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“Lead Us Not into Temptation” (The Lord’s Prayer; Luke 22:1-46) During this Lenten season we’ve been doing a series on the Lord’s Prayer called “Lord, Teach Us to Pray.” And that’s exactly what our Lord does on this Holy Thursday evening. He teaches us to pray. That’s what he instructs us to do, that’s what he gives us an example of doing, and, even more than that, he prays for us. In particular, on this night Jesus instructs his disciples to pray for strength in the face of temptation. “Pray that you may not enter into temptation,” Jesus tells them...

The significance of Holy ThursdayExcept for the Resurrection on Easter, Holy Thursday is possibly one of the most important, complex, and profound days of celebration in the Catholic Church. Holy Thursday celebrates the institution of the Eucharist as the true body and blood of Jesus Christ and the institution of the sacrament of the priesthood.During the Last Supper, Jesus offers himself as the Passover sacrifice, the sacrificial lamb, and teaches that every ordained priest is to follow the same sacrifice in the exact same way. Christ also bids farewell to his followers and prophesizes that one of them will...

One of the consistent themes of the Four Gospels is the theme of the “inept response.” Most often it applies to the 12 apostles who, when taught some important point by the Lord, demonstrate, almost right away, that they don’t get it all.No one place in the gospels is more thick with the inept response than at the Last Supper. It was nothing short of a disaster. The ineptitude is almost comical if it weren’t so sad. If ever the Lord needed his disciples attention and understanding, it was now. But to a man, they let him down. There is...

How Should We Understand Pope Francis Washing Women's Feet? by Jimmy Akin Thursday, March 28, 2013 4:28       --snip--  This Year's Mass of the Lord's Supper It was surprising but not surprising when the Holy See announced that Pope Francis had chosen to celebrate this year's Mass of the Lord's Supper not in one of the papal basilicas of Rome but, instead, in its juvenile prison.That's precisely the kind of gesture that we have come to expect from the new pope in the short time we've been getting to know him.It's not traditional, but it's humble and evangelistic.And...

<p>Pope Francis kisses the foot of a young person at a detention facility on Holy Thursday 2013. Credit: CTV.</p> <p>Vatican City, Mar 28, 2013 / 12:20 pm (CNA/EWTN News).- Pope Francis recalled for around 40 young detainees how Jesus washed the disciples’ feet and said that he would willingly do the same for them because he is called to serve.</p>

Chrism Mass: Thousands celebrate hope and promise Written by Doris Benavides Friday, 29 March 2013 14:26 “This year is not like any other year,” Archbishop José Gomez told the overflowing assembly at the Cathedral of Our Lady of the Angels March 25 for the annual Chrism Mass. Certainly, the large crowd itself was extraordinary for this event, at which sacred holy oils for the coming year are blessed and distributed to parishes. Excited by the recent election of Pope Francis, clergy and parishioners from throughout the archdiocese this year attended in larger numbers (about 5,000), prompting the archbishop to...

3 Oils Express 3 Dimensions of Life, Says Pope Calls Faithful to "Always Remain Catechumens" VATICAN CITY, APRIL 21, 2011 (Zenit.org).- At this morning's Chrism Mass, Benedict XVI reflected on the three dimensions of Christian life expressed in the three oils that are blessed in the liturgy. The Pope celebrated the Mass in St. Peter's Basilica, blessing the oil of catechumens, the oil for anointing the sick and the sacred chrism. Speaking of the oil of catechumens, he said it "indicates a first way of being touched by Christ and by his Spirit [...] which takes place even prior to...

TheMandatum of Love The Triduum begins: From light to darkness - a symbolic darkness in which the better we understand the significance of the rubrics, the closer we grow to Christ in this world of darkness. "We sadly recall that the Apostles one by one gradually left Him on this night, and that the earth was covered by darkness at His death. The single candle left burning, which is hidden behind the altar to be brought forth again when prayers are finished, causes us to remember that Christ came forth from the grave on the third day as the true...

Lent And Holy Week (A Primer) Posted by Frank -Feast of St. Vincent Ferrer  We are officially past the half-way point of the Lenten Season.  Before you know it, it will be Holy Week. As a convert who entered the Church on Holy Saturday in the Year of Our Lord 2008, I'll never forget that experience. Those who serve as sponsors for the Catechumens and Candidates never forget it either.But if you are like me, it is good to be reminded of not only what is taking place on that day, but for the whole season. The recollection of what...

