The Liturgy of Holy Thursday

The Liturgy of the Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper begins the Triduum – the three days of the Lord’s death and resurrection. The verse which is given for the Entrance says it all: “We 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.” We need not use this verse in our celebration of the liturgy that day, but it sums up the whole of the three days. And we will see when we come to look at the Liturgy of Good Friday that the phrase ‘we glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ’ is very significant. We do not grieve over his cross but glory in it!

There are three elements to the liturgy of Holy Thursday: there is of course the Mass itself, then there is the Washing of the Feet and then following Mass, the Watch before the Blessed Sacrament.

Mass is much as it normally is but it has the added poignancy of being celebrated on the night when we commemorate his Last Supper. There is normally only one Mass on Holy Thursday so that the whole community gathers together to celebrate this one Mass together. It is also expected that the Tabernacle has been emptied and that everyone receives from bread – and wine – consecrated at that Mass. Both of these practices go back to the practices of the ancient Church.

The Washing of the Feet was brought back into the liturgy of Holy Thursday by the reform of the liturgy under Pius XII in the 1950’s. It again takes us back to the Last Supper and the gospel for this Mass is that of the Washing of the Feet from St John’s Gospel. It is directed to the rest of the three days as it is both Jesus’ action of giving himself over in service, and a light which helps us see what his death the next day means. He will give himself to us and for us.

Then at the end of Mass we have the Watch. This name comes from the request of Jesus to Peter, James and John to stay and watch with him and to pray as went through his agony in the garden of Gethsemane (Mark 13.32-42; Matthew 26.36-46; Luke 22.40-46). So we are invited to stay and watch in prayer before the altar of repose within the Church.

Thus we finish this liturgy in silence and prayerfulness and we will gather again in silence on Good Friday at 3pm, the time of Jesus’ death.

By Frank O’Loughlin

Image:  The Last Supper by Philippe de Champaigne