It is so cool to be able to celebrate my first Holy Thursday Mass as a priest.  When I was a kid growing up and serving at Masses, this was my third favorite Mass to serve.  My second favorite was the Easter Vigil and my first was the midnight Mass on Christmas.  Christmas was my favorite because its Christmas.  That has nothing to do with liturgy, its only because I love the music, the lights, the colors, and yes, for that one night only, the snow.  The Easter Vigil and Holy Thursday were my second and third favorites for different reasons.  

    I loved the Easter Vigil because I got to do a lot of cool things that servers don’t normally get to do.  We helped with baptism and confirmation, played with fire and candles, and some other odd jobs like turning on water fountains.  Holy Thursday makes the top three because it was the only Mass throughout the year where I got to see everyone in Church at the same time.  

    The beauty of Holy Thursday is that this is the only Mass celebrated today.  So, for all of us to receive the Eucharist and take part in this celebration, we have to come together at the same time.  That, to me, is awesome.  Having all of us together tonight to celebrate Jesus is the coolest thing about Holy Thursday.  No other day throughout the year is like this.  Even tomorrow on Good Friday, we have two different services you can attend.  But Holy Thursday is it.  

    This is a special thing because tonight we celebrate two important things that Jesus institutes tonight.  Christ instituted the Eucharist and the priesthood.  We can’t have one without the other, so it makes sense that Jesus made them both at the same time.  By the Church bringing all of us together for one Mass on this sacred night shows that Jesus lives both in the Eucharist and in us, the Body of Christ.  Both are Christ’s body: us and the Eucharist.  And it is from us, the Body of Christ, and the Eucharist, which is also the Body of Christ, that priests are made.  Priests don’t grow on trees or in shrubs.  I came from a loud and obnoxious Irish and Italian family.  I didn’t drop from heaven or just show up one day out of nowhere.  I came from a family.  Certainly not a perfect family, whatever that looks like, but I came from a family none the less.  So did Fr. Mike, Fr. Joe, and Fr. Jim.  We all became priests because of Christ’s body.  Both the Eucharist and the families we are blessed to be apart of. 

    However, we are not the only priests in the Church.  Please raise your hand if you have been baptized.  You are all priests.  All of us at our baptism were baptized as priests, prophets and kings.  So if all of us are priests, what is it that priests are called to do?  Here’s a clue: it has nothing to do with power.  That’s the first mistake all priests make, both the baptized and ordained priests, we think it’s all about power.  It’s not.  If Jesus taught us anything in our Gospel tonight, its that power has nothing to do with discipleship.  Jesus is the master who gets down and washes the dirty feet of his disciples.  Priesthood has nothing to do with power.  Its sacrifice.  Priests are called to offer sacrifice.  

    As ordained priests, we are called to offer the one sacrifice of Christ on behalf of all of you.  That’s why we stand here and celebrate the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass.  But all of us, as baptized priests, are called to offer sacrifices every day.  We are called to pick up our crosses and offer up ourselves as Jesus did.  This doesn’t mean getting crucified but it does mean leaving work early to take your child to baseball practice; our daily sacrifice isn’t wearing a crown of thorns but it is when we take our lunch or starbucks money and give it to a person in need; sacrifice doesn’t mean getting flogged but it does mean rescheduling your netflix binge to talk with a friend in need.  

    Christ tonight reminds all of us as priests that we are being challenged as disciples to live lives of sacrifice and service.  Just like priesthood and Eucharist, we can’t have one without the other and still call ourselves disciples of Jesus.  We need to continue the work Jesus is beginning.  We need to offer ourselves and serve others.  And we need to do it together as the Body of Christ while focused and relying on the source and summit of our faith, the Eucharist.  May the Lord help us all as we continue growing in our own discipleship.