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“There Will Be Blood” (Exod. 24:3-11; Heb. 9:11-22; Matt. 26:17-30)“There Will Be Blood.” When God saves a people and takes them for his own, there will be blood. There always has been. There had been blood on the night of the Passover, the exodus from Egypt, when the Lord God brought his people Israel out of bondage. On that night, death was coming to every household in Egypt. But the Lord provided a way of escape. “Tell the people, Moses, to take a lamb without blemish or spot, slay it, and take the blood of the lamb and spread it...

Maundy Thursday   This day, Maundy Thursday (also "Holy Thursday" or "Shire Thursday"1) commemorates Christ's Last Supper and the initiation of the Eucharist. Its name of "Maundy" comes from the Latin word mandatum, meaning "command." This stems from Christ's words in John 13:34, "A new commandment I give unto you." It is the first of the three days known as the "Triduum," and after the Vigil tonight, and until the Vigil of Easter, a more profoundly somber attitude prevails (most especially during the hours between Noon and 3:00 PM on Good Friday). Raucous amusements should be set aside... The Last...

“The Meal, Christ’s Suffering, and the Coming of the Kingdom” (Luke 22:7-20)Our text is the Holy Gospel, from Luke 22, the account of our Lord’s institution of his Holy Supper. Specifically we want to look at these words from our Lord which Luke records, where Jesus says to his disciples: “I have earnestly desired to eat this Passover with you before I suffer. For I tell you I will not eat it until it is fulfilled in the kingdom of God.” Likewise Jesus says to them, “For I tell you that from now on I will not drink of the...

Holy ThursdayThe Last Supper - Chartres Cathedral - stained glass window (detail)Family Activities | Stations of the Cross | Christian Passover Seder | Readings | Adoremus: Articles and Document on Footwashing Nos autem gloriari oportet in cruce Domini nostri Iesu Christi,in quo est salus, vita et resurrectio nostra per quem salvati et liberati sumus. We should glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, for He is our salvation, our life and our resurrection; through Him we are saved and made free. (cf. Galations 6:14)-- Entrance Antiphon for Holy ThursdayHOLY THURSDAY is the most complex and profound of...

The thirteenth chapter of St. John's Gospel relates the story of the Last Supper in the Upper Room. However, where the Synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke) take this opportunity to record the details of the Supper itself, along with the Words of Institution and the offering of Jesus Christ under the species of bread and wine, the Fourth Gospel does not record these events. Instead, St. John records the story of Jesus washing the feet of His disciples. What did St. John see in this event that was so important that he felt it necessary to record these actions...

by Fr. William Saunders Other Articles by Fr. William Saunders The Triduum and 40 Days 04/20/06 Is the Triduum part of Lent? When I count the days from Ash Wednesday through Holy Saturday, I find that it only turns out to be 40 if we count the Triduum and do not count the six Sundays during that period. I know that the date of Ash Wednesday was specifically selected to produce a 40-day Lent. So aren’t the three days of the Triduum really part of Lent? Here is one time when the “straight answer” is not going to be clearly “straight.”...

Priests should be men of prayer rather than activists, Pope Benedict XVI said as he celebrated the Chrism Mass on Holy Thursday with the priests of Rome. Every priest should constantly nurture his friendship with Jesus Christ, since the essence of the priesthood lies in serving in persona Christi, the Holy Father said. He concluded his homily by citing the words of Father Andrea Santoro, the Italian missionary who was killed in Turkey in February, who said that in his priestly ministry he was "giving Him my flesh." On Holy Thursday, as the Church recalls the Last Supper and the...

ROME, April 13, 2006 (LifeSiteNews.com) – In his meditations for this year’s Stations of the Cross, the annual commemoration of the biblical events of Christ on the way to be crucified, Archbishop Angelo Comastri, the Pope’s Vicar General, asked, “What is it that today, in particular, strikes at Christ’s holy body?” Comastri wrote for the stations this Good Friday and posted already to the Vatican’s website, “There is a move to reinvent mankind, to modify the very grammar of life as planned and willed by God.” Comastri’s meditations are in line with a stream of thought of Pope Benedict who...

The feast of Maundy (or Holy) Thursday solemnly commemorates the institution of the Eucharist and is the oldest of the observances peculiar to Holy Week. In Rome various accessory ceremonies were early added to this commemoration, namely the consecration of the holy oils and the reconciliation of penitents, ceremonies obviously practical in character and readily explained by the proximity of the Christian Easter and the necessity of preparing for it. Holy Thursday could not but be a day of liturgical reunion since, in the cycle of movable feasts, it brings around the anniversary of the institution of the Liturgy. On...

April 13, 2006 Holy ThursdayEvening Mass of the Lord’s Supper Psalm: Thursday 17 Reading 1Ex 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 familiesmust 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...

