St. Luke's Passover Meal Meaning

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GOD. I ask Mary to obtain for me grace to live the gift of divine knowledge.
THE PROMISED NEW COVENANT
In the 5th Luminous Mystery, we meditate on the events that occurred during the Last Supper. This was the last meal that the LORD Jesus ate with His chosen twelve. St. Luke identifies this last supper of the LORD Jesus with the apostles as a Passover meal that commemorates the deliverance of the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. But the LORD Jesus reinterprets the significance of the Passover in light of its fulfilment in the kingdom of GOD. The fact that the apostles are alone with the LORD Jesus suggests that this event is of particular significance for the church, of which the apostles are the foundation. It is at this meal that the LORD Jesus institutes the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist or Holy Communion, and the Sacrament of Holy Orders or the Sacerdotal Priesthood for the Church.
St. Luke reports that the LORD Jesus earnestly desired to eat this Passover meal with His disciples. This earnest desire may be explained by the state of His mind at that time. We see that He is so focused on the cross, while His disciples are so deeply engrossed with crowns and crownings. It is not coincidental that He is going to suffer and die on a cross at Passover time. It …show more content…

The Holy Eucharist therefore fulfils the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the church in the glory of GOD’s kingdom. I notice that in this meal the LORD Jesus identifies the bread as His body and the cup as His blood. Then He commands His disciples to eat His flesh and drink His blood. There is absolutely no symbolism in what He is doing. The LORD Jesus clearly wants all who partake of this meal to know that His body and His blood are truly present in this bread and this fruit of the

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