Holy Thursday, Mass at Evening Yr.C
Ref. Jn. 13:1-15 Made clean for the journey Thurs 4-17-25 7pm Dcn. Bill Kenney
Today we celebrate the first of the Triduum liturgies: the Institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood at The Mass of the Lord’s Supper. The Eucharist is the reality of God’s true, sacramental presence in our lives- the source and summit of our faith. The words of consecration we hear at every Mass since then are echoed in persona Christi from the synoptic Gospels and in our second reading from St. Paul to the Corinthians.
Our Gospel message today from St. John, however, is quite different. There are no words of consecration, no Passover meal, but rather he writes an account of Jesus washing his apostles’ feet.
What does John offer to us in this story? Today is Holy, or sometimes called, Maundy Thursday. "Maundy" comes from the Latin word "mandatum," which means "command" or "mandate". It refers to Jesus' commandments to his apostles when he said, “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do”; and to, “Love one another as I have loved you.” The act of washing another’s feet was one that could not be required of even the lowest Jewish slave.
Peter couldn’t stand this humiliation upon Jesus. Jesus was, after all, the Master, the Teacher; now become a servant? To wash another person’s feet is an act of living the virtuous traits of service, humility, and love. It is a call to action for all of us to follow in the footsteps of Jesus. Such as, knitting prayer shawls for the infirmed. Stocking shelves at a food pantry. Bringing the Eucharist to homebound parishioners. These, and many others are done in the spirit of service, humility, and love. Jesus’ extreme foot washing is matched only by his extreme sacrifice on the cross, redeeming us from our sins for our salvation. John’s account reminds us of the importance of, service, humility, and love for others.
Pope Francis tells us, “Life means getting our feet dirty from the dust-filled roads of life and history. All of us need to be cleansed, to be washed.” Jesus told Peter that he would understand later why he does this. The apostle’s feet and, in a greater sense, their minds and hearts were cleansed and consecrated, set apart and made holy in preparation to be sent by the Holy Spirit at Pentecost. They and we are sent on a new life journey to announce the Gospel of the Lord.
Today we are made clean for the journey from the altar of the upper room to the Garden of Gethsemane. We place theEucharist in the Altar of Repose a place of temporary and sombermourning and prayer; a vigil of Christ’s agony in anticipation of what was about to happen to him on Good Friday. As we are readied to make the journey down the dark path and sinful reality of Golgotha, we are not without the light of hope, the Morning Star who goes before us.