pietra”, gli comunica anche la sua missione di “pastore”. È una comunicazione che implica una comunione intima, che traspare anche dalla formulazione di Gesù: “Pasci i miei agnelli… le mie pecorelle”; come aveva già detto: “Su questa pietra edificherò la mia Chiesa” (Mt 16,18). La Chiesa è proprietà di Cristo, non di Pietro. Agnelli e pecorelle appartengono a Cristo, e a nessun altro (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)
Praying, celebrating, imitating Jesus: these are the three "doors" - to be opened to find «the way, to go to truth and to life» (Pope Francis)
Pregare, celebrare, imitare Gesù: sono le tre “porte” — da aprire per trovare «la via, per andare alla verità e alla vita» (Papa Francesco)
In recounting the "sign" of bread, the Evangelist emphasizes that Christ, before distributing the food, blessed it with a prayer of thanksgiving (cf. v. 11). The Greek term used is eucharistein and it refers directly to the Last Supper, though, in fact, John refers here not to the institution of the Eucharist but to the washing of the feet. The Eucharist is mentioned here in anticipation of the great symbol of the Bread of Life [Pope Benedict]
Narrando il “segno” dei pani, l’Evangelista sottolinea che Cristo, prima di distribuirli, li benedisse con una preghiera di ringraziamento (cfr v. 11). Il verbo è eucharistein, e rimanda direttamente al racconto dell’Ultima Cena, nel quale, in effetti, Giovanni non riferisce l’istituzione dell’Eucaristia, bensì la lavanda dei piedi. L’Eucaristia è qui come anticipata nel grande segno del pane della vita [Papa Benedetto]
Work is part of God’s loving plan, we are called to cultivate and care for all the goods of creation and in this way share in the work of creation! Work is fundamental to the dignity of a person. Work, to use a metaphor, “anoints” us with dignity, fills us with dignity, makes us similar to God, who has worked and still works, who always acts (cf. Jn 5:17); it gives one the ability to maintain oneself, one’s family, to contribute to the growth of one’s own nation [Pope Francis]
Il lavoro fa parte del piano di amore di Dio; noi siamo chiamati a coltivare e custodire tutti i beni della creazione e in questo modo partecipiamo all’opera della creazione! Il lavoro è un elemento fondamentale per la dignità di una persona [Papa Francesco]

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