Catholic Caucus: Daily Mass Readings, 04-05-12, Holy Thursday: Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper

USCCB.org/RNAB ^ | 04-05-12 | Revised New American Bible

[Salvation]

April 5, 2012

Holy Thursday: Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper

 

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."

Responsorial Psalm Ps 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18

R. (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."

[Salvation]

The Angelus 

The Angel of the Lord declared to Mary: 
And she conceived of the Holy Spirit. 

Hail Mary, full of grace, the Lord is with thee; blessed art thou among women and blessed is the fruit of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary, Mother of God, pray for us sinners, now and at the hour of our death. Amen. 

Behold the handmaid of the Lord: Be it done unto me according to Thy word. 

Hail Mary . . . 

And the Word was made Flesh: And dwelt among us. 

Hail Mary . . . 

Pray for us, O Holy Mother of God, that we may be made worthy of the promises of Christ. 

Let us pray: 

Pour forth, we beseech Thee, O Lord, Thy grace into our hearts; that we, to whom the incarnation of Christ, Thy Son, was made known by the message of an angel, may by His Passion and Cross be brought to the glory of His Resurrection, through the same Christ Our Lord.

Amen. 

[markomalley]

Apr 05, Invitatory for Holy Thursday

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. II:
Antiphon: 1043
Psalm: 1298

Christian Prayer:
Antiphon: 687
Psalm: 820

Lord, open my lips.
– And my mouth will proclaim your praise.

Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.

Psalm 67

O God, be gracious and bless us
and let your face shed its light upon us.
So will your ways be known upon earth
and all nations learn your saving help.

Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.

Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.

Let the nations be glad and exult
for you rule the world with justice.
With fairness you rule the peoples,
you guide the nations on earth.

Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.

Let the peoples praise you, O God;
let all the peoples praise you.

Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.

The earth has yielded its fruit
for God, our God, has blessed us.
May God still give us his blessing
till the ends of the earth revere him.

Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Come, let us worship Christ the Lord, who for our sake endured temptation and suffering.

[markomalley]

Apr 05, Office of Readings for Thursday of Holy Week

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. II:
Ordinary: 1045
Proper of Seasons: 457
Psalter: Thursday, Week II, 1301

Office of Readings for Holy Thursday

God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

HYMN

According to Thy gracious word,
In meek humility,
This will I do, my dying Lord,
I will remember Thee.

Thy body, broken for my sake,
My bread from Heaven shall be;
The testamental cup I take,
And thus remember Thee.

Gethsemane can I forget?
Or there Thy conflict see,
Thine agony, and bloody sweat,
And not remember Thee?

When to the cross I turn mine eyes,
And rest on Calvary,
O Lamb of God, my sacrifice,
I must remember Thee;

Remember Thee, and all Thy pains
And all Thy love to me;
Yea, while a breath, a pulse remains,
Will I remember Thee.

And when these failing lips grow dumb
And mind and memory flee,
When Thou shalt in Thy kingdom come,
Jesus, remember me.

Title: According to Thy gracious word; Words: James Montgomery
According to Thy gracious word by Choir Of King’s College Cambridge is available from Amazon.com

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Lord, you are our savior; we will praise you for ever.

Psalm 44
The misfortunes of God’s people
We triumph over all these things through him who loved us (Romans 8:37)

I

We heard with our own ears, O God,
our fathers have told us the story
of the things you did in their days,
you yourself, in days long ago.

To plant them you uprooted the nations:
to let them spread you laid peoples low.
No sword of their own won the land;
no arm of their own brought them victory.
It was your right hand, your arm
and the light of your face: for you loved them.

It is you, my king, my God,
who granted victories to Jacob.
Through you we beat down our foes;
in your name we trampled our aggressors.

For it was not in my bow that I trusted
nor yet was I saved by my sword:
it was you who saved us from our foes,
it was you who put our foes to shame.
All day long our boast was in God,
and we praised your name without ceasing.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Lord, you are our savior; we will praise you for ever.

Ant. 2 Spare us, O Lord; do not bring your own people into contempt.

II

Yet now you have rejected us, disgraced us:
you no longer go forth with our armies.
You make us retreat from the foe
and our enemies plunder us at will.

You make us like sheep for the slaughter
and scatter us among the nations.
You sell your own people for nothing
and make no profit by the sale.

You make us the taunt of our neighbors,
the laughing stock of all who are near.
Among the nations, you make us a byword,
among the peoples a thing of derision.

All day long my disgrace is before me:
my face is covered with shame
at the voice of the taunter, the scoffer,
at the sight of the foe and avenger.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Spare us, O Lord; do not bring your own people into contempt.

Ant. 3 Rise up, O Lord, and save us, for you are merciful.

III

This befell us though we had not forgotten you;
though we had not been false to your covenant,
though we had not withdrawn our hearts;
though our feet had not strayed from your path.
Yet you have crushed us in a place of sorrows
and covered us with the shadow of death.

Had we forgotten the name of our God
or stretched our hands to another god
would not God have found this out,
he who knows the secrets of the heart?
It is for you that we face death all day long
and are counted as sheep for the slaughter.

Awake, O Lord, why do you sleep?
Arise, do not reject us for ever!
Why do you hide your face from us
and forget our oppression and misery?

For we are brought down low to the dust;
our body lies prostrate on the earth.
Stand up and come to our help!
Redeem us because of your love!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Lord, rise up and come to our aid; with your strong arm lead us to freedom, as you mightily delivered our forefathers. Since you are the king who knows the secrets of our hearts, fill them with the light of truth.

Ant. Rise up, O Lord, and save us, for you are merciful.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) A moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

When I am lifted up from the earth.
– I will draw all people to myself.

READINGS

First reading
From the letter to the Hebrews
4:14 – 5:10
Jesus Christ, the great high priest

Since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast to our profession of faith. For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weakness, but one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet never sinned. So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and favor and to find help in time of need.

Every high priest is taken from among men and made their representative before God, to offer gifts and sacrifices for sins. He is able to deal patiently with erring sinners, for he himself is beset by weakness and so must make sin offerings for himself as well as for the people. One does not take this honor on his own initiative, but only when called by God as Aaron was.
Even Christ did not glorify himself with the office of high priest; he received it from the One who said to him,

“You are my Son;
today I have begotten you”;
just as he says in another place,
“You are a priest forever,
according to the order of Melchizedek.”

In the days when he was in the flesh, he offered prayers and supplications with loud cries and tears to God, who was able to save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverence. Son though he was, he learned obedience from what he suffered; and when perfected, he became the source of eternal salvation for all who obey him, designated by God as high priest according to the order of Melchizedek.

RESPONSORY Hebrews 5:8,9,7

Though he was the Son of God, Christ learned obedience through what he suffered;
– and now, for all who obey him, he has become the source of eternal life.

In the days of his earthly life he prayed, crying aloud, and he submitted so humbly that his prayer was heard.
– And now, for all who obey him, he has become the source of eternal life.

Second reading
From an Easter homily by Saint Melito of Sardis, bishop
The lamb that was slain has delivered us from death and given us life

There was much proclaimed by the prophets about the mystery of the Passover: that mystery is Christ, and to him be glory for ever and ever. Amen.

For the sake of suffering humanity he came down from heaven to earth, clothed himself in that humanity in the Virgin’s womb, and was born a man. Having then a body capable of suffering, he took the pain of fallen man upon himself; he triumphed over the diseases of soul and body that were its cause, and by his Spirit, which was incapable of dying, he dealt man’s destroyer, death, a fatal blow.

He was led forth like a lamb; he was slaughtered like a sheep. He ransomed us from our servitude to the world, as he had ransomed Israel from the land of Egypt; he freed us from our slavery to the devil, as he had freed Israel from the hand of Pharaoh. He sealed our souls with his own Spirit, and the members of our body with his own blood.

He is the One who covered death with shame and cast the devil into mourning, as Moses cast Pharaoh into mourning. He is the One who smote sin and robbed iniquity of offspring. He is the One who brought us out of slavery into freedom, out of darkness into light, out of death into life, out of tyranny into an eternal kingdom; who made us a new priesthood, a people chosen to be his own for ever. He is the Passover that is our salvation.

It is he who endured every kind of suffering in all those who foreshadowed him. In Abel he was slain, in Isaac bound, in Jacob exiled, in Joseph sold, in Moses exposed to die. He was sacrificed in the Passover lamb, persecuted in David, dishonored in the prophets.

