The Conception of the Living Church at the Lord's Supper

On the first day of the week, the incarnated Christ, Jesus, entered Jerusalem from the city’s east side, coming through the Mount Olives, riding on a donkey. His entry was triumphant as the daughters of Zion enthusiastically welcomed him, shouting, "Hosana to the Son of David!" and waving palm branches, spreading cloaks on his path. Christ entered Jerusalem as the Messianic Davidic King to consumate his salvific ministry on earth to enter the passion and to die and to resurrect, besore returning to the Father, so that the Holy Spirit would be sent to let the Church be born. However, the crowd thought that he came to Jerusalem to liberate Israel from the heavy Roman yokes, a king to defeat Caesar. 

On Thursday of the week, the living Church was conceived in the hearts of the disciples by Christ’s love for them during the Lord’s Supper on the night before his death. As he washed the disciples’ feet, Christ planted the seed of his Church in each disciple. By commanding them to love one another as he had loved, Christ intended his living Church to build his Kingdom on earth with love he gave them, It is love of humble service, as demonstrated by Christ washing the disciples’ feet. 

At the supper, Christ established the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist with bread and wine, offering his body, blood, soul, and divinity. He reminded that his blood is the New Covenant. Under the New Covenant, unlike the Old Covenant, it was the incarnated Christ’s self-sacrifice once for all, instead of sacrificing animals year after year to remember Passover and to atone our sins with God on Yom Kippur.  

Following the supper, Christ spoke of his departure from this world, referring to his ascension in heaven to return to the Father. He also promised the Holy Spirit to be sent as another Parakletos, while he is the Parakletos. This way, he assured that he would not leave the disciples as orphans, because he is always with them, whether he is visible with his body or not. This way, he reminded them that they can remain in him and his love with a metaphor of a vine and its branches.  This, in fact, is a description of the Church to be born with the Holy Spirit on Pentecost, because, as Christ the vine and the disciples the branches are one, the Church is one living body with many parts of Christ, as he is the head. So in his high priestly prayer, Christ prayed for oneness. 

Then, Christ entered the Passion and walked his path to the Cross.

Though his feet was washed and he shared the bread with Christ at the supper, Jusas, one of the twelve disciples, betrayed Christ, and helped those who wanted to kill Christ arrest him. These people whom Judas helped were religious leaders, members of the Sanhedrin, finding Christ "offensive" to their "business", because he did works of healing on Sabbath days, raised Lazarus from the dead, and cleansed the Temple, confronting how they had corrupted the house of God. 

Upon arresting Christ, first, they put a false charge of blasphemy on him to justify his death sentence according to the Mosaic Law, though they grossly violated this Law by setting up false whitnesses against him. Then, to let the Roman authority kill Christ, they brought him to the Roman Governor, Pilate, with a false accusation that he claimed himself as king of the Jews, a threat to Caesar and peace of the Roman Empire. But Pilate did not find Christ guilty according to the Roman Law.  Therefore, Pilate was thinking to relase Christ. But these members of the Sanhedrin pursuated the crowd to demand Pilate to erucify Christ. So they did fanatically. These were the same crowd who welcomed Christ on the first day of the week. In the meantime, except John, the rest of the disciples, whom Christ washed their feet and had the supper with, scattered away out of fear of being arrested for their association with Christ.  Even Peter, who once boasted of his loyalty to Christ to death at the supper, denied his association with him three times, when questioned.

Abandoned by his disciples, rejected by the daughters of Zion, Christ was beaten, mocked, forced to carry his heavy Cross, and nailed to it.

This was a prenatal Church's great crisis. 

While on the Cross, he gave his mother, the Blessed Virgin Mary, to the fetus form of the Church, the disciples, as the Mother of the Church.  Upon his expiration, blood and water flew out of his body on the Cross: the blood of the New Covenant and the living water, the Holy Spirit, going through kenosis for the Church to be born. 

On the third day from his death on the Cross, Christ rose, and the powerful Holy Spirit was involved. After 40 days, the resurrected Christ ascended into heaven  from east of Jerusalem. And 10 days later, on Pentecost, the mighty Holy Spirit descended upon the disciples in unity, and thus, the living Church was born! 

In fact, the Bride of Christ was born, as she is the Church, whom Christ the Lamb is to marry, upon his return at eschaton, to live in union in New Jerusalem. The Eucharist will be served until that time in the Church until her nuptial union with Christ in heaven. 

After his resurrection and before his ascension, Christ commanded Peter, the first Pope, to make sure his sheep are taken care by the love he demonstrated and fed with the Eucharist, his body, blood, soul, and divinity, to make sure they are one and make the new exodus to heaven from this world. 

The living Church, Holy catholic apostolic Church, was conceived during the Supper of the Lord on the night before the incarnated Christ's death, out of his love to be propagated and to take care of his sheep, us the faithful, by the Eucharist, as established at the Supper, and other Sacraments. Even before her  birth, the Church experienced betrayal, denial, rejection, and traumatic violence  - aspects of humanity's darkness, manifestations of sins. Nevertheless, the Church was born on Pentecost by the power of the Holy Spirit to overcome the darkness of the humanity with love of Christ so that eternal peace of the Christ's Kingdom will be established on earth.

What happened during Paschal Triduum will impact us all the way to heaven.