Holy Thursday Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper and Chrism Mass

Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper
 
Chrism Mass
 
Catechism Links [1]
 
CCC 1337-1344: the institution of the Eucharist
CCC 1359-1361: Eucharist as thanksgiving
CCC 610, 1362-1372, 1382, 1436: Eucharist as sacrifice
CCC 1373-1381: the real presence of Christ in the Eucharist
CCC 1384-1401, 2837: Holy Communion
CCC 1402-1405: the Eucharist as the pledge of glory
CCC 611, 1366: institution of the priesthood at the Last Supper

“Washing of the Feet”
by Giovane Palma, 1591-92

 
Readings for Holy Thursday [2]
(Mass of the Lord’s Supper)
 
Readings from the Jerusalem Bible [3]
 
Readings and Commentary: [4]
 
Reading 1: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
 
The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
"This month shall stand at the head of your calendar;
you shall reckon it the first month of the year.
Tell the whole community of Israel:
On the tenth of this month every one of your families
must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household.
If a family is too small for a whole lamb,
it shall join the nearest household in procuring one
and shall share in the lamb
in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it.
The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish.
You may take it from either the sheep or the goats.
You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month,
and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present,
it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight.
They shall take some of its blood
and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel
of every house in which they partake of the lamb.
That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh
with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
 
"This is how you are to eat it:
with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand,
you shall eat like those who are in flight.
It is the Passover of the LORD.
For on this same night I will go through Egypt,
striking down every firstborn of the land, both man and beast,
and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt—I, the LORD!
But the blood will mark the houses where you are.
Seeing the blood, I will pass over you;
thus, when I strike the land of Egypt,
no destructive blow will come upon you.
 
"This day shall be a memorial feast for you,
which all your generations shall celebrate
with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution."
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Commentary on Ex 12:1-8, 11-14
 
This passage from Exodus established the Feast of Passover for Jewish people. It is the feast Jesus was celebrating in the upper room, at the "Last Supper."  We are told of the tenth and final plague to strike Egypt, as God struck down the firstborn and caused the pharaoh to release the people from bondage. The image of the “lamb” is reminiscent of the “Lamb of God,” who is also without blemish, whose blood consecrates those who believe in him. The passage concludes with the ritual invocation establishing the sacrifice and the pilgrimage (“to the LORD”: a reference to the temple in Jerusalem where, in the Ark of the Covenant, the Lord’s presence was established).
 
CCC: Ex 12:3-14 608
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Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18
 
R. (cf. 1 Cor 10:16) Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
 
How shall I make a return to the LORD
for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
R. Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
 
Precious in the eyes of the LORD
is the death of his faithful ones.
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
you have loosed my bonds.
R. Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
 
To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
 in the presence of all his people.
R. Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
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Commentary on Ps 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18
 
This selection from Psalm 116 recalls the Passover ritual referring to the “cup of salvation.”  The psalm rejoices in God’s saving works in releasing the people from their bondage. It gives us the image of the “cup of blessing” used in the Passover celebration. It is this cup that the Lord first blessed and used as our communion cup.
 
CCC: Ps 116:12 224; Ps 116:13 1330; Ps 116:17 1330
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Reading II: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
 
Brothers and sisters:
I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
took bread, and, after he had given thanks,
broke it and said, "This is my body that is for you.
Do this in remembrance of me."
In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying,
"This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
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Commentary on 1 Cor 11:23-26
 
St. Paul gives us the earliest written account of the institution of the Lord’s Supper. This account is used by many Protestant denominations to define their understanding of this event as symbolic rather than efficacious, that is, they believe the Lord’s actions did not transubstantiate the bread and wine, but that the action was simply a “remembrance.” The Church looks at the whole body of Scripture, especially St. John’s Gospel, and understands the sacrament as the gift of Christ’s Body and Blood.
 
