🍷🍞 JESUS, THE HIGH PRIEST INSTITUTED THE PASSOVER EUCHARIST AS HIS HOLY BODY AND HIS HOLY BLOOD.

🍷🍞 JESUS, THE HIGH PRIEST INSTITUTED THE PASSOVER EUCHARIST AS HIS HOLY BODY AND HIS  HOLY BLOOD. 12 Jesus pours wine into the common chalice for the third time. He drinks and makes
the others drink. He then intones, and the others sing in chorus: «I love because the
Lord hears the voice of my prayer, because He turns His ear towards me. I will invoke
Him throughout my life. The throes of death had surrounded me» etc. (Psalm 114, I
think).
A moment's pause. He then resumes singing: «I had faith, that is why I spoke. But I was
deeply humiliated. And in my dismay I said: “Every man is untruthful.”» He looks
fixedly at Judas.
My Jesus' voice, which is tired this evening, regains vigour when He exclaims: «The
death of holy people is precious in the eyes of God» and «You have broken my chains.
I will sacrifice a victim of praise to You invoking the name of the Lord» etc. (Psalm
115).
Another short pause and He then resumes: «Praise the Lord, all nations, praise Him, all
peoples. Because His mercy has been asserted upon us and the truth of the Lord lasts
forever.»
Another short pause and then a long hymn: «Sing praises to the Lord because He is
good, because His mercy lasts forever…»
Judas of Kerioth sings so much out of tune, that twice Thomas brings him back into
tune with his powerful loud baritone voice and stares at him. The others also look at
him, because he is generally in tune, and I have had the impression that he is proud of
his voice as he is of everything else. But this evening! Certain sentences upset him so
much that he sings false notes, and certain glances of Jesus underlining those sentences
have the same effect. One of them is: «It is better to confide in the Lord than to confide
in man.» Another one is: «When I was pushed, I staggered and was about to fall. But
the Lord supported me.» Another is: «I shall not die, I shall live and narrate the deeds of
the Lord.» And finally, these two, that I am going to relate now, strangle the Traitor's
voice in his throat: «The stone rejected by the builders has become the cornerstone» and
«Blessed is He Who comes in the name of the Lord!»
When the psalm is over, while Jesus is cutting and handing the lamb round again,
Matthew asks Judas of Kerioth: «Are you not feeling well?»
«No. Leave me alone. Don't worry about me.»
Matthew shrugs his shoulders.
John, who has heard, says: «The Master is not well either. What is the matter with You,
my Jesus? Your voice is weak, like the voice of a sick person or of one who has wept
much» and he embraces Him, resting his head on Jesus' chest.
 598. The Passover Supper. 257
«He has only spoken a lot, as I have only walked a lot and got cold» says Judas
nervously.
And Jesus, without replying to him, says to John: «You know Me by now… and you
know what makes Me tired…»
13 The lamb is almost consumed. Jesus, Who has eaten very little, and has only had a
sip of wine at each chalice, but to compensate for that, has drunk a lot of water, as if He
were feverish, resumes speaking: «I want you to understand My gesture of a short while
ago. I told you that the first is like the last, and that I am going to give you a food that is
not corporeal. I have given you a nourishment of humility, for your spirits. You call
Me: Master and Lord. You are right, because so I am. So if I have washed your feet you
should wash each other's feet. I have given you an example, so that you may do what I
have done. I tell you solemnly: no servant is greater than his master, no apostle is
greater than He Who appointed him. Try to understand these things. Then, if you
understand them and put them into practice, you will be blessed. But not all of you will
be blessed. I know you. I know whom I chose. I am not speaking of everybody in the
same way. But I say what is true. On the other hand, what has been written concerning
Me, is to be fulfilled: “He who eats the bread with Me, rebels against Me.” I am telling
you everything before it happens, that you may have no doubts about Me. When
everything has been accomplished, you will believe even more that I am I. He who
receives Me, receives Him Who sent Me: the Holy Father Who is in Heaven; and he
who receives those whom I send, will receive Me. Because I am with the Father and
you are with Me… But now let us finish the rite.»
He pours more wine into the common chalice and before drinking of it and letting the
others drink, He stands up, and everybody stands up with Him, and He sings one of the
previous psalms again: «I had faith and that is why I spoke…» and then He sings a
psalm that never comes to an end. Beautiful… but eternal! I think I have found it, by its
beginning and its length, as psalm 118. They sing it as follows. They sing one part in
chorus. Then, in turns, one recites a couplet, and the others in chorus sing another part,
and so forth till the end. No wonder they are thirsty at the end!
14 Jesus sits down. He does not lie down. He sits as we do. And He says: «Now that the
old rite has been accomplished, I will celebrate the new one. I have promised you a
miracle of love. It is time to work it. That is why I have longed for this Passover. From
now on this is the Victim that will be consumed in a perpetual rite of love. My beloved
friends, I have loved you throughout the whole life of the Earth. I have loved you for
the whole eternity, My children. And I want to love you till the end. There is nothing
greater than this. Bear that in mind. I am going away. But we shall remain forever
united through the miracle that I will now work.»
Jesus takes a loaf still entire and places it on the chalice that has been filled. He blesses
and offers both, He then breaks the bread and takes thirteen morsels of it, and gives one
to each apostle saying:«Take this and eat it. This is My Body. Do this in remembrance
of Me, Who am going away.» He gives the chalice and says: «Take this and drink it.
This is My Blood. This is the chalice of the new alliance in My Blood and through My
Blood, that will be shed for you, to remit your sins and give you the Life. Do this in
remembrance of Me.»
Jesus is very sad. There is no smile, no trace of light, no colour on His face. It is already
an agonizing face. The apostles look at Him utterly anguished.
