Holy Thursday On Thursday of Holy Week (Maundy Thursday) the Church celebrates the three pillars of the Catholic Church instituted by Jesus Christ at the Last Supper: the priesthood, the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and the Holy Eucharist. This is the traditional day for priests to gather with their bishop at the Chrism Mass, to receive oils blessed by the bishop and to publicly renew their priestly promises. In the evening the Church celebrates the Mass of the Lord's Supper. After this Mass the altar is stripped bare and the Blessed Sacrament is removed from the Tabernacle and processed to a separate altar of repose. Here the Blessed Sacrament is adored until late in the night to commemorate the time Jesus spent in Garden of Gethsemane in agonizing prayer, the start of his Passion. The Blessed Sacrament is then taken away and hidden until the Easter Vigil in memory of Our Lord's death and burial. †Saint Quote
"The Eucharist is the Sacrament of Love; It signifies Love, It produces love. The Eucharist is the consummation of the whole spiritual life."
–St. Thomas Aquinas †Today's Meditation
"No one can fail to understand that the Divine Eucharist bestows upon the Christian people an incomparable dignity. Not only while the Sacrifice is offered and the Sacrament is received, but as long as the Eucharist is kept in our churches and oratories, Christ is truly Emmanuel, that is, 'God with us'. Day and night He is in our midst, He dwells with us, full of grace and truth. He restores morality, nourishes virtues, consoles the afflicted, strengthens the weak. He proposes His own example to those who come to Him that all may learn to be, like Himself, meek and humble of heart and to seek not their own interests but those of God. Anyone who approaches this august Sacrament with special devotion and endeavors to return generous love for Christ's own infinite love, will experience and fully understand—not without spiritual joy and fruit—how precious is the life hidden with Christ in God and how great is the value of converse with Christ, for there is nothing more consoling on earth, nothing more efficacious for advancing along the road of holiness."
—Bl. Pope Paul VI, p.52 An Excerpt From
Manual for Eucharistic Adoration †Daily Verse
"Jesus said to them, 'Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever."
–John 6:53-58 |  click to read more | | St. Juliana of Mont Cornillon (also of Liege) St. Juliana of Mont Cornillon, also known as Juliana of Liege (1193-1258) was born near Liege, Belgium. She was orphaned at the age of five and placed in the convent of Mt. Cornillon near Liege. She made rapid progress in virtue and grew in love for the Passion of Christ, the Blessed Virgin Mary, and the Blessed Sacrament. At the age of thirteen she became a nun and devoted herself to caring for the sick in the convent hospital. She eventually became the superioress of her community. Taught in repeated visions that Our Lord wanted a liturgical feast in honor of the Holy Eucharist to be established, she worked diligently to have the feast of Corpus Christi instituted for the Universal Church, a task for which she endured much opposition. She was forced to flee her convent after its general superior excited the populace against her and her visions. She was later vindicated by the bishop and returned to her rightful place, only to be forced to flee a final time, ending her life in seclusion. The feast of Corpus Christi was finally instituted six years after her death by Pope Urban IV, who also commissioned Saint Thomas Aquinas to prepare the magnificent texts for the feast's Office and Mass. Her feast day is April 6. | Holy Thursday -Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper Reading I Ex 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." Responsorial Psalm Ps 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. Reading II 1 Cor 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. Verse Before the Gospel Jn 13:34 I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:
love one another as I have loved you. Gospel Jn 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."
