Our Gospel this week is packed with hidden gems and secret keys that unlock layers of hidden meaning in Mark's Last Supper account. The Essenes, producers of the famed Dead Sea Scrolls, serve as one of these keys. We'll make the case that Jesus celebrated the Passover with the Essene community in Jerusalem, a thesis that instigates a cascade of implications and we'll end our time together delving into the idea of the Eucharist as a covenant, that is, an exchange of persons that allows God to share himself with us in ever more intimate ways.