It is he who was made man of the Virgin, he who was hung on the tree; it is he who was buried in the earth, raised from the dead, and taken up to the heights of heaven. He is the mute lamb, the slain lamb, the lamb born of Mary, the fair ewe. He was seized from the flock, dragged off to be slaughtered, sacrificed in the evening, and buried at night. On the tree no bone of his was broken; in the earth his body knew no decay. He is the One who rose from the dead, and who raised man from the depths of the tomb.

RESPONSORY Romans 3:23-25; John 1:29

Everyone has sinned and is deprived of God’s glory. We are justified through the free gift of his grace and through the redemption of Christ Jesus.
– God made Christ’s sacrificial death the means of expiating the sins of all believers.

This is the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.
– God made Christ’s sacrificial death the means of expiating the sins of all believers.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

O God,
who anointed your Only Begotten Son
with the Holy Spirit
and made him Christ and Lord,
graciously grant
that, being made sharers in his consecration,
we may bear witness to your Redemption in the world.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION (only added when praying in community)

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

[markomalley]

Apr 05, Morning Prayer for Thursday of Holy Week

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. II:
Ordinary: 1049
Proper of Seasons: 460
Psalter: Thursday, Week II, 1305

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 689
Proper of Seasons: 404
Psalter: Thursday, Week II, 824

Morning Prayer for Holy Thursday

God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

HYMN

Out of the deep have I called unto thee, O Lord:
Lord, hear my voice.
O let thine ears consider well:
the voice of my complaint.
If thou, Lord, wilt be extreme to mark what is done
amiss: O Lord, who may abide it?
For there is mercy with thee:
therefore shalt thou be feared.
I look for the Lord; my soul doth wait for him:
in his word is my trust.
My soul fleeth unto the Lord:
before the morning watch,
I say, before the morning watch.
O Israel, trust in the Lord,
for with the Lord there is mercy:
and with him is plenteous redemption.
And he shall redeem Israel: from all his sins.

“Out of the deep”; Based on a text in Latin, “Psalmus 129 (130)”
“Out Of The Deep” by Guildford Cathedral Choir is available from Amazon.com

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Look, O Lord, and see my suffering. Come quickly to my aid.

Psalm 80
Lord, come, take care of your vineyard
Come, Lord Jesus (Revelation 22:20).

O shepherd of Israel, hear us,
you who lead Joseph’s flock,
shine forth from your cherubim throne
upon Ephraim, Benjamin, Manasseh.
O Lord, rouse up your might,
O Lord, come to our help.

God of hosts bring us back;
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

Lord God of hosts, how long
will you frown on your people’s plea?
You have fed them with tears for their bread,
and abundance of tears for their drink.
You have made us the taunt of our neighbors,
our enemies laugh us to scorn.

God of hosts, bring us back;
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

You brought a vine out of Egypt;
to plant it you drove out the nations.
Before it you cleared the ground;
it took root and spread through the land.

The mountains were covered with its shadow,
the cedars of God with its boughs.
It stretched out its branches to the sea,
to the Great River it stretched out its shoots.

Then why have you broken down its walls?
It is plucked by all who pass by.
It is ravaged by the boar of the forest,
devoured by the beasts of the field.

God of hosts, turn again, we implore,
look down from heaven and see.
Visit the vine and protect it,
the vine your right hand has planted.
They have burnt it with fire and destroyed it.
May they perish at the frown of your face.

May your hand be on the man you have chosen,
the man you have given your strength.
And we shall never forsake you again;
give us life that we may call upon your name.

God of hosts, bring us back;
let your face shine on us and we shall be saved.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Lord God, eternal shepherd, you so tend the vineyard you planted that now it extends its branches even to the farthest coast. Look down on your Church and come to us. Help us remain in your Son as branches on the vine, that, planted firmly in your love, we may testify before the whole world to your great power working everywhere.

Ant. Look, O Lord, and see my suffering. Come quickly to my aid.

Ant. 2 God is my savior; I trust in him and shall not fear.

Canticle – Isaiah 12:1-6
Joy of God’s ransomed people
If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink (John 7:37).

I give you thanks, O Lord;
though you have been angry with me,
your anger has abated, and you have consoled me.

God indeed is my savior;
I am confident and unafraid.
My strength and my courage is the Lord,
and he has been my savior.
With joy you will draw water
at the fountain of salvation, and say on that day:

Give thanks to the Lord, acclaim his name;
among the nations make known his deeds,
proclaim how exalted is his name.

Sing praise to the Lord for his glorious achievement;
let this be known throughout all the earth.
Shout with exultation, O city of Zion,
for great in your midst is the Holy One of Israel!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. God is my savior; I trust in him and shall not fear.

Ant. 3 The Lord has fed us with the finest wheat; he has filled us with honey from the rock.

Psalm 81
Solemn renewal of the Covenant
See that no one among you has a faithless heart (Hebrews 3:12).

Ring out your joy to God our strength,
shout in triumph to the God of Jacob.

Raise a song and sound the timbrel,
the sweet-sounding harp and the lute;
blow the trumpet at the new moon,
when the moon is full, on our feast.

For this is Israel’s law,
a command of the God of Jacob.
He imposed it as a rule on Joseph,
when he went out against the land of Egypt.

A voice I did not know said to me:
“I freed your shoulder from the burden;
your hands were freed from the load.
You called in distress and I saved you.

I answered, concealed in the storm cloud;
at the waters of Meribah I tested you.
Listen, my people, to my warning.
O Israel, if only you would heed!

Let there be no foreign god among you.
no worship of an alien god.
I am the Lord your God,
who brought you from the land of Egypt.
Open wide your mouth and I will fill it.

But my people did not heed my voice
and Israel would not obey,
so I left them in their stubbornness of heart
to follow their own designs.

O that my people would heed me,
that Israel would walk in my ways!
At once I would subdue their foes,
turn my hand against their enemies.

The Lord’s enemies would cringe at their feet
and their subjection would last for ever.
But Israel I would feed with finest wheat
and fill them with honey from the rock.”

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Lord God, open our mouths to proclaim your glory. Help us to leave sin behind and to rejoice in professing your name.

Ant. The Lord has fed us with the finest wheat; he has filled us with honey from the rock.

READING Hebrews 2:9-10

We see Jesus crowned with glory and honor because he suffered death, that through God’s gracious will he might taste death for the sake of all men. Indeed, it was fitting that when bringing many sons to glory God, for whom and through whom all things exist, should make their leader in the work of salvation perfect through suffering.

Sacred Silence(indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

RESPONSORY

By your own blood, Lord, you brought us back to God.
– By your own blood, Lord, you brought us back to God.

From every tribe, and tongue, and people and nation,
– you brought us back to God.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit,
– By your own blood, Lord, you brought us back to God.

CANTICLE OF ZECHARIAH

Ant. I have longed to eat this meal with you before I suffer.

Luke 1:68 – 79
The Messiah and his forerunner

Blessed be the Lord, the God of Israel;
he has come to his people and set them free.
He has raised up for us a mighty savior,
born of the house of his servant David.

Through his holy prophets he promised of old
that he would save us from our enemies,
from the hands of all who hate us.
He promised to show mercy to our fathers
and to remember his holy covenant.

This was the oath he swore to our father Abraham:
to set us free from the hands of our enemies,
free to worship him without fear,
holy and righteous in his sight all the days of our life.

You, my child, shall be called the prophet of the Most High;
for you will go before the Lord to prepare his way,
to give his people knowledge of salvation
by the forgiveness of their sins.

In the tender compassion of our God
the dawn from on high shall break upon us,
to shine on those who dwell in darkness and the shadow of death,
and to guide our feet into the way of peace.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. I have longed to eat this meal with you before I suffer.

INTERCESSIONS

The Father anointed Christ with the Holy Spirit to proclaim forgiveness to those in bondage. Let us humbly call upon the eternal priest:
– Lord, have mercy on us.

You went up to Jerusalem to suffer and so enter into your glory,
bring your Church to the Passover feast of heaven.
– Lord, have mercy on us.

You were lifted high on the cross and pierced by the soldier’s lance,
heal our wounds.
– Lord, have mercy on us.

You made the cross the tree of life,
give its fruit to those reborn in baptism.
– Lord, have mercy on us.

On the cross you forgave the repentant thief,
forgive us our sins.
– Lord, have mercy on us.

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth, as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Concluding Prayer

O God,
who anointed your Only Begotten Son
with the Holy Spirit
and made him Christ and Lord,
graciously grant
that, being made sharers in his consecration,
we may bear witness to your Redemption in the world.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.

