This hand-carved wood Last Supper of mine was made with olive wood from the Holy Land. I admire in it both the artistic beauty and the theological significance of the scene. The Apostles and their positions and gestures were not just put there at random.

Just as the famous Last Supper painting by Leonardo Da Vinci portrays the moment when the Lord reveals to the Apostles that one of them would betray him, this Last Supper also presents that moment, although the location of the Apostles is different. The artist’s explanation of his work did not come with this artistic piece. I have reflected on the characters’ gestures to identify some of them, especially Judas.

As an observer with the eyes of a regular human being, I first noticed that each character is a solid piece, except the center piece that represents the Lord and someone else reclined at his left side. I then noticed that there are expressions of astonishment in all the characters besides the Lord, except in one of them, the character standing on the right back corner with his left hand over his right hand and hiding something. I next noticed that there are groups of two characters as if they were talking to each other, except the character who is not surprised and is by himself in the right back corner. Coincidently this same character is the tallest of all. I saw that not only the groups of two characters talk to each other, but that they also touch one another with their hands or clothes.

As an observer with eyes of a person of faith and with some knowledge of the Bible and theology, I noticed some revealing elements. Firstly, since sin drives us away from God, Judas should be the character who is furthest from the Lord. Coincidently the unsurprised, isolated, and tallest character is the one who is furthest from the Lord. Secondly, since the gravest sin is pride, namely the excessive desire for one’s superiority over others and God, the prideful person is the one whose head is in the clouds of his own selfishness, Judas should then be the tallest character. Thirdly and lastly, since sin isolates us from the community, Judas should be the character who is isolated from the other characters. So, I have identified Judas.

I also identified three more Apostles. First one, Saint John. This is easy because he was the Apostle who, in his own words, “leaned back at Jesus’s chest and said to him, “Master, who is it?”” (John 13, 25). Second one, Saint Peter. Saint John tells us that, “Simon Peter nodded to him (the disciple who was reclining at Jesus’ side) to find out who he (the Lord) meant” (John 13, 24). I argue that Saint Peter is next to Saint John, who is also the second tallest character. Because of his place as the leader of the Apostles, it makes sense that Saint Peter should be the tallest of them, although, because of Judas’s pride, Judas is portraited here as the tallest one. Third one, Saint James, the brother of Saint John. Saint James was one of the three Apostles of the Lord’s “inner circle”, Saint Peter and Saint John being the other two. I argue that Saint James is the character next to Saint Peter.

Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ or Corpus Christi. Today’s gospel is part of the Bread of Life sermon that the Lord delivered at Capernaum, one year before his Passion and Death. On that sermon the Lord promised his disciples that he would give them his body to eat and his blood to drink. That promise was fulfilled at the Last Supper.

From the hand-carved wood Last Supper that I explained above we can partially learn the importance of the Mass. We are all sinners, and the Mass brings us closer to God and helps us work harder on our continued conversion. The Mass also leads us to be humble in the presence of God since a prideful soul cannot offer the right adoration to God. The Mass finally heals our isolation since our reception of the Lord’s Body connects us with God and with one another in a way that nothing else in this world can do.

Today all parishes in the United States begin a yearlong National Eucharistic Renewal, with the goal to renew the Church by enkindling a living relationship with the Lord Jesus Christ in the Holy Eucharist.  

Let us humbly ask the Lord to give his grace to grow in our understanding and devotion to him in the Eucharist.