“Why Is This Night Different?” (Exodus 12; Luke 22:7-20)Earlier this week, in Jewish homes all around the world, families gathered and celebrated the annual Passover meal. A meal is served--the Seder meal, as it is called--with certain items of food and drink served in a set order. And a ritual is observed; the liturgical text that’s followed is called the Haggadah. As part of that ritual, the children at the table ask a series of questions about why they’re doing the things distinctive to this meal: “Why is this night different from all other nights?” the children will ask. “Why...

In Christian communities all around the globe, the Thursday immediately before Easter is designated Maundy Thursday, or Holy Thursday. The term Maundy comes to us with two different definitions. The first says that it is an old English word that springs up out of the Latin mandatum. This mandate comes from John 13:34-35: A new commandment I give unto you, that you love one another; even as I have loved you, you also ought to love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another. One the other hand, some...

...At the very epicenter of our Liturgical Calendar is the great Three days we celebrate, Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Resurrection of the Lord, the Sacred Triduum. Good Liturgy is not simply a re-enactment of something that happened over 2000 years ago but an actual participation in the events themselves through living faith. ... We will soon attend the Last Supper and receive the gift of the Holy Eucharist, the Body, Blood Soul and Divinity of Jesus Christ. We will enter into the deep meaning of the Holy Priesthood. We will be invited to pour ourselves out like the...

Featured Term (selected at random):SACRAMENT HOUSE A method of housing the Blessed Sacrament in a tabernacle outside the sanctuary usually on the north side of the church. Sometimes it was richly canopied and the repository screened so that the Host could be dimly seen. It was widely used in Switzerland, Belgium, and Germany until the last half of the nineteenth century. All items in this dictionary are from Fr. John Hardon's Modern Catholic Dictionary, © Eternal Life. Used with permission.

IV. Holy Thursday Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper 44. With the celebration of Mass on the evening of Holy Thursday, "the Church begins the Easter Triduum and recalls the Last Supper in which the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, showing his love for those who were his own in the world, he gave his body and blood under the species of bread and wine offering to his Father and giving them to the Apostles so that they might partake of them, and he commanded them and their successors in the priesthood to perpetuate this offering." [50]45....

III. The Easter Triduum in General 38. The greatest mysteries of the redemption are celebrated yearly by the Church beginning with the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday and ending with Vespers of Easter Sunday. This time is called "the triduum of the crucified, buried and risen"; [42] it is also called the "Easter Triduum" because during it is celebrated the paschal mystery, that is, the passing of the Lord from this world to his Father. The Church, by the celebration of this mystery through liturgical signs and sacramentals, is united to Christ, her spouse, in intimate...

I love a good surprise, don't you? I love a good rumor, don't you? I especially love a good rumor about a good surprise. Verbum Patris sums up.Various blogs and news agencies have been reporting on ‘well informed sources’ who say that the Holy Father will unveil a ‘good surprise’ to the Catholic world during this years Holy Week celebrations. Originally mentioned at Catholic Sector, suggestions on the likely surprise range from the return of the Sedia Gestatoria, to the end of Communion in the hand and even the beatification of Pope John Paul II. Me thinks some may be...

“Love for Disciples” (John 13:1-17, 31b-35)“Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” Yes, he did. Maundy Thursday is all about Jesus’ love for his disciples. “Love for Disciples” to receive, “Love for Disciples” to learn. Love for disciples to receive--in the footwashing. Let’s set the scene. It’s the evening of the Passover. Time for the Passover meal. This is the meal all Jews ate every year on that date, to commemorate the night the Lord brought Israel out of bondage in Egypt. It was a special occasion, solemn and sacred. Jesus had...

Dear Brothers and Sisters, In the Upper Room, on the eve of his Passion, the Lord prayed for his disciples gathered about him. At the same time he looked ahead to the community of disciples of all centuries, “those who believe in me through their word” (Jn 17:20). In his prayer for the disciples of all time, he saw us too, and he prayed for us. Let us listen to what he asks for the Twelve and for us gathered here: “Sanctify them in the truth; your word is truth. As you sent me into the world, so I have...

On this Holy Thursday as we begin the great Triduum, the Three Days, we will read this wonderful account in the Gospel of St. John which reveals the depth of the Love of Jesus Christ and invites us into to a new way of living our lives now in Him: "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...

US President Barack Obama will celebrate Passover Thursday night with staff and friends in what is believed to be the first White House Seder attended by an American president. The event was slipped onto the president's public schedule Tuesday night with little fanfare, following a letter signed by Obama earlier in the day wishing Americans who mark the day a "peaceful and relaxing holiday."