[markomalley]

Apr 05, Midday Prayer for Thursday of Holy Week

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. II:
Ordinary: 1054 (Midday)
Proper of Seasons: 462
Psalter: Thursday, Week II, 1311

Midday Prayer for Holy Thursday, using the Current Psalmody

God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

HYMN

Glory to God in the highest
And peace to His people on earth
Lord God, Heavenly King, Almighty God and Father
We worship You
We give You thanks
We praise You for Your glory

Lord Jesus Christ, only Son of the Father
Lord God, Lamb of God
You take away the sins of the world
Lord, have mercy on us
You are seated at the right hand of the Father
Receive our prayer

For You alone are the Holy One
For You alone are the Lord
For You alone are the Most High
Jesus Christ
With the Holy Spirit
In the glory of God the Father

Amen.

Glory to God in the highest by St. Paul’s Choir Indianapolis; Lyrics are based upon the text of the Sacred Liturgy

PSALMODY

Ant. I know my own sheep, and my own know me, as the Father knows me and as I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep.

Psalm 119:65-72
IX (Teth)

Lord, you have been good to your servant
according to your word.
Teach me discernment and knowledge
for I trust in your commands.

Before I was afflicted I strayed
but now I keep your word.
You are good and your deeds are good;
teach me your commandments.

Though proud men smear me with lies
yet I keep your precepts.
Their minds are closed to good
but your law is my delight.

It was good for me to be afflicted,
to learn your will.
The law from your mouth means more to me
than silver and gold.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm 56:2-7b, 9-14
Trust in God’s word
This psalm shows Christ in his passion (Saint Jerome).

Have mercy on me, God, men crush me;
they fight me all day long and oppress me.
My foes crush me all day long,
for many fight proudly against me.

When I fear, I will trust in you,
in God whose word I praise.
In God I trust, I shall not fear:
what can mortal man do to me?

All day long they distort my words,
all their thought is to harm me.
They band together in ambush,
track me down and seek my life.

You have kept an account of my wanderings;
you have kept a record of my tears;
are they not written in your book?
Then my foes will be put to flight
on the day that I call to you.
This I know, that God is on my side.

In God, whose word I praise,
in the Lord, whose word I praise,
in God I trust; I shall not fear:
what can mortal man do to me?

I am bound by the vows I have made you.
O God, I will offer you praise
for you rescued my soul from death,
you kept my feet from stumbling
that I may walk in the presence of God
and enjoy the light of the living.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm 57
Morning prayer in affliction
This psalm tells of our Lord’s passion (Saint Augustine).

Have mercy on me, God, have mercy
for in you my soul has taken refuge.
In the shadow of your wings I take refuge
till the storms of destruction pass by.

I call to God the Most High,
to God who has always been my help.
May he send from heaven and save me
and shame those who assail me.
May God send his truth and his love.

My soul lies down among lions,
who would devour the sons of men.
Their teeth are spears and arrows,
their tongue a sharpened sword.

O God, arise above the heavens;
may your glory shine on earth!

They laid a snare for my steps,
my soul was bowed down.
They dug a pit in my path
but fell in it themselves.

My heart is ready, O God,
my heart is ready.
I will sing, I will sing your praise.
Awake, my soul,
awake, lyre and harp,
I will awake the dawn.

I will thank you, Lord, among the peoples,
I will praise you among the nations,
for your love reaches to the heavens
and your truth to the skies.

O God, arise above the heavens;
may your glory shine on earth!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

Ant. I know my own sheep, and my own know me, as the Father knows me and as I know the Father; and I lay down my life for my sheep.

READING Hebrews 7:26-27

It was fitting that we should have such a high priest: holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners, higher than the heavens. Unlike the other high priests, he has no need to offer sacrifice day after day, first for his own sins and then for those of the people; our Lord Jesus Christ did that once for all when he offered himself.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell)
A moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

Ours were the sufferings he bore.
– Ours the weight of guilt he endured.

CONCLUDING PRAYER

O God,
who anointed your Only Begotten Son
with the Holy Spirit
and made him Christ and Lord,
graciously grant
that, being made sharers in his consecration,
we may bear witness to your Redemption in the world.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

ACCLAMATION (only added when praying in community)

Let us praise the Lord.
– And give him thanks.

[markomalley]

Apr 05, Evening Prayer for Thursday of Holy Week

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol. II:
Ordinary: 1064
Proper of Seasons: 464
Psalter: Thursday, Week II, 1315

Christian Prayer:
Ordinary: 694
Proper of Seasons: 406
Psalter: Thursday, Week II, 830

Evening Prayer for Holy Thursday

God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

HYMN

Pange lingua gloriosi
Corporis mysterium.

Verbum caro, panem verum
Verbo carnem efficit:
Fitque sanguis Christi merum

Tantum ergo Sacramentum
Veneremur cernui

Praestet fides supplementum

Genitori, Genitoque
Procedenti ab utroque
Sit et benedictio.

English Translation:

I shall praise the Savior’s glory,
of His flesh the mystery sing.

Word made flesh, true bread of heaven
by His word made flesh to be;
from the wine His blood is taken

Therefore we, before Him falling,
this great sacrament revere;

faith our feeble senses aiding

To the everlasting Father
be all honor, glory, blessing,
power and endless majesty.

“Pange Lingua” performed by The Choir Of Holy Rosary Catholic Church; Words: Thomas Aquinas; tr. Edward Caswall; Music: Pange Ligua 87.87.87 Mode III plainsong

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Jesus Christ, the firstborn from the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth, has made us a royal people to serve his God and Father.

Psalm 72
The Messiah’s royal power
Opening their treasures, they offered him gifts: gold, frankincense and myrrh (Matthew 2:11).

I

O God, give your judgment to the king,
to a king’s son your justice,
that he may judge your people in justice
and your poor in right judgment.

May the mountains bring forth peace for the people
and the hills, justice.
May he defend the poor of the people
and save the children of the needy
and crush the oppressor.

He shall endure like the sun and the moon
from age to age.
He shall descend like rain on the meadow,
like raindrops on the earth.

In his days justice shall flourish
and peace till the moon fails.
He shall rule from sea to sea,
from the Great River to earth’s bounds.

Before him his enemies shall fall,
his foes lick the dust.
The kings of Tarshish and the seacoasts
shall pay him tribute.

The kings of Sheba and Seba
shall bring him gifts.
Before him all kings shall fall prostrate,
all nations shall serve him.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Jesus Christ, the firstborn from the dead and ruler of the kings of the earth, has made us a royal people to serve his God and Father.

Ant. 2 The Lord will be the champion of the helpless; he will free the poor from the grip of the powerful.

II

For he shall save the poor when they cry
and the needy who are helpless.
He will have pity on the weak
and save the lives of the poor.

From oppression he will rescue their lives,
to him their blood is dear.
Long may he live,
may the gold of Sheba be given him.
They shall pray for him without ceasing
and bless him all the day.

May corn be abundant in the land
to the peaks of the mountains.
May its fruit rustle like Lebanon;
may people flourish in the cities
like grass on the earth.

May his name be blessed for ever
and endure like the sun.
Every tribe shall be blessed in him,
all nations bless his name.

Blessed be the Lord, God of Israel,
who alone works wonders,
ever blessed his glorious name.
Let his glory fill the earth.

Amen! Amen!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Psalm-prayer

We call upon your name, Father, and pronounce it blessed above the earth. Give your people the fullness of peace and justice in your kingdom.

Ant. The Lord will be the champion of the helpless; he will free the poor from the grip of the powerful.

Ant. 3 The saints won their victory over death through the blood of the Lamb and the truth to which they bore witness.

Canticle – Revelation 11:17-18; 12:10b-12a
The judgment of God

We praise you, the Lord God Almighty,
who is and who was.
You have assumed your great power,
you have begun your reign.

The nations have raged in anger,
but then came your day of wrath
and the moment to judge the dead:
The time to reward your servants the prophets
and the holy ones who revere you,
the great and the small alike.

Now have salvation and power come,
the reign of our God and the authority
of his Anointed One.
For the accuser of our brothers is cast out,
who night and day accused them before God.

They defeated him by the blood of the Lamb
and by the word of their testimony;
love for life did not deter them from death.
So rejoice, you heavens,
and you that dwell therein!

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. The saints won their victory over death through the blood of the Lamb and the truth to which they bore witness.

