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“Love to Receive, Love to Give” (John 13:1-17, 31b-35) “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” Yes, Jesus did that. And he also tells his disciples: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” And so our message tonight is all about love: The love with which Jesus loved us, and then the love he would have us give to one another. “Love to Receive, Love to Give.” First of all, love to receive. This...

“Christian Questions with Their Answers: ‘This Do’” This is the night our Lord Jesus Christ gave his disciples to eat and to drink of his body and blood. And he didn’t mean just for that night. No, Christ was instituting a sacrament to be used often. Already in the pages of the New Testament, we see that the church partook of this sacrament whenever they met on the first day of the week, the Lord’s Day. And that practice continued through the history of the church. Now tonight, on this night when our Lord instituted the Sacrament, we here intend...

“The Eternal Passover That Jesus Desired to Eat” (Luke 22:14-20) During this season of Lent, we’ve tried to be realistic as we learn again to trust our God. The realism has to do with evil--the evil that betrayed, condemned, and crucified Jesus long ago, and the evil in our world and in our lives also today. In the face of that evil, we trust our God and the plan he carried out in Christ. We can say to Satan, to the world, and even to ourselves, “You meant it for evil, but God meant it for good.” This evening’s service...

“Washed and Clean, We Have Life Together with Christ” (John 13:1-17, 31b-35) Right now, everybody is concerned about washing their hands, washing their face, and keeping clean. Yesterday I went to the grocery store, and at the entrance they had some Purell wipes. So I wiped my hands and the grocery cart handle, and afterwards, when I had loaded the groceries in my car, I wiped my hands again. Then when I got home, I made sure to wash my hands and my face and so on. Earlier today I saw this comment on the internet: “I just Clorox-wiped a...

“Behold the Man: A God Who Loves” (John 13:1-17, 31b-35) If Jesus’ incarnation teaches us anything about love, it’s that love is not the stuff of mere sentimentality. Love is more than warm fuzzy feelings. On the night when he was betrayed, the one who had all the power of God, who, as the song goes, “has the whole world in his hands,” used his hands to pick up a bowl of water, wrap himself in a towel, and scrub the dirt from the feet of his disciples. And then he gives them--and us--a new commandment: Love like this. Love...

“Love Received, Love to Give” (John 13:1-17, 31b-35) “Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.” Yes, Jesus did that. And he also tells his disciples: “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” And so our message tonight is all about love: The love with which Jesus loved us, and then the love he would have us give to one another. “Love Received, Love to Give.” First of all, love received. Love his disciples received...

“The Catechism in Six Parts: The Sacrament of the Altar” Tonight we conclude our series on “The Catechism in Six Parts.” So far in the Catechism we’ve looked at the Ten Commandments, the Creed, the Lord’s Prayer, the Sacrament of Holy Baptism, and Confession. That brings us tonight to the Sacrament of the Altar--and fittingly enough, on Holy Thursday, the night in which this sacrament was instituted. Everything we want to say about the Sacrament tonight we find in the words with which Christ institutes this holy meal. These words: “Take eat; this is my body, which is given for...

“Love One Another, as I Have Loved You” (John 13:1-17, 31b-35) “A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” So said Jesus to his disciples on the night when he was betrayed. “Just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.” So says Jesus to his disciples here on this night, as we are gathered in his name and he is here with us. Thus our theme for tonight, Jesus’ commandment to his disciples both then and now: “Love...

(Screenshot: Comedy Central)As we mentioned, Stephen Colbert, heir to David Letterman's chair on "The Late Show," openly talks about his Catholic faith. It's a surprise to those who know the comedian only as the satirical conservative host of "The Colbert Report."In this April 2009 episode on Maundy Thursday, Colbert hosted Bart Ehrman, a prominent New Testament scholar and biblical critic.As Ehrman points out contradictions he's found in the Bible, notably in the crucifixion of Jesus, Colbert takes him to task in his usual acerbic tone. But under the caricature, Colbert presents the divinity of Christ in ways that leave...

As Roman Catholics worldwide move into a week to focus their hearts on the suffering of Christ, Atlanta Catholics are being divided over the ancient ritual of the washing of feet. On March 19, Archbishop John Donoghue sent a letter to parish priests telling them that only men should be chosen for the solemn rite of foot washing, which takes place on Holy Thursday as parishes observe the Last Supper of Jesus. Women and children have been included in the rite for years, but Donoghue's letter specifically states that 12 men should be selected to represent the priesthood. Priests, parishioners...

“Love Is the Fulfilling of the Law” (Romans 13; John 13)In Romans 13 we read: “Owe no one anything, except to love each other, for the one who loves another has fulfilled the law. For the commandments, ‘You shall not commit adultery, You shall not murder, You shall not steal, You shall not covet,’ and any other commandment, are summed up in this word: ‘You shall love your neighbor as yourself.’ Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.” “Love Is the Fulfilling of the Law.” In other words, if you positively love...

A Christian Passover Seder for Holy Thursday(Last Supper - stained glass - Chartres cathedral) "THE MASS of the faithful, the eucharistic banquet, is a transformation of the Israelites' religious banquets, especially of the paschal feast in the course of which Jesus instituted the Eucharist. This transformation is radical, for it fulfills the promises of the ancient rites while illuminating them with a brilliance before inconceivable. It is with the ancient rites that we must begin, then, if we are to explain the Mass, the banquet of reconciliation, just as it was with the ancient prophecies that we had to start...

“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...

When I was a little boy I thought this was called Monday Thursday, and I couldn’t quite figure that out. In fact it wasn’t until I went to seminary that someone finally explained to me that Maundy Thursday got its name from the Latin word mandatum and that this had to do with the novum mandatum—the new commandment—which the gospel according to John tells us Jesus gave to his disciples on the first Maundy Thursday. Here’s what Jesus said: “I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love...

“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...

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...

STARVATION: DAY 8 Jeb Bush not likely to ride to rescue Florida governor indicates he won't defy court order Posted: March 25, 2005 1:00 a.m. Eastern © 2005 WorldNetDaily.com Those hoping Florida Gov. Jeb Bush will step forward to save Terri Schiavo from imminent, court-ordered starvation death are likely to be disappointed, based on his comments to a group of reporters following county court Judge George Greer's ruling against the state's effort to take custody of the brain-injured woman at the center of a worldwide euthanasia controversy. While Bush reiterated his motivation to save Schiavo, based on new evidence that...

ROME, MARCH 15, 2005 (Zenit.org).- Answered by Father Edward McNamara, professor of liturgy at the Regina Apostolorum Pontifical University. Q: What should be the atmosphere of the altar of repose for Maundy Thursday? Should it be an atmosphere of grandeur since the Lord instituted the Eucharist and the priesthood? Or should it be solemn, as we recall the Lord's agony in the garden? Since the renovation in 1999, our tabernacle has been transferred to the side altar. Now it's not very visible as it is blocked away by huge pillars. I feel it has lost its significant especially during the...