CCC: 1 Cor 11:23-26 1339; 1 Cor 11:23 610, 1366; 1 Cor 11:24-25 1356; 1 Cor 11:24 1328, 1329; 1 Cor 11:25 611, 613;  1 Cor 11:26 671, 1076, 1130, 1344, 1393, 2772, 2776
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Gospel: John 13:1-15
 
Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come
to pass from this world to the Father.
He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.
The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.
So, during supper,
fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power
and that he had come from God and was returning to God,
he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.
He took a towel and tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples' feet
and dry them with the towel around his waist.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
"Master, are you going to wash my feet?"
Jesus answered and said to him,
"What I am doing, you do not understand now,
but you will understand later."
Peter said to him, "You will never wash my feet."
Jesus answered him,
"Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me."
Simon Peter said to him,
"Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well."
Jesus said to him,
"Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed,
for he is clean all over;
so you are clean, but not all."
For he knew who would betray him;
for this reason, he said, "Not all of you are clean."
 
So when he had washed their feet
and put his garments back on and reclined at table again,
he said to them, "Do you realize what I have done for you?
You call me 'teacher' and 'master,' and rightly so, for indeed I am.
If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet,
you ought to wash one another's feet.
I have given you a model to follow,
so that as I have done for you, you should also do."
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Commentary on Jn 13:1-15
 
We find in St. John’s Gospel the Lord’s great act of humility as he washes the feet of his disciples, something that would have been done by a slave. The very act itself has an air of finality about it as St. John says: “Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father." In another sense it also carries with it the image of baptism as well as the humiliating death the Lord was about to suffer.
 
While other parts of Sacred Scripture enjoin the faithful to be humble in service to one another, this action by Jesus most graphically illustrates the ideal. St. Peter, no doubt, expresses the discomfort and sense of embarrassment felt by his brother disciples as he objects to the Lord so debasing himself before them – his students. The Lord explains his lesson verbally in response to St. Peter’s objections and in doing so sets the tone for all future discipleship: “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."
 
CCC: Jn 13:1-17 1337; Jn 13:1 557, 609, 616, 622, 730, 1085, 1380, 1524, 1823, 2843; Jn 13:3 423; Jn 13:12-16 1694; Jn 13:12-15 1269; Jn 13:13 447; Jn 13:15 520
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Reflection:
 
“Do you realize what I have done for you?” These words hang in the air as the disciples look on in embarrassed silence.  Washing the feet of guests was, in the time of Jesus, the duty of a house slave.  It was not, under any circumstance the disciples would have encountered, the job of their rabbi, their teacher, the one they believed was the Messiah!  It is a sign of their total commitment to Jesus that only Peter objected.
 
“Do you realize what I have done for you?”  When Jesus wrapped that towel around himself and got down on his knees, he stooped to serve not just those seated at the table, he stooped to serve everyone ever born of woman.  His descent to his knees, bowl and towel in hand, was a descent from the highest heaven to the lowliest station on earth.  Everyone since has been offered this humble service.
 
“Do you realize what I have done for you?” It was Mary who had but recently washed his feet with her tears and perfumed them with oil, drying them with her hair.  She did this service to Jesus as if preparing him for burial.  In Jesus’ turn, he washes our feet that they might be clean entering the heavenly kingdom so that we might enjoy eternal life with him.
 
“Do you realize what I have done for you?”  Even the one with thirty pieces of silver in his belt had his feet washed clean by the one who was pure as the driven snow.  In this washing, Jesus offers to wash us all clean of sin, taking upon himself all that burdens us, all that makes us unclean.  On this feast of the Lord’s Supper, upon which we celebrate the gift of the Lord’s Body and Blood, we realize that he continues to wash us, freeing us from the fetters of sin and death and opening the gates of heaven for us.
 
We also realize that “If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."
 
Pax
 

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[1] Catechism links are taken from the Homiletic Directory, published by the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments, 29 June 2014.
[2] The picture used is “Washing of the Feet” by Giovane Palma, 1591-92.
[3] S.S. Commemoratio
[4] The readings are taken from the New American Bible, with the exception of the psalm and its response which were developed by the International Committee for English in Liturgy (ICEL). This republication is not authorized by USCCB and is for private use only.