READING Hebrews 13:12-15

Jesus died outside the gate, to sanctify the people by his own blood. Let us go to him outside the camp, bearing the insult which he bore. For here we have no lasting city; we are seeking one which is to come. Through him let us continually offer God a sacrifice of praise, that is, the fruit of lips which acknowledge his name.

Sacred Silence (indicated by a bell) – a moment to reflect and receive in our hearts the full resonance of the voice of the Holy Spirit and to unite our personal prayer more closely with the word of God and public voice of the Church.

In place of the responsory, the following is said:

For our sake Christ was obedient, accepting even death.
–For our sake Christ was obedient, accepting even death.

CANTICLE OF MARY

Ant. While they were at supper, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples.

Luke 1:46-55
The soul rejoices in the Lord

My soul proclaims the greatness of the Lord,
my spirit rejoices in God my Savior
for he has looked with favor on his lowly servant.

From this day all generations will call me blessed:
the Almighty has done great things for me,
and holy is his Name.

He has mercy on those who fear him
in every generation.

He has shown the strength of his arm,
he has scattered the proud in their conceit.

He has cast down the mighty from their thrones,
and has lifted up the lowly.

He has filled the hungry with good things,
and the rich he has sent away empty.

He has come to the help of his servant Israel
for he has remembered his promise of mercy,
the promise he made to our fathers,
to Abraham and his children for ever.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. While they were at supper, Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke the bread and gave it to his disciples.

INTERCESSIONS

At the Last Supper, on the night he was betrayed, our Savior entrusted to his Church the memorial of his death and resurrection, to be celebrated for ever. Let us adore him, and say:
– Sanctify your people, redeemed by your blood.

Redeemer of the world, give us a greater share of your passion through a deeper spirit of repentance,
so that we may share the glory of your resurrection.
– Sanctify your people, redeemed by your blood.

May your Mother, comfort of the afflicted, protect us,
may we console others as you console us.
– Sanctify your people, redeemed by your blood.

In their trials enable your faithful people to share in your passion,
and so reveal in their lives your saving power.
– Sanctify your people, redeemed by your blood.

You humbled yourself by being obedient even to accepting death, death on a cross,
give all who serve you the gifts of obedience and patient endurance.
– Sanctify your people, redeemed by your blood.

Transform the bodies of the dead to be like your own in glory,
and bring us at last into their fellowship.
– Sanctify your people, redeemed by your blood.

Our Father who art in heaven,
hallowed be thy name.
Thy kingdom come.
Thy will be done on earth,
as it is in heaven.
Give us this day our daily bread,
and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive those who trespass against us,
and lead us not into temptation,
but deliver us from evil.

Concluding Prayer

O God,
who have called us
to participate in this most sacred Supper,
in which your Only Begotten Son,
when about to hand himself over to death,
entrusted to the Church a sacrifice new for all eternity,
the banquet of his love, grant, we pray,
that we may draw from so great a mystery,
the fullness of charity and of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever.
– Amen.

DISMISSAL

May the Lord bless us,
protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life.
– Amen.

[markomalley]

Apr 05, Night Prayer for Thursday of Holy Week

Ribbon Placement:
Liturgy of the Hours Vol II:
Page 1628 and 466

Christian Prayer:
Page 1037 and 408

Night Prayer for Holy Thursday

God, come to my assistance.
– Lord, make haste to help me.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Examination of conscience:

We are called to have a clear conscience toward God and toward men, in our hearts and in our minds, in our actions and inactions. To do so, it is vital that we examine our conscience daily and to ask for God’s mercy as we fall short and to ask for His strength to do better.

Kýrie, eléison
– Kýrie, eléison

Christé, eléison
– Christé, eléison

Kýrie, eléison
– Kýrie, eléison

HYMN

Abide with me; fast falls the eventide;
the darkness deepens; Lord, with me abide.
When other helpers fail and comforts flee,
Help of the helpless, O abide with me.

Swift to its close ebbs out life’s little day;
earth’s joys grow dim; its glories pass away;
change and decay in all around I see;
O thou who changest not, abide with me.

I need thy presence every passing hour.
What but thy grace can foil the tempter’s power?
Who, like thyself, my guide and stay can be?
Through cloud and sunshine, Lord, abide with me.

I fear no foe, with thee at hand to bless;
ills have no weight, and tears not bitterness.
Where is death’s sting? Where, grave, thy victory?
I triumph still, if thou abide with me.

Hold thou thy cross before my closing eyes;
shine through the gloom and point me to the skies.
Heaven’s morning breaks, and earth’s vain shadows flee;
in life, in death, O Lord, abide with me.

“Abide With Me” by Norwich Cathedral Choir; Text: Henry F. Lyte, 1793-1847; Music: W.H. Monk, 1823-1889; Tune: EVENTIDE, Meter: 10 10.10 10

PSALMODY

Ant. 1 Night holds no terrors for me sleeping under God’s wings.

Psalm 91
Safe in God’s sheltering care
I have given you the power to tread upon serpents and scorpions (Luke 10:19).

He who dwells in the shelter of the Most High
and abides in the shade of the Almighty
says to the Lord: “My refuge,
my stronghold, my God in whom I trust!”

It is he who will free you from the snare
of the fowler who seeks to destroy you;
he will conceal you with his pinions
and under his wings you will find refuge.

You will not fear the terror of the night
nor the arrow that flies by day,
nor the plague that prowls in the darkness
nor the scourge that lays waste at noon.

A thousand may fall at your side,
ten thousand fall at your right,
you, it will never approach;
his faithfulness is buckler and shield.

Your eyes have only to look
to see how the wicked are repaid,
you who have said: “Lord, my refuge!”
and have made the Most High your dwelling.

Upon you no evil shall fall,
no plague approach where you dwell.
For you has he commanded his angels,
to keep you in all your ways.

They shall bear you upon their hands
lest you strike your foot against a stone.
On the lion and the viper you will tread
and trample the young lion and the dragon.

Since he clings to me in love, I will free him;
protect him for he knows my name.
When he calls I shall answer: “I am with you,”
I will save him in distress and give him glory.

With length of life I will content him;
I shall let him see my saving power.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit:
– as it was in the beginning, is now, and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Night holds no terrors for me sleeping under God’s wings.

READING Revelation 22:4-5

They shall see the Lord face to face and bear his name on their foreheads. The night shall be no more. They will need no light from lamps or the sun, for the Lord God shall give them light, and they shall reign forever.

Ant. For our sake Christ was obedient, accepting even death.

GOSPEL CANTICLE

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

Luke 2:29-32
Christ is the light of the nations and the glory of Israel

Lord, now you let your servant go in peace;
your word has been fulfilled:

my own eyes have seen the salvation
which you have prepared in the sight of every people:

a light to reveal you to the nations
and the glory of your people Israel.

Glory to the Father, and to the Son,
and to the Holy Spirit:
as it was in the beginning, is now,
and will be for ever. Amen.

Ant. Protect us, Lord, as we stay awake; watch over us as we sleep, that awake, we may keep watch with Christ, and asleep, rest in his peace.

Concluding Prayer

Lord,
we beg you to visit this house
and banish from it
all the deadly power of the enemy.
May your holy angels dwell here
to keep us in peace,
and may your blessing be upon us always.
We ask this through Christ our Lord.
– Amen.

Blessing

May the all-powerful Lord grant us a restful night and a peaceful death.
– Amen.

Antiphon or song in honor of the Blessed Virgin Mary

[Salvation]

Information: St. Vincent Ferrer

Feast Day:	April 5
Born:	January 23, 1350, Valencia, Kingdom of Valencia
Died:	April 5, 1419, Vannes, Brittany, France
Canonized:	June 3, 1455, Rome by Pope Calixtus III
Major Shrine:	Vannes Cathedral
Patron of:	builders, construction workers, plumbers

[Salvation]

Holy Week Days supersede any saint's days.

St. Vincent Ferrer - Sermon for the First Sunday of Lent [Ecumenical]
St. Vincent Ferrer for Our Day

[Salvation]

Holy Thursday

Holy Thursday

The 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 Thursday

HOLY THURSDAY is the most complex and profound of all religious observances, saving only the Easter Vigil. It celebrates both the institution by Christ Himself of the Eucharist and of the institution of the sacerdotal priesthood (as distinct from the "priesthood of all believers") for in this, His last supper with the disciples, a celebration of Passover, He is the self-offered Passover Victim, and every ordained priest to this day presents this same sacrifice, by Christ's authority and command, in exactly the same way. The Last Supper was also Christ's farewell to His assembled disciples, some of whom would betray, desert or deny Him before the sun rose again.

