Daily Feast 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.
† Quote of the Day "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." —Pope Saint 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 | St. Donan St. Donan (d. 617 A.D.), also known as St. Donnán of Eigg, was a prominent Celtic missionary and Gaelic priest. Little is known of his life except that he was likely an Irishman who traveled as a missionary throughout Galloway and northward along the west coast of Scotland. He is thought to have been a contemporary of St. Columba. Donan formed a religious community on the tiny northwest island of Eigg in Scotland. The community grew to fifty-two men. One year, after celebrating the Easter Vigil Mass, they were unexpectedly attacked and martyred either by pirates or a band of Viking raiders. Tradition holds that the community was gathered together and killed in the refectory on the night of April 17, 617. The martyrdom of Christian missionaries at this time was rare, leading many to suspect the attack was instigated by a malicious local queen who viewed St. Donan and his monks as a threat to her power. His feast day is April 17. | Holy Thursday -Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper Lectionary: 39
Reading I 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." 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. 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. Verse Before the Gospel
John 13:34 I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:
love one another as I have loved you. 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." | Praise to You Oh Lord Jesus Christ! | Daily Meditation: John 13:1-15 I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do. (John 13:15) In today's Gospel, Jesus gives a command to his closest disciples, and he demonstrates it in a vivid way: "As I have done for you, you should also do" (John 13:15). Prepared to go to the cross, Jesus leaves them with a tangible expression of how they should imitate him. So he takes on the role of a slave, ties a towel around his waist, bends down, and washes their feet. The sight of Jesus, Messiah and Lord, performing such a humble act of service would have been off-putting to his disciples. Peter even objected to his Master humiliating himself in this way: "You will never wash my feet" (John 13:8). But Jesus wasn't—and isn't—concerned with protocol; he only wanted to reveal his Father's heart of love. So he replied to Peter, "Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me" (13:8). Jesus showed his disciples, and he shows us, that humility is about going "low" in love and service to God and to other people. A person led by humility doesn't love in order to be loved or to be seen or to satisfy others' expectations. Rather, he chooses to love and serve in imitation of Jesus. Tonight at the Mass of the Lord's Supper, priests throughout the world will imitate Jesus' actions by washing the feet of their parishioners. Gathered together as one body, the Church will also celebrate Jesus' institution of the Eucharist. These two actions are related: in the same humble way that he washed his apostles' feet, Jesus, the Son of God, offers us his Body and Blood so that we can be as close to him as possible. In prayer today, reflect on the astounding humility of Jesus. Imagine him washing your feet and gently drying them with the towel around his waist. Then picture him saying to you, "As I have done for you, you should also do." Jesus serves you in love, and he wants you to do the same for others. So how is he calling you to imitate him today? "Lord, help me to love and serve your people with the same humility that you have." Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
Psalm 116:12-13, 15-18
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 | Reflections with Brother Adrian: |  Hear AI Read it for u | From today's Holy Gospel: In the Gospel we hear today:
"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........" - Word of the Lord! | From Bishop Barron: "....we see now in John's Gospel how the distinctive mark of Jesus' kingdom is precisely the overturning of the master-slave dynamic. Jesus bends down to do the work that was so lowly and frankly gross that only the lowest of the slaves were expected to do it, and he says, "As I have done for you, you should also do." And what does he do later at the same supper? He gives himself away entirely in the Eucharist: "This is my body, which will be given for you." It is into this new dynamic that we are invited by Jesus: the washing of the feet, the giving away of body and blood.
......" end quote.
From Roberto Juarez: "This washing is not only a moral gesture: it is a sacrament of love, a sign of the new commandment that Jesus will give that same night: "Love one another as I have loved you" (Jn 13:34). This is also how the Eucharist is understood: communion with a God who gives himself and calls us to give ourselves.
Let us meditate on this gospel:
• Have I truly understood what it means for Jesus to love me to the end?
• Do I allow myself to be "washed by Him", that is, to heal, to forgive, to purify?
• Am I willing to love by serving, even in the small, even when you don't thank me?
Holy Thursday invites us to enter into the heart of the Gospel: concrete, humble love that places itself at the feet of the other. Jesus does not limit himself to teaching us with words, but with a radical act of tenderness. Lord Jesus,
You who loved to the end,
That you knelt before your disciples
And you washed their feet,
it also washes my heart.
Enséñame a amar como Tú:
without measure, without pride, without expecting anything in return.
May the Eucharist not just be a rite,
but life that becomes service.
Make me a disciple who loves by serving
and that, like You, he may not be afraid to kneel before his brethren.
Amen..... " End quote.
From brother Adrian:
Our Lord said something few of us like to do:
"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."
We don't like menial tasks. We don't like to be told what to do, especially for those that seem to care less about us!
Why should I wash THEIR FEET! REALLY?
Look at the feet our Lord washed. All of them, HE KNEW, would betray Him at the hour of His greatest need.
This must have been a heart wrenching moment, because He knew, those closest to Him, would not be there for Him.
I told my OCIA students that are going to receive finally their Sacraments, last night I said, "we cannot put our total trust in man, any person, only in God. All people will inevitably fail us. Love God. Then, all else will be ok."
God is Jesus. He came, to feel the betrayal of humanity first hand. And for a purpose. To convert darkness into light, just like in Genesis, He brings the light, and I told my students "that light from Genesis is Jesus", a light so much needed in our world, to shine through us all.
And that light is shone in washing the feet of those, not that love us, but those who we know betray us. Ouch! What is that? Sacrificial love.
So that we could see mercy stooping to the sinner. The light of God came down from Heaven, in Jesus. And He gave us a commandment this Holy Thursday night, to serve one another, after receiving Him literally in the Eucharist. Therefore, He wants to serve until today, through you. He wants to live through you. This is to do God's will.
After the Mass tonight, He will be taken away. Can we sacrifice vigil prayer with the Blessed Sacrament? Can we be with Him whom is often abandoned?
He washed their feet, and one of the 12 betrays Him that night, in the dark, they come for our Lord after suffering bitter tears and sweating blood, already passionate about His passion...the very will of God.
My Father, Thy Will Be Done.
And I know Thy will shall be done through Me, if only we tend to Thy Son, Thy Sacred Heart.
I Love You Eucharist, I Love You Jesus.
Oh Help Us love Thee More and More.... | Random Bible Verse 1
Proverbs 12:19 "Truthful lips endure forever, but a lying tongue is but for a moment." Word of the Lord | If one day you don't receive these, just visit Going4th.com
God Bless You! Peace | | |
