WARWICK — In the Gospel of John, we are told that Jesus commanded Peter to “feed my sheep” as evidence of Peter’s love for Christ.
At St. Benedict Church, Father Roland Simoneau takes Jesus’ word both literally and figuratively. In the five years that he has served as pastor of this parish in the Conimicut section of Warwick, Father Simoneau has fed his flock spiritually through liturgy and ministry.
And in a culinary sense by preparing meals.
Every year during Holy Week, Father Simoneau sponsors a Seder meal. The apt timing for this ancient Jewish observance is to remind believers that Jesus is the link between the Hebrew Scriptures and the New Testament.
When people ask the priest why Catholics join in a Jewish tradition, he responds, “Our faith begins with God’s call to Abraham in the Old Testament,”
Father Simoneau notes that Jesus did not come to establish a new religion; instead, Jesus is the fulfillment of the Hebrew Scriptures.
Father Simoneau parallels the Exodus experience with Christ’s crucifixion and resurrection when our Savior stretched out his arms on the cross to bring us salvation.
Prior to the dinner, the pastor walks the parishioners through a sampling of the symbolic foods of Zeroah (lamb shank), Charoset (mixture of fruit, nuts, and wine) Beytza (roasted egg) Maror (bitter herbs), and Karpas (celery or parsley... that memorialize the Exodus of the Israelites from Egypt and symbolizes their hopes that the Messiah would come.
At each Passover meal an extra cup of wine is poured for the Messiah. Father Simoneau emphasizes that at the Last Supper (which was a Passover meal) Jesus, the long-awaited Messiah, drank from that cup so that Scripture could be fulfilled.
As Father opens the Seder service he recalls that, “Tonight we celebrate Passover, the feast of freedom and redemption and we read from the Haggadah (Hebrew word for story). It is a special story that relates to our history and the Holy Commitment at Mount Sinai. The Haggadah ritual is called ‘Seder’ meaning order in Hebrew.”
The Seder meal concludes with Father Simoneau invoking the words from the Book of Numbers: “The Lord bless you and keep you. The Lord make His face to shine upon you and have mercy on you. May the Lord smile upon you and give you peace.”
(Numbers: 6:22-27)
St. Benedict Church will host a Seder meal on April 7 at 6 p.m. For information call 737-9492.