On Holy Thursday morning there is a special Mass in Cathedral Churches, celebrated by the bishop and as many priests of the diocese as can attend, because it is a solemn observance of Christ's institution of the priesthood at the Last Supper. At this "Chrism Mass" the bishop also blesses the Oil of Chrism used for Baptism, Confirmation and Anointing of the sick or dying. The bishop may wash the feet of twelve of the priests, to symbolize Christ's washing the feet of His Apostles, the first priests.

The evening Holy Thursday Liturgy, marks the end of Lent and the beginning of the sacred "Triduum" ("three days") of Holy Week, which culminates in the Easter Vigil, and concludes at Vespers on the evening of Easter day (see Paschalis Sollemnitatis, §§ 38-40). The Mass begins in the evening, because Passover began at sundown; it commemorates Our Lord's institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper. It also shows both the worth God ascribes to the humility of service, and the need for cleansing with water (a symbol of baptism) in the Mandatum, washing, commemorating Jesus' washing the feet of His apostles, as well as in the priest's stripping and washing of the altar. Cleansing, in fact, gave this day of Holy Week the name Maundy Thursday.

The action of the Church on this night also witnesses to the Church's esteem for Christ's Body present in the consecrated Host in the Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament, carried in solemn procession to the flower-bedecked Altar of Repose, where it will remain "entombed" until the communion service on Good Friday. No Mass will be celebrated again in the Church until the Easter Vigil proclaims the Resurrection.

And finally, there is the continued Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament by the people during the night, just as the disciples stayed with the Lord during His agony on the Mount of Olives before the betrayal by Judas.

There is such an abundance of symbolism in the solemn celebration of the events of Holy Thursday layer upon layer, in fact that we can no more than hint at it in these few words. For many centuries, the Last Supper of Our Lord has inspired great works of art and literature, such as the glorious stained glass window in Chartres cathedral (above), Leonardo's ever popular (and much imitated) Last Supper in the 16th century; and a reminiscence called Holy Thursday, by the French novelist François Mauriac, written in the 1930s. (A chapter of Mauriac's meditation was reprinted in Voices, Lent-Easter 2002, with permission from Sophia Institute Press).

Family Activities for Holy Thursday

When you eat this bread and drink this cup
you proclaim the Lord's death, until He comes again.
­ I Corinthians 11:26

 

We have prepared a Christian adaptation of a Passover Seder, simple enough for use in families with young children. This special meal stresses the Christian significance of elements of the traditional Jewish Passover meal (seder) as it may have been celebrated in our Lord's time. It is neither a re-enactment of the Last Supper, nor a Jewish service. But we believe this festive family meal can be a very expressive way of helping young children to understand more about the historic origins of their faith as well as the importance of this day of Holy Week. (This is in the full edition of the Family Sourcebook for Lent and Easter. You may make photocopies of the service so everyone can have one.)

Maundy Thursday's emphasis on ritual washing also gave rise to the ancient tradition of spring cleaning, evidently related to the Jewish custom of ritually cleaning the home in preparation for the Feast of Passover. Everything was to be cleaned and polished in preparation for the Easter celebration. You can tell children about this tradition and ask to them to clean their rooms in order to observe Maundy Thursday. (Be sure to let us know if this works!)

Adults and children who are old enough to accompany their parents can return to Church after Mass for a period of Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. If this is not possible, candles can be lighted and special prayers could be said after returning home from Mass and before bedtime. To give you some ideas, on the Stations of the Cross page we have included suggestions for a family observance of the Stations (also known as Via Crucis, or Way of the Cross) as a form of Tenebrae.

 

Readings

 

Chrism Mass

Collect:
O God, who anointed your Only Begotten Son with the Holy Spirit
and made him Christ and Lord,
graciously grant
that, being made shares in his consecration,
we may bear witness to your Redemption in the world.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading: Isaiah 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me to bring good tidings to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound; to proclaim the year of the Lord's favor, and the day of vengeance of our God; to comfort all who mourn; to grant to those who mourn in Zion -- to give them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead of a faint spirit; that they may be called oaks of righteousness, the planting of the Lord, but you shall be called the priests of the Lord, men shall speak of you as the ministers of our God
I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their descendants shall be known among the nations, and their offspring in the midst of the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them, that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed.

Second Reading: Revelation 1:5-8
From Jesus Christ the faithful witness, the first-born of the dead, and the ruler of kings on earth.
To Him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by His blood and made us a kingdom, priests to His God and Father, to Him be glory and dominion for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him, every one who pierced Him; and all tribes of the earth will wail on account of Him. Even so. Amen.
"I am the Alpha and the Omega," says the Lord God, who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty.

Gospel Reading:Luke 4:16-21
He[Jesus] came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and He went to the synagogue, as His custom was, on the sabbath day. And He stood up to read; and there was given to him the book of the prophet Isaiah. He opened the book and found the place where it was written, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because He has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed, to proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord." And He closed the book, and gave it back to the attendant, and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. And He began to say to them, "Today this scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing."

Mass of the Lord's Supper

Collect:
O God, who have called us to participate
in this most sacred Supper,
in which your Only Begotten Son,
when about to hand himself over to death,
entrusted to the Church a sacrifice new for all eternity,
the banquet of his love,
grant, we pray,
thatwe may draw from so great a mystery,
the fullness of charity and of life.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, "This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they shall take every man a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household; and if the household is too small for a lamb, then a man and his neighbor next to his house shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old; you shall take it from the sheep or from the goats; and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs in the evening. Then they shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat them. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.

In this manner you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord's passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.

"This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance for ever.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when He was betrayed took bread, and when He had given thanks, He broke it, and said, "This is My body which 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 Lord's death until He comes.

Gospel Reading:John 13:1-15
Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own who were in the world, He loved them to the end. And during supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into His hands, and that He had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside His garments, and girded Himself with a towel. Then He poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which He was girded. He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?" Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand." Peter said to Him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no part in Me." Simon Peter said to Him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!" Jesus said to him, "He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over; and you are clean, but not every one of you." For He knew who was to betray Him; that was why He said, "You are not all clean."

When He had washed their feet, and taken His garments, and resumed His place, He said to them, "Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.

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Adoremus: Articles and Document on Footwashing:
The Footwashing -- Jesus Christ Establishes the New Covenant Before Calvary -- by The Rev. Msgr. Anthony A. LaFemina [March 2006]

Paths to Rome: Washing of feet on Holy Thursday: "For I have given you an example, that you also should do" -- by Fr. Jerry Pokorsky [March 1997]

Relevant paragraphs of Paschalis Sollemnitatis follow:

45. Careful attention should be given to the mysteries that are commemorated in this Mass: the institution of the Eucharist, the institution of the priesthood, and Christ's command of brotherly love; the homily should explain these points.

51. The washing of the feet of chosen men [viri selecti] which, according to tradition, is performed on this day, represents the service and charity of Christ, who came "not to be served, but to serve." [58] This tradition should be maintained, and its proper significance explained.  

[Salvation]

Saint Vincent Ferrer, Priest

Saint Vincent Ferrer, Priest
Optional Memorial
April 5th

St Vincent Ferrer (Griffoni Polyptych)
Francesco del Cossa
1473
Oil on panel, 153 x 60 cm
National Gallery, London

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History:
Famous Dominican missionary, born at Valencia, January 23, 1350. He was descended from the younger of two brothers who were knighted for their valor in the conquest of Valencia, 1238. In 1340 Vincent's father, William Ferrer, married Constantia Miguel, whose family had likewise been ennobled during the conquest of Valencia. Vincent was their fourth child. A brother, not unknown to history, was Boniface Ferrer, General of the Carthusians, who was employed by the antipope Benedict XIII in important diplomatic missions. Vincent was educated at Valencia, and completed his philosophy at the age of fourteen. In 1367 he entered the Dominican Order, and was sent to the house of studies at Barcelona the following year. In 1370 he taught philosophy at Lerida; one of his pupils there was Pierre Fouloup, later Grand Inquisitor of Aragon.

After this Vincent carried on his apostolic work while in Pedro de Luna's suite. At Valladolid he converted a rabbi, later well known as Bishop Paul of Burgos. At Salamanca Queen Yolanda of Aragon chose him for her confessor, 1391-1395.

