Archbishop Krajewski, then a Papal ceremonial, did not attend the Holy Thursday dinners because he was from Łódź, but he was often a guest at the Papal table. Throughout all the years of the pontificate he probably never ate meals alone – he told young priests in Krakow. Thousands, thousands of people were at the Papal table. He invited them eagerly, listening carefully to what his guests said. Sometimes he asked some questions, but very discreetly. He often used a playful tone, for example, seeing me at the table and asking, “How did this Boat come here?” According to Archbishop Krajewski, this message of the “common table” was much deeper. From this experience, the question arose in me: are we able to understand the Eucharist, its depth? Will we do it well if we can’t sit down with others, share a meal with them – that is, celebrate it? Because “to celebrate”, it is not just “to celebrate something solemnly”. It also means “to pay special attention to something, to do something with anointing”, but also “often practice and repeat something”. How beautifully these words fit into the memory of Holy Thursday at the Vatican. And, Papal dinners with priests from Krakow. These meals provide a name to what most likely John Paul II wanted to tell fellow priests and all of us. If we do not eat together in the rectory – said Krajewski, if the meal divides us, the priests, instead of joining; so are we actually standing together at this table, which is the altar? After all, the Eucharist was established during a meal, during the supper!
With the permission of Archbishop Mieczysław Mokrzycki – “A place for everybody”
“Znak” Publishing House, Krakow 2013