April 13, 2006 Holy ThursdayChrism Mass Psalm: Thursday 17 Reading 1Is 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,because the LORD has anointed me;He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly,to heal the brokenhearted,To proclaim liberty to the captivesand release to the prisoners,To announce a year of favor from the LORDand a day of vindication by our God,to comfort all who mourn;To place on those who mourn in Ziona diadem instead of ashes,To give them oil of gladness in place of mourning,a glorious mantle instead of a listless spirit. You yourselves shall be...

On the Easter Triduum "We Will Relive the Passion, Death and Resurrection" VATICAN CITY, APRIL 12, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Here is a translation of Benedict XVI's address at today's general audience, which he dedicated to explain the meaning of the Easter triduum. * * * Dear Brothers and Sisters: Tomorrow the Easter triduum begins, which is the fulcrum of the whole liturgical year. Aided by the sacred rites of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the solemn Easter Vigil, we will relive the passion, death and resurrection of the Lord. They are propitious days to reawaken in us a more intense desire...

He Gives Himself Entirely to Us April 8, 2004 Holy Thursday Reading I (Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14) Reading II (1 Corinthians 11:23-26) Gospel (St. John 13:1-15) Today we celebrate the feast on which the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood took place. It is also, therefore, the day on which Our Lord, exercising His priesthood, offered Himself as a sacrifice sacramentally. He had not yet physically sacrificed Himself, that would take place the next day, but already in the Blessed Sacrament at the Last Supper He offered himself in a sacramental form under the forms of bread and wine so...

Paths to Rome: Washing of Feet on Holy Thursday"For I have given you an example, that you also should do"On Holy Thursday, in parishes throughout the United States, twelve men and women will assemble in the sanctuaries during the Mass of the Lord's Supper to have their feet ritually washed by a priest. Although many Catholics -- both men and women -- are disburbed by the practice of washing women's feet, probably most barely take notice.  Almost no one will be aware that, despite documents approving the practice from the Bishops' Committee on the Liturgy (BCL), there is no clear...

The head of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Charlotte is reminding priests that only men's feet are to be washed at Holy Thursday services, a move creating a buzz among many N.C. Catholics this Lenten season."I have vowed respect and obedience to my bishop. With sadness, I will obey Bishop (Peter) Jugis, with apologies to the women of St. Ann's parish," the Rev. Conrad Hoover of St. Ann Catholic Church in Charlotte said Thursday."I think it's ridiculous," said Jenifer Register, a member of St. Gabriel Catholic Church in Charlotte, who describes herself as "fired up" over the issue. "I feel...

ROME, MARCH 28, 2006 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum university. Q: I understand that it is in fact liturgically incorrect to have the main celebrant at the Holy Thursday Mass wash the feet of women. Correct? -- J.C., Ballina, Ireland. During the Holy Thursday liturgy at our parish, there are a number of foot-washing stations set up around the Church, and the people in the pews get up and bring someone else to one of the stations and wash their feet. Most of the people in Church take part in this, washing...

BOSTON - Boston Archbishop Sean O'Malley declined to wash the feet of women during a Holy Week ritual that symbolizes Jesus' washing the feet of his disciples. O'Malley, heeding instructions from the Vatican on the subject, washed the feet of 12 men - representing Jesus' 12 male disciples - as he celebrated Holy Thursday Mass. The practice of including women in the foot-washing ritual is controversial among some clergy. Traditionalists oppose inclusion of women in the ritual, but others see it as an outdated rule that can alienate women from the church. In Atlanta, about 100 men and women gathered...

SPECIAL ALERT! NBC to mock the Crucifixion of Christ Dear (received via e-mail), NBC, fresh from giving us the anti-Christian The Book of Daniel, has decided to hit back at the Christian community by presenting an episode of Will and Grace which mocks the crucifixion of Christ. On the April 13 edition of NBC's Will and Grace, Britney Spears will appear as a Christian conservative sidekick to Sean Hayes' homosexual character, Jack, who hosts his own talk show. Jack's fictional network, Out TV, is bought by a Christian TV network, leading to Spears contributing a cooking segment called "Cruci-fixin's." To...

March 24, 2005Holy ThursdayEvening Mass of the Lord's Supper Psalm: Thursday 15 Reading IEx 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 familiesmust 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 oneand shall share in the lambin proportion to the number...

March 24, 2005Chrism Mass Psalm: Thursday 15 Reading IIs 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,because the LORD has anointed me;He has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly,to heal the brokenhearted,To proclaim liberty to the captivesand release to the prisoners,To announce a year of favor from the LORDand a day of vindication by our God,to comfort all who mourn;To place on those who mourn in Ziona diadem instead of ashes,To give them oil of gladness in place of mourning,a glorious mantle instead of a listless spirit. You yourselves shall be named priests...