St. Vincent felt that he was the messenger of penance sent to prepare men for the judgment. For twenty years he traversed Western Europe preaching penance and awakening the dormant consciences of sinners by his wondrous eloquence. His austere life was but the living expression of his doctrine. The floor was his usual bed; perpetually fasting, he arose at two in the morning to chant the Office, celebrating Mass daily, afterwards preaching, sometimes three hours, and frequently working miracles. After his midday meal he would tend the sick children; at eight o'clock he prepared his sermon for the following day. He usually traveled on foot, poorly clad. He was canonized by Calixtus III at the Dominican Church of Santa Maria Sopra Minerva, Rome, 3 June, 1455.

He died at Vannes, Brittany, April 5, 1419.

(Principal source - Catholic Encyclopedia - 1913 edition)

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Collect:
O God, who raised up the Priest Saint Vincent Ferrer
to minister by the Gospel,
grant, we pray,
that, when the Judge comes,
who Saint Vincent proclaimed on earth,
we may be among those blessed
to behold him reigning with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
one God, for ever and ever. +Amen.

First Reading: 2 Timothy 4:1-5
I charge you in the presence of God and of Christ Jesus who is to judge the living and the dead, and by His appearing and His kingdom: preach the word, be urgent in season and out of season, convince, rebuke, and exhort, be unfailing in patience and in teaching. For the time is coming when people will not endure sound teaching, but having itching ears they will accumulate for themselves teachers to suit their own likings, and will turn away from listening to the truth and wander into myths. As for you, always be steady, endure suffering, do the work of an evangelist, fulfill your ministry.

Gospel Reading: Luke 12:35-40
"Let your loins be girded and your lamps burning, and be like men who are waiting for their master to come home from the marriage feast, so that they may open to him at once when he comes and knocks. Blessed are those servants whom the master finds awake when he comes; truly, I say to you, he will gird himself and have them sit at table, and he will come and serve them. If he comes in the second watch, or in the third, and finds them so, blessed are those servants! But know this, that if the householder had known at what hour the thief was coming, he would not have left his house to be broken into. You also must be ready; for the Son of man is coming at an unexpected hour."

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Link to the Vatican Museum: The miracles of St Vincent Ferrer, Ercole de' Roberti, (Ferrara circa 1450 - 1496), The miracles of St Vincent Ferrer, 1473, tempera on wood.

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Vatican Website, St. Vincent Ferrer- Prepared by Pontifical University Saint Thomas Aquinas

A reading from the treatise of St Vincent Ferrer On the Spiritual Life
How to preach

"In sermons and talks, use simple language and a homely conversational style to explain each particular point. As far as you can, give plenty of examples; then, whoever has committed that particular sin will have his conscience pricked, as though you were preaching to him alone. But it must be done in such a way that your words do not appear to come from a soul full of pride or scorn. Speak rather out of the depths of love and fatherly care, like a father suffering for his sinful children, as if they were gravely ill, or trapped in a deep pit, whom he is trying to draw out and set free, and look after like a mother. You must be like one who delights in their progress, and in the glory in heaven that they are hoping for.

Such a style usually has a good effect on a congregation. For, to speak of virtues and vices in general terms evokes little response from listeners.

Similarly in confession, whether you are gently comforting the timid, or more sternly putting the fear of God into the hardened sinner, you must always show the deepest love, so that the sinner always feels that your words come out of pure love. In this way, your words of sweetness and love will have a more penetrating effect.

But in your desire to be of use to the souls of your neighbours, you must first of all have recourse to God with your whole heart, and simply make this request of him. Ask him in his goodness to pour into you that love in which is the sum of all virtues, through which you may be able to achieve what you desire."

Prayer

Lord God, who sent Saint Vincent Ferrer to preach the gospel of Christ, grant that we may see the Son of Man reigning in heaven whom he proclaimed as judge of mankind. (We make our prayer) through our Lord.

Biography

Saint Vincent Ferrer, Priest
Born in Valencia in Spain in the year 1350. He joined the Dominican Order and taught theology. He journeyed much as a preacher and reaped much fruit in protecting the true faith and reforming morals. He died at Vannes in France in the year 1419.

[Salvation]

 

Catholic

Almanac:

Thursday, April 5
Liturgical Color: Violet
Today the Church honors St Maria Crescentia Höss. She entered the Franciscan Tertiaries of Mayerhoff in Bavaria, becoming the Superior of the community in 1741. She urged her sisters to always place complete trust in the providence of God.

[Salvation]

Archdiocese of Washington

The Seating Plan at the Last Supper

By: Msgr. Charles Pope

Most of us who live now think of the Last Supper in terms that are familiar to us. In our imagination Jesus and his apostles sit around a square table on chairs. Jesus is a the center and his apostles arrayed around him. The famous painting of Leonardo Da Vinci (See right) is uppermost in most modern minds when thinking of the Last Supper.

But the real Last Supper was different in many significant ways.

Some of the following I am about it present is still a matter of debate other aspects of it are undisputed.

1. Jesus and the Apostles did not sit on chairs at a table. Rather they reclined on ground or on mats and pillows, leaning on their left elbow (leaning either forward or on their left side) and eating with their right hand. Their legs were stretched out behind them. (See picture at left, click to get a bigger size) This was the typical fashion for eating in the ancient world. That they reclined to eat is made plain in the Gospel of Mark: While they were reclining at the table eating, he said, “I tell you the truth, one of you will betray me–one who is eating with me (Mk 14:18).

This setting also explains some things that seem strange to us moderns. First of all why did John lean back on Jesus’ chest to ask him a question? (Jn 13:25; 21:20) This would be strange and physically awkward in a modern upright table setting. But reclining on one’s side on a mat meant you had to lean back to talk to the person next to you. Thus, while many see the act as a tender one, it may also have had a practical dimension.

There is also explained another strange scene (to us moderns) where Jesus is reclining to eat in the home of a Pharisee and and a woman begins to anoint his feet (Luke 7:38). In a modern upright table setting this would mean she’d have to be under the table. Strange indeed! But in the ancient setting, the posture was such that one’s feet were behind and thus the woman could approach Jesus from behind and begin to anoint his feet without his prior knowledge.

2. The Place of honor in modern western settings at a typical long rectangular table is either at the center or at one end. Everyone is seated upright and facing in to the center and can generally see all the others well. However, in the ancient meal setting the table was “U” shaped, either as a half circle, or with 90 degree arms. Instead of sitting at the center of the table (as in DaVinci’s painting above) the host or honored guest sat at one corner. Further, everyone sat on one side on the outside of the table allowing the inside of the table to open for servers.

The picture to the right is from a very early mosaic in Ravenna, probably made well before the 5th Century. At this early time, artists still had access to more of the memory of the actual practices at the time of Jesus and thus depicts the Last Supper as it was more likely arranged. Notice that Jesus is at the head of the corner and his disciples are arrayed in a sloping ark behind and sloping to his left. This was the usual setting for the ancient meal and especially something as formal as a passover meal.

It would seem however, for John to have been able to lean back on Jesus’ chest to ask him the question, that Jesus would have to been on the opposite side of the “table” from that depicted in the Ravenna mosaic. But we still get the basic point of what ancient meal settings looked like.

3. It would seem (though this is debatable) that the place of second honor was at the other end of the U shaped table on the opposite corner. This would help explain why Peter is not at Jesus’ immediate side and has to motion to John across the room to lean back and ask Jesus a question (Jn:13:24-25). Since Peter would like have had the other place of honor it makes sense that he would be across the room and unable to ask Jesus himself.

Here too the Ravenna Mosaic seems instead to picture Peter right next to the Lord, which would not comport with the likely biblical evidence that John was in fact to the Lord’s right. But the mosaic does capture well the reclining at a U shaped low table.

Thus the whole setting of the Last Supper was rather a different setting that most modern people imagine. Leaning on elbows and eating with one hand would all be very awkward to us. But I suppose they’d think what we do strange as well. Nevertheless, the ancient practice, DaVinci and modern notions notwithstanding was that people reclined to eat.

The following clip is a humorous scene from the Passion of the Christ. Mary is puzzled over Jesus making a tall table to eat at. She cannot imagine that anyone would want to eat sitting up. She says, “This will never catch on!”