| Daily Meditation: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14 Seeing the blood, I will pass over you. (Exodus 12:13) In today's first reading, the Lord tells Moses that every Israelite household is to slaughter a lamb and apply its blood to the doorposts of their houses. "Seeing the blood," he explains to Moses, "I will pass over you," and "no destructive blow will come upon you" (Exodus 12:13). Every firstborn in the whole nation of Egypt was struck down that evening, but the firstborn child of the families of the Israelites was "passed over." Tonight at Mass, when you receive Jesus, the Lamb of God in the Eucharist, remember that his blood, shed on the cross, offers you protection as well. Just as the firstborn children were protected from death, Jesus' blood has won eternal life for you. Though you will still die a physical death, one day you will be raised with Jesus, body and soul. In this new heaven and new earth, there will be "no more death or mourning, wailing or pain" (Revelation 21:1, 4). This is all possible because, just as the final plague led to the Israelites' release from slavery (Exodus 12:31-32), so Jesus' blood has freed you from the slavery of sin. Through his sacrifice, you are now washed clean and made into a new creation. At each Mass, and especially tonight on Holy Thursday, you have the opportunity to commemorate this great act of love. Jesus is the Lamb who has poured out his own blood in order to give you a cleansed heart and new life in him. Each Mass makes present this sacrifice to us and offers us Christ himself in the Eucharist, Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity. Tonight, remember and celebrate what Jesus has done for you. Praise and thank him after Communion and after Mass in Adoration. Imagine all your sins being removed from you until you can't see them anymore. Imagine the joy of heaven that awaits you—all because of Jesus' blood. With confidence in its power, pray that each person in the world would experience that same cleansing and hope of new life that you have in Christ. "Jesus, tonight, and at every Mass, I bow before you in thanksgiving and praise!" Psalm 116:12-13, 15-18
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-15 |  click to hear 2cents | Listen to my2cents audio. Share the link if you like:
Click to hear it | From today's 1st Holy Scripture:
"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." end quote from Exodus. Today is the most special day in my opinion, for on this Holy Day, the institution of the Eucharist enters, when God gives Himself in the Eucharist, the body and blood of the perfect Lamb of God. And His blood is spread across the lintel of our bodies in Baptism, Confession, and the Holy Eucharist. Salvation has come. "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."_ end quote from Exodus. This is an eye opener for any human being on earth with eyes and ears to see and hear. Our Lord is basically reminding us that we are pilgrims on a journey. This is the means that He has designed and created. He has given us the map to life, and the path...through Jesus The Christ. | We pray today:
"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. Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ." This is what the Holy Mass is...a sacrifice of...Thanksgiving. We come, not to be enthralled by sights and sounds. We come not to be entertained. We come, not to see what message we may or may not care about hearing. We come not to be made better people. This is not about self help at all, although it is a possibility, and it may or may not happen.
So what is the point of Holy Mass? That you pour out yourself in thanksgiving. That you give of yourself to God. That you give thanks. That you praise Him for this unfathomable gift on the cross that will never be forgotten, and we still participate in that eternal moment of Good Friday. But first, the Passover...the Lamb gives Himself in the bread of the Presence, as He puts Himself in the Presence, this IS GOD! | In the Gospel today we heard: "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." end quote. | From Bishop Barron today:
"Friends, in today's Gospel, Jesus washes the disciples' feet. He is giving them a visual proclamation of his new commandment: "Love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another."
When we accept this commandment, we walk the path of joy. When we internalize this law, we become happy. And so the paradox: happiness is never a function of filling oneself up; it is a wonderful function of giving oneself away.
When the divine grace enters one's life (and everything we have is the result of divine grace), the task is to contrive a way to make it a gift. In a sense, the divine life—which exists only in gift form—can be "had" only on the fly.
Notice please that we are to love with a properly divine love: "I have called you friends, because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father." Radical, radical, radical. Complete, excessive, over-the-top." end quote. . . . .
Following Christ is not pretty. But it is good.
Following Christ means to wash others' feet, even your enemy.
Following Christ means you GET TO be the servant.
And how are servants treated? With disdain. They are often beat up. Some are killed.
It is no wonder this becomes the same day that we remember Holy Orders in priests, the beginning of the institution of the priesthood. Now, priests are made servants. And they get a share of what it means to be a servant of God. They are often looked upon with disdain. They take all sorts of abuse, and some until today are being murdered across the world.
And so, I dare say, this is the most beautiful day of the year. Why it is not a Holy Day of Obligation still baffles me. But for those that know...what a precious gift, and treasure you have found in an abandoned field...like the Blessed Sacrament so often alone in most churches across the world....and there inside the Tabernacle....is Jesus, in the Holy Prescence of the Bread. And then He will be taken away from the tabernacle...in rememberance when Judas had him taken away.
And now we get to adore him, all night, and all day on Good Friday, until Easter Vigil Saturday.
Do me a favor...go to a Catholic Church and spend some time with our Lord.
This is the time you can visit Him in prison.
This is the time you can visit Him when most everyone else turns away and to other things and other gods they fashion with their hands.
This is the time of the year, and your life that you will never forget.
Because a time with God, is a taste of Glory. Let's pray:
...†...
Lord, I am not worthy of You, yet You still call me to be with You. How can I not? How could I say no? How could I not find it in my heart...to grow more in love with You? | Random Bible Verse 1
Isaiah 55:10–11 "For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven and do not return there but water the earth, making it bring forth and sprout, giving seed to the sower and bread to the eater, so shall my word be that goes out from my mouth; it shall not return to me empty, but it shall accomplish that which I purpose, and shall succeed in the thing for which I sent it." | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
