Reading 1
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.”
Ps 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18
Responsorial PsalmR. (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 2
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.
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.”
Meditation: John 13:1-15
Holy Thursday
Jesus knew that his hour had come. (John 13:1)
Today, we read the story of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. It was an act of extreme humility that caught them off guard. And so he asked them: “Do you realize what I have done for you? … As I have done
for you, you should also do” (John 13:12,15).
So is this the final lesson? Did Jesus wash his disciples’ feet as a way of calling them to take up a life of humble service? Well, yes and no.
Yes, Jesus did urge his disciples to become humble servants like himself—and he did it in a specially powerful way with this prophetic gesture. But that’s not all he was doing. Look at the way John introduces this story: “Jesus knew that his hour had come… . He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end” (John 13:1).
Jesus knew that the end was near. Yet rather than spend these final few hours focusing on his own life, he went out of his way to show his disciples how deeply he loved them. He knew that words alone weren’t going to do the job. Words can be forgotten all too easily. So he chose a prophetic gesture that would make a deep impression on them. He chose to perform an act that was reserved for household slaves. He chose an act that would be forever etched in the disciples’ memories as proof of his love and his commitment to them. With this act, Jesus went beyond humility. It was his way of telling them: “I have loved you right up to the end of my earthly days. I have confidence in you. I am entrusting my church to you. Now go and lead others as I have led you.”
Tonight’s liturgy includes a time for the pastor to wash the feet of some of his parishioners. It’s his way of mirroring Jesus. It’s his way of giving us all a sign of how deeply dedicated to us Jesus is, of how strong his love for us is. As this special rite unfolds tonight, imagine that Jesus himself is present, telling all of us: “I love you so much. You can count on me in every situation.”
“Jesus, I am overwhelmed by your love!”
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