Jesus gives us this command at the Last Supper. It is a call to gather together, to listen to his Word and to celebrate the Eucharist which is the great act of thanksgiving of the Church. We remember his sacrifice on the cross and participate in his offering of himself to the Father out of love until the end of time. As we gather in this Cathedral tonight, we unite with all those who celebrate the Lord’s Supper from the rising of the sun to its setting.

Throughout the ages, the commandment ‘Do this in memory of me’ has summoned Catholics to celebrate the Mass, in the early Church in Corinth as St Paul tells us, in school halls, churches, Cathedrals and small huts, in prisons under persecution, in recusant houses after the Reformation across our Archdiocese and country, in times of joy and sorrow. We gather at the Mass to be renewed by his Word, nourished by the Body and Blood of Christ, and strengthened to be sent out as his Body in the world.

Cardinal Nguyen Van Thuan of Vietnam spent 13 years in prison and then lived under house arrest for many years. He wrote: “I will never be able to express my great joy! Every day, with three drops of wine and a drop of water in the palm of my hand, I would celebrate the Mass. This was my altar, and this was my cathedral! It was true medicine for soul and body. This was his ‘medicine of immortality so that he would always have life in Jesus in the words of St. Ignatius of Antioch. Jesus became his “true companion in the Most Holy Sacrament” (St. Teresa of Avila). Jesus in the Eucharist is our companion and our medicine of immortality.

The Lord’s Supper celebrated in the context of the Jewish Passover reveals God’s love towards his people. In Egypt the Lord God hears the cry of his people who are poor and bear the burden of slavery and hard labour. He promises to free them from their slavery and lead them to the Promised Land. The blood of the Passover Lamb will mark the doorposts of the people of Israel and the Lord will pass over so that they may have freedom. At the Last Supper, the Lord Jesus will offer himself on the Cross as the Lamb of God and become the new Paschal Lamb who takes away the sins of the world and frees us from the slavery of sin. We rejoice in the gift of being forgiven and reconciled to him. Now, we can breathe and live and move in him.

‘Do this in memory of me.’

Jesus washes his apostles’ feet as a sign of his humility and love. He needs to get down on the ground and lower himself to do so. Peter protests, ‘You shall never wash my feet’. Jesus replies, ‘If I do not wash you, you have no share with me’. Peter must accept that he needs his feet to be washed so that he is touched by the love of Jesus. He accepts and unites his heart with Jesus. Judas will also have his feet washed; Jesus will call him ‘My friend’ but the heart of Judas is full of self-love and he will betray Jesus with a kiss. He will not accept the love that Jesus offers. We too are invited to accept this generous love of Jesus. Our names are written on his Sacred Heart with letters of love.

In memory of Jesus, we are invited to wash one another’s feet in service and love. The Church is called to be caritas or love in the world. Pope Leo tells us that charity is the burning heart of the Church’s mission and that it is a requirement of true worship (Dilexi te 15,42). Our service is to wash the feet of the poor and those in need. This is lived out in families, in the care of children, in the care of older parents who are ill, in serving of the needs of all around us.’ Ubi caritas est, Deus ibi est (Where true charity is, God is there).

As we follow Jesus into the Garden of Gethsemane, he tells us to watch and pray with him so that we might not fall into temptation and self-love. He tells us to watch and pray that we may know more deeply his love for each one of us and our call to serve others. ‘Do this in memory of me’