[Salvation]

Catholic Culture

Daily Readings for: April 05, 2012
(Readings on USCCB website)

Collect: O God, who have called us to participate in this most sacred Supper, in which your Only Begotten Son, when about to hand himself over to death, entrusted to the Church a sacrifice new for all eternity, the banquet of his love, grant, we pray, that we may draw from so great a mystery, the fullness of charity and of life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

RECIPES

• Arnaki Gemisto (Stuffed Easter Lamb)
• Beranek
• Charoses
• Easter Lamb
• Greek Easter Lamb
• Haroset
• Holy Thursday Meal Menu
• Holy Thursday Spinach
• Horoseth
• Leg of Lamb
• Matzah
• Matzo Bread
• Roast Leg of Spring Lamb
• Spinach Fondue au Gratin
• Spinach Soup
• Spring Herb Soup
• Unleavened Bread
• Whole Baby Lamb

ACTIVITIES

• A Jonas (Jonah) Project
• Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament
• Easter Garden I
• Holy Thursday Activities in the Home
• Holy Thursday in the Home with the Trapp Family
• Holy Thursday Meal in the Home -- Remembering the Last Supper
• Holy Week in the Catholic Tradition
• Hymn: Pange Lingua
• Jonas and Holy Week
• Lenten Customs of the Russian Germans
• Maundy Thursday and the Passover Meal
• Maundy Thursday: Do Unto Others
• Music for Lent and Easter: St. Matthew Passion by Bach
• Open, O Hard and Sinful Heart!
• Sacred Triduum in the Home
• Tenebræ
• The Passover Meal: 1. Introduction
• The Passover Meal: 2. Preparing for the Celebration
• The Passover Meal: 3. Meal Preparation
• The Passover Meal: 4. Introductory Blessings
• The Passover Meal: 5. Traditional Passover Prayers
• The Passover Meal: 6. The Questions
• The Passover Meal: 7. Hallel: Psalms of Praise
• The Passover Meal: 8. The Concluding Hallel
• The Seder Meal as a Christian Home Celebration: Preparing and Celebrating the Holy Thursday Meal
• Ubi Caritas
• A Passover Supper On Holy Thursday

PRAYERS

• Prayer Before a Crucifix
• Holy Thursday in the Home
• Way of the Cross
• Holy Thursday Table Blessing
• Roman Ritual Blessing Before and After Meals: Easter Triduum (2nd Plan)
• Table Blessing for Holy Thursday
• Family Evening Prayer for Holy Week
• Roman Ritual Blessing Before and After Meals: Sacred Triduum (1st Plan)

Lent: April 5th

  Holy Thursday Old Calendar: Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday)

The last three days of Holy Week are referred to as the Easter or Sacred Triduum (Triduum Sacrum), the three-part drama of Christ's redemption: Holy Thursday, Good Friday and Holy Saturday.

Holy Thursday is also known as "Maundy Thursday." The word maundy comes from the Latin word mandatum (commandment) which is the first word of the Gospel acclamation:

Mandátum novum do vobis dicit Dóminus, ut diligátis ínvicem, sicut diléxi vos. "I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you." (John 13:34)

These are the words spoken by our Lord to His apostles at the Last Supper, after he completed the washing of the feet. We should imitate Christ's humility in the washing of the feet.

By meditating on the Gospels (cf. Matt 26:1 ff.; Mark 14:1 ff.; Luke 22:1 ff.; John 13:1 ff.), we can recall to mind Jesus' actions of that day. Father Bernard Strasser summarizes all the events of that first Holy Thursday:

...They included: (1) the eating of the Easter lamb or the paschal meal; (2) the washing of the disciple's feet; (3) the institution of the Most Holy Eucharist (the first Mass at which Jesus Christ, the eternal high priest, is the celebrant; the first Communion of the apostles; the first conferring of Holy Orders); (4) the foretelling of Judas' betrayal and Peter's denials; (5) the farewell discourse and priestly prayer of Jesus; (6) the agony and capture of Jesus in the Garden of Olives. — ©1947, With Christ Through the Year

In all the German speaking countries, Slavic nations and in Hungary this day is also known as "Green Thursday." The word is a corruption of the German word grunen (to mourn) to the German word for green (grün). Many people believe they must eat green at today's meal, which is probably derived from from the Jewish Passover meal that included bitter herbs.

Outside of Holy Week, the Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Vincernt Ferrer.

Stational Church

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Chrism Mass
There are only two Masses allowed on Holy Thursday -- the Chrism Mass and the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper. In each diocese there is a Chrism Mass or Mass of the Holy Oils, usually said in the morning at the cathedral of the diocese. Catholics should make an effort to participate at the Mass at least once in their lives, to experience the communion of priests with their bishop. All the priests of the diocese are invited to concelebrate with the bishop. The holy oils to be used throughout the diocese for the following year in the sacraments of Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders and the Sacrament of the Sick are blessed by the bishop at this Mass. This Mass also celebrates the institution of the priesthood.

Mass of the Lord's Supper
During the evening of Holy Thursday, the Mass of the Lord's Supper is celebrated. It is celebrated in the evening because the Passover began at sundown. There is only one Mass, at which the whole community and priests of the parish participate. This is a very joyful Mass, as we recall the institution of the Holy Eucharist and the priesthood. The priests wear white vestments, the altar is filled with flowers, the Gloria is sung and the bells are rung. After the Gloria, we shall not hear organ music and the bells until the Easter Vigil. The Liturgy of the Mass recalls the Passover, the Last Supper, which includes the Washing of the Feet. The hymn Ubi Caritas or Where Charity and Love Prevail is usually sung at this time. After the Communion Prayer, there is no final blessing. The Holy Eucharist is carried in procession through Church and then transferred into a place of reposition, usually a side chapel. The hymn Pange Lingua is also usually sung at this time.

After the Mass, we recall the Agony in the Garden, and the arrest and imprisonment of Jesus. The altar is stripped bare, crosses are removed or covered. The Eucharist has been placed in an altar of repose, and most churches are open for silent adoration, to answer Christ's invitation "Could you not, then, watch one hour with me?" (Matt 26:40)

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The Altar of Repose
When the Eucharist is processed to the altar of repose after the Mass of the Lord's Supper, we should remain in quiet prayer and adoration, keeping Christ company. There is a tradition, particularly in big cities with many parishes, to try and visit seven churches and their altar of repose during this evening.

Popular piety is particularly sensitive to the adoration of the Most Blessed Sacrament in the wake of the Mass of the Lord's supper. Because of a long historical process, whose origins are not entirely clear, the place of repose has traditionally been referred to as "a holy sepulchre". The faithful go there to venerate Jesus who was placed in a tomb following the crucifixion and in which he remained for some forty hours.

It is necessary to instruct the faithful on the meaning of the reposition: it is an austere solemn conservation of the Body of Christ for the community of the faithful which takes part in the liturgy of Good Friday and for the viaticum of the infirmed. It is an invitation to silent and prolonged adoration of the wondrous sacrament instituted by Jesus on this day.

In reference to the altar of repose, therefore, the term "sepulchre" should be avoided, and its decoration should not have any suggestion of a tomb. The tabernacle on this altar should not be in the form of a tomb or funerary urn. The Blessed Sacrament should be conserved in a closed tabernacle and should not be exposed in a monstrance.

After mid-night on Holy Thursday, the adoration should conclude without solemnity, since the day of the Lord's Passion has already begun.

— Directory on Popular Piety

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Washing of Feet and a Seder Meal
In imitation of Christ's last supper, many Christians prepare a seder meal or the pasch. Celebrating a paschal meal helps us comprehend the plan of redemption. We see the lamb, cooked whole, with no bones broken, foreshadowing the death of Christ, the Lamb of God. We eat the unleavened bread and recall to mind the Eucharist. We eat the whole meal in prayerful reminder of that Last Supper that Jesus spent with His apostles, His friends, instituting Holy Orders and leaving His greatest gift, the Holy Eucharist.

A typical paschal meal includes the roast lamb, bitter herbs, haroset, matzoh and wine. The meal can be as authentic or representative as desired. There are numerous sources, both Christian and Jewish, that can give recipes, prayers and procedure for an authentic paschal feast.

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The Station today is at St. John Lateran. Maundy Thursday is devoted to the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood. On this day the bishop blesses the Holy Oils; thus is made clear that the sacraments have their source in Christ and derive their fruitfulness from the paschal mystery of salvation.

[Salvation]

The Word Among Us

Meditation: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14

Holy Thursday

They shall eat its roasted flesh. (Exodus 12:8)

Have you ever wondered why the Israelites had to eat the meat from the Passover lamb they had sacri­ficed? They had already painted the blood of this lamb on their doorposts and lintels. They had already waited breathlessly for the angel of death to pass over them. And it worked. The blood kept them safe and saved them from bondage! So why did they have to take the next step and eat the lamb? Was it just a ceremonial prac­tice? Or was there something else God wanted for them?

It’s helpful to remember that the night of the Passover was only the beginning of the story for the Israelites. They were about to embark on a very long journey, so they needed the sustenance that this meal would give them. Without that food, they would not have been able to make the trip. Their deliverance would be a hollow victory if they didn’t have the strength they needed for the journey ahead.

It’s easy to see the application for our lives today. We too need the spir­itual protein that comes from eating the flesh of Jesus, our Paschal Lamb. When he died for us, Jesus pardoned us and cleansed us of our sins. Death was no longer a threat for us. But that’s not the end of our story. We too have a long journey ahead of us, and we too need all the suste­nance we can get. That’s why Jesus left us his presence in the Eucharist! He gave us the precious gift of this heavenly banquet so that we could find all the strength—and transfor­mation—we need to make it safely to the Promised Land.

Tonight begins the Easter Triduum. What better way to cel­ebrate the next three days than to receive communion at every oppor­tunity? If you haven’t gone to confession yet, there’s still time. Try to empty yourself of all that divides you from the Lord. Then come to the feast hungry and thirsty. He will sat­isfy your every need. He will fill you with his comfort, his encouragement, and his grace.

“Jesus, you are the Lamb of God. I don’t want to stop at being cleansed by your blood. I want to be nourished deeply and transformed as I receive your very life within me!”

Psalm 116:12-13,15-18; 1 Corinthians 11:23-26; John 13:1-15

[annalex]

John
	English: Douay-Rheims	Latin: Vulgata Clementina	Greek NT: Byzantine/Majority Text (2000)
	John 13
1.	BEFORE the festival day of the pasch, Jesus knowing that his hour was come, that he should pass out of this world to the Father: having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end.	Ante diem festum Paschæ, sciens Jesus quia venit hora ejus ut transeat ex hoc mundo ad Patrem : cum dilexisset suos, qui erant in mundo, in finem dilexit eos.	προ δε της εορτης του πασχα ειδως ο ιησους οτι εληλυθεν αυτου η ωρα ινα μεταβη εκ του κοσμου τουτου προς τον πατερα αγαπησας τους ιδιους τους εν τω κοσμω εις τελος ηγαπησεν αυτους
2.	And when supper was done, (the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him,)	Et cœna facta, cum diabolus jam misisset in cor ut traderet eum Judas Simonis Iscariotæ :	και δειπνου γενομενου του διαβολου ηδη βεβληκοτος εις την καρδιαν ιουδα σιμωνος ισκαριωτου ινα αυτον παραδω
3.	Knowing that the Father had given him all things into his hands, and that he came from God, and goeth to God;	sciens quia omnia dedit ei Pater in manus, et quia a Deo exivit, et ad Deum vadit :	ειδως ο ιησους οτι παντα δεδωκεν αυτω ο πατηρ εις τας χειρας και οτι απο θεου εξηλθεν και προς τον θεον υπαγει
4.	He riseth from supper, and layeth aside his garments, and having taken a towel, girded himself.	surgit a cœna, et ponit vestimenta sua, et cum accepisset linteum, præcinxit se.	εγειρεται εκ του δειπνου και τιθησιν τα ιματια και λαβων λεντιον διεζωσεν εαυτον
5.	After that, he putteth water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of the disciples, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.	Deinde mittit aquam in pelvim, et cœpit lavare pedes discipulorum, et extergere linteo, quo erat præcinctus.	ειτα βαλλει υδωρ εις τον νιπτηρα και ηρξατο νιπτειν τους ποδας των μαθητων και εκμασσειν τω λεντιω ω ην διεζωσμενος
6.	He cometh therefore to Simon Peter. And Peter saith to him: Lord, dost thou wash my feet?	Venit ergo ad Simonem Petrum. Et dicit ei Petrus : Domine, tu mihi lavas pedes ?	ερχεται ουν προς σιμωνα πετρον και λεγει αυτω εκεινος κυριε συ μου νιπτεις τους ποδας
7.	Jesus answered, and said to him: What I do thou knowest not now; but thou shalt know hereafter.	Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei : Quod ego facio, tu nescis modo : scies autem postea.	απεκριθη ιησους και ειπεν αυτω ο εγω ποιω συ ουκ οιδας αρτι γνωση δε μετα ταυτα
8.	Peter saith to him: Thou shalt never wash my feet. Jesus answered him: If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me.	Dicit ei Petrus : Non lavabis mihi pedes in æternum. Respondit ei Jesus : Si non lavero te, non habebis partem mecum.	λεγει αυτω πετρος ου μη νιψης τους ποδας μου εις τον αιωνα απεκριθη αυτω ο ιησους εαν μη νιψω σε ουκ εχεις μερος μετ εμου
9.	Simon Peter saith to him: Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.	Dicit ei Simon Petrus : Domine, non tantum pedes meos, sed et manus, et caput.	λεγει αυτω σιμων πετρος κυριε μη τους ποδας μου μονον αλλα και τας χειρας και την κεφαλην
10.	Jesus saith to him: He that is washed, needeth not but to wash his feet, but is clean wholly. And you are clean, but not all.	Dicit ei Jesus : Qui lotus est, non indiget nisi ut pedes lavet, sed est mundus totus. Et vos mundi estis, sed non omnes.	λεγει αυτω ο ιησους ο λελουμενος ου χρειαν εχει η τους ποδας νιψασθαι αλλ εστιν καθαρος ολος και υμεις καθαροι εστε αλλ ουχι παντες
11.	For he knew who he was that would betray him; therefore he said: You are not all clean.	Sciebat enim quisnam esset qui traderet eum ; propterea dixit : Non estis mundi omnes.	ηδει γαρ τον παραδιδοντα αυτον δια τουτο ειπεν ουχι παντες καθαροι εστε
12.	Then after he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, being set down again, he said to them: Know you what I have done to you?	Postquam ergo lavit pedes eorum, et accepit vestimenta sua : cum recubuisset iterum, dixit eis : Scitis quid fecerim vobis ?	οτε ουν ενιψεν τους ποδας αυτων και ελαβεν τα ιματια αυτου αναπεσων παλιν ειπεν αυτοις γινωσκετε τι πεποιηκα υμιν
13.	You call me Master, and Lord; and you say well, for so I am.	Vos vocatis me Magister et Domine, et bene dicitis : sum etenim.	υμεις φωνειτε με ο διδασκαλος και ο κυριος και καλως λεγετε ειμι γαρ
14.	If then I being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another's feet.	Si ergo ego lavi pedes vestros, Dominus et Magister, et vos debetis alter alterutrum lavare pedes.	ει ουν εγω ενιψα υμων τους ποδας ο κυριος και ο διδασκαλος και υμεις οφειλετε αλληλων νιπτειν τους ποδας
15.	For I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also.	Exemplum enim dedi vobis, ut quemadmodum ego feci vobis, ita et vos faciatis.	υποδειγμα γαρ εδωκα υμιν ινα καθως εγω εποιησα υμιν και υμεις ποιητε

[annalex]

1. Now before the feast of the passover, when Jesus knew that his hour was come that he should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own which were in the world, he loved them to the end.
2. And supper being ended, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him;
3. Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God;
4. He rises from supper, and laid aside his garments; and took a towel, and girded himself.
5. After that he pours water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples' feet, and to wipe them with the towel wherewith he was girded.

THEOPHYL. Our Lord being about to depart out of this life, shows His great care for His disciples: Now before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that His hour was come that He should depart out of this world to the Father, having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them to the end.

BEDE. The Jews had many feasts, but the principal one was the passover; and therefore it is particularly said, Before the feast of the passover.

AUG. Pascha is not a Greek word, as some think, but Hebrew: though there is remarkable agreement of the two languages in it. The Greek word to suffer being pascha has been thought to mean passion, as being derived from the above word. But in Hebrew, pascha is a passing over; the feast deriving its name from the passing, of the people of God over the Red Sea into Egypt. All was now to take place in reality, of which that passover was the type.

Christ was led as a lamb to the slaughter; whose blood sprinkled upon our doorposts, i.e. whose sign of the cross marked on our foreheads, delivers us from the dominion of this world, as from Egyptian bondage. And we perform a most wholesome journey or passover, when we pass over from the devil to Christ, from this unstable world to His sure kingdom. In this way the Evangelist seems to interpret the word: When Jesus knew that His hour was come when He should pass over out of this world to the Father. This is the pascha, this the passing over.

CHRYS. He did not know then for the first time: He had known long before. By His departure He means His death, Being so near leaving His disciples, He shows the more