“Do this in remembrance of me”.

Maundy Thursday is the day when Christ’s love was manifested “to the end” (cf. Jn 13:1), the day of the Eucharist, the day of the renewal of priesthood. In this spirit I want to reflect with you on some aspects of the priestly spirituality.

My thoughts turn to our dear priests uniting in the Eucharist our own sufferings with those of Christ. I will take as my inspiration the words of Eucharistic consecration, which we say every day in order to make present on our altars the sacrifice made once and for all on Calvary. These words provide us with illuminating insights for priestly spirituality.At every Mass we remember and relive the first sentiment expressed by Jesus as he broke the bread: that of thanksgiving. In the Eucharist Jesus thanks the Father with us and for us. “Do this in memory of me”. The Eucharist does not simply commemorate a fact; it commemorates Him! Through his daily repetition of the words of the “memorial”, the priest lives a “spirituality of remembrance”.

At a time when rapid social and cultural changes are weakening the sense of tradition and leading the younger generation especially to risk losing touch with their roots, the priest remain, within the community entrusted to him, the man who faithfully remembers the entire mystery of Christ: prefigured in the Old Testament, fulfilled in the New, and understood ever more deeply, under the guidance of the Spirit, as Jesus explicitly promised: “He will teach you all things and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you” (Jn 14:26). Priests are the celebrants, but also the guardians of this most sacred mystery: Eucharist.