Holy Thursday 2025

To say that death takes some by surprise is not really a remarkable statement to make. Why? I realise and I am sure some of you may have an inkling of what I am talking about. This comment about death is actually played out in our lives daily because as we age, we catch a glimpse of death every now and then. To state categorically that we will all die is a statement that sounds ordinary and factual. In reality we are terrified by death.

How is death a part of the Triduum? Firstly, we are entering into the most sacred days of Lent—the Easter Triduum. And death must be spoken off in relation to the Resurrection. But here I want to speak about a kind death and its impact on us and our future.

The Chrism Mass is over. We have brought back the three sacred oils and the bottles stands proudly in our ambry. Shortly after the homily, there are supposed to be two priests who will be washing the feet of twelve parishioners. But we only have one.

If we follow Tradition, we should have had the Chrism Mass this morning and tonight, the Mass of the Last Supper. Maundy Thursday, derived from the Mandatum of Christ—is His mandate or instruction for the Church whereby He institutes the Eucharist and also the Priesthood, the two Sacraments which are necessary for the Church to carry out His mission.

In order to appreciate His mandate and the repercussion that dying and death has on the viability of His instruction, we turn to John’s Gospel, Chapter 6. The long conversation is centred on food but Jesus tried to draw the crowd’s attention to a craving for the supernatural food that allows one to live for ever. To satisfy one’s supernatural hunger, Christ told the crowd that eternal life is premised upon the eating of His Flesh and the drinking His Blood. The crowd reacted to the cannibalism implicit in Christ’s commands and even when everyone deserted Him, He did not chase after them. He did not mitigate nor soften His insistence, proving that He was firm in this requirement.

This necessary condition for eternal life poses a challenge to ensure the availability of His Body and Blood. This therefore raises the issue of how Jesus must provide for His Church, His Body and Blood necessary for eternal life.

Two issues which I would like to raise here because there are so many of you this evening.

Firstly, you may be aware that in the past, the practice was that Catholics were encouraged to marry Catholics. Why? So that we do not have the conundrum that is quite prevalent today. What faith should the children be brought up in? In the name of diversity and respect, it is not uncommon for the Catholic spouse to defer the baptism of the child or children.

However, if the Catholic spouse receives Holy Communion based on a firm belief that it is truly the food of eternal life but denies his or her child the possibility of eating the Bread of eternal life, the very act of Holy Communion would be either be (a) illogical or (b) selfish.

Why would it be illogical? It is the bread of eternal life. Parents instinctively give their children the best education, medical attention, nutrition etc. Thus, to deny an offspring the possibility of receiving Holy Communion could be that one does not really know “Whom” one is receiving. But if that were not the case then the other conclusion to draw would be selfishness.

Why would it be selfish? A parent who believes that Holy Communion is truly the Body of Christ and not feed it to the child would be plainly selfish based on the same instinct of providing the best for one’s child or children. A parent would not give scorpion to a child who ask for bread.

The Eucharist is our food of salvation. We all know this. We value it but here is the challenge. There is another side of the equation which we have taken for granted. How can we be certain that there is an assured and adequate supply of the Bread of Life.

Unless we change the rule, meaning, that it is not necessary for eternal life, then the situation would be different. However, the requirement remains. We have not changed. There is a supply chain disruption if we were to use a post-pandemic description. The question point-blank is this: Where are all the vocations needed for this mission? The reason why the Assistant PP is not here is because he is helping out in another parish whose PP is sick. Where are the young men who dare to stand up and be counted? All we need is a priest to drop dead and the whole diocese is thrown into a disarray. The journey to the priesthood is not easy and if one seminarian falls along the way, the diocese isset back by the shortage of one future priest. The next ordination will be threeyears from now.

In many countries, parishes are being closed down or amalgamated. We may not face their problem yet but we will get there soon if no one answers the call to serve as a priest. The Mandarin community regularly laments the lack of a proper Mandarin-speaking priest. Where are your sons?

As we enter the holiest days of the liturgical year, let our silence be deepened so that we can sense the sadness of Holy Mother Church, deepen our love for the Eucharist and pray for more vocation to the Priesthood. We need the Eucharist because the Eucharist makes the Church and we need the Church because the Church makes the Eucharist. Without the Priesthood, there is no Eucharist. As we accompany Jesus, it is also a moment for our young men to ponder if they would like to rise to the challenge because Christ’s Church also needs your response.