15 Jesus stands up saying: «Do not move. I shall be back at once.»
He takes the thirteenth morsel of bread and the chalice, and He goes out of the Supperroom.
«He is going to His Mother» whispers John.
And Judas Thaddeus says with a sigh: «Poor woman!»
Peter asks in a very low voice: «Do you think She knows?»
«She knows everything. She has always been aware of everything.»
They all speak in very low voices, as if they were in front of a corpse.
«But do you think that really…» asks Thomas, who does not want to believe yet.
«And do you doubt it? It is His hour» replies James of Zebedee.
«May God grant us strength to be faithful» says the Zealot.
«Oh! I…» says Peter who is about to speak. But John, who is on the look-out, says:
«Silence! He is here.»
Jesus comes back in. He has the empty chalice in His hands. Only at its bottom there is
a trace of wine, and in the light of the chandelier it looks just like blood.
Judas Iscariot, in front of whom is the chalice, looks at it as if he were enchanted, then
he averts his eyes. Jesus watches him and shudders, and John, leaning as he is on His
chest, feels it. «Why not say so! You are shivering…» he exclaims.
«No. I am not shivering because I am feverish… 16 I have told you everything, and I
have given you everything. I could not have given you anything else. I have given you
Myself.»
He makes His usual kind gesture with His hands, which, previously joined, now
separate and stretch out, while He bows His head as if He wished to say: «Excuse Me if
I cannot give you more. It is so.»
«I have told you everything and I have given you everything. And I repeat. The new rite
 598. The Passover Supper. 258
has been accomplished. Do this in remembrance of Me. I have washed your feet to
teach you to be humble and pure like your Master. Because I solemnly tell you that
disciples must be like their Master. Remember that, bear it in mind. Also when you are
in high offices, remember that. There is no disciple greater than his Master. As I
washed you, do the same to one another. That is, love one another like brothers, helping
and respecting one another, setting an example to one another. And be pure, to be
worthy of eating the living Bread that descended from Heaven, and have the strength, in
yourselves and through It, to be My disciples in the hostile world that will hate you
because of My Name. But one of you is not pure. One of you will betray Me. My Spirit
is deeply perturbed by that… The hand of him who will betray Me is here with Me on
this table, and neither My love, nor My Body and Blood, nor My word make him mend
his ways and repent. I would forgive him going to My death also on his behalf.»
The disciples cast terrified glances at one another. They scrutinise one another suspiciously.
Peter stares at the Iscariot in a revival of all his doubts. Judas Thaddeus in his
turn jumps to his feet to look at the Iscariot above Matthew's body.
But the Iscariot is so sure of himself! In his turn he looks at Matthew, as if he suspected
him. He then looks fixedly at Jesus and smiling he asks: «Is it I perhaps?» He seems to
be the one who is most certain of his honesty and to say so, not to let the conversation
drop.
Jesus repeats His gesture saying: «You are saying so, Judas of Simon, not I. You are
saying so. I have not mentioned your name. Why are you accusing yourself? Ask your
internal warner, your conscience of a man, the conscience that God the Father gave you
that you might behave as a man, and listen whether it accuses you. You will be the first
to know. But if it reassures you, why do you utter a word and speak of a deed that is
anathema even to mention or to think of as a joke?»
Jesus is speaking calmly. He seems to be supporting a proposed thesis as a learned man
may do with his pupils. The confusion is great, but Jesus' calm appeases it.
17 But Peter, who is the most suspicious of Judas – perhaps Thaddeus also is so, but he
does not look so, disarmed as he is by the Iscariot's easy manners – plucks John's
sleeve, and when John, who has pressed against Jesus upon hearing Him speak of
betrayal, turns round, he whispers to him: «Ask Him who it is.»
John takes his previous position again, he only raises his head slightly, as if he wanted
to kiss Jesus, and in the meantime he whispers in His ear: «Master, who is it?»
And Jesus in a very low voice, kissing him, in His turn, on his head, says: «It is he to
whom I shall give a piece of bread dipped in the dish.»
And taking another entire loaf, not the remains of the one used for the Eucharist, He
detaches a large morsel, He dips it into the lamb's sauce left in the tray, and says:
«Take it, Judas. You like this.»
«Thank You, Master. I do like it» and unaware of what that morsel is, he eats it, while
John, horrified, closes even his eyes not to see the horrid smile of the Iscariot, as he
bites the accusing bread with his strong teeth.
«Well. Now that I have made you happy, go» says Jesus to Judas. «Everything has been
accomplished, here (He lays much stress on the word). What is still left to be done
elsewhere, do it quickly, Judas of Simon.»
«I will obey You at once, Master. Then I will join You at Gethsemane. You are going
there, are You not? As usual?»
«Yes… I am going there… as usual.»
«What has he got to do?» asks Peter. «Is he going by himself?»
«I am not a baby» says Judas scoffingly, as he puts on his mantle.
«Let him go. He and I know what must be done» says Jesus.
«Yes, Master.» Peter is silent. Perhaps he thinks he has committed a sin suspecting his
companion. Resting his forehead on the palm of his hand, he becomes pensive.
Jesus presses John to His heart and whispers again through his hair: «Say nothing to
Peter for the time being. It would be a useless scandal.»
«Goodbye, Master. Goodbye, friends» says Judas greeting them.
«Goodbye» replies Jesus.
And Peter says: «Goodbye, boy.»
John, his head almost on Jesus' lap, whispers: «Satan!» Jesus alone hears him and sighs.
Everything comes to an end here, but Jesus says: «I am interrupting the vision out of
pity for you. I will give you the end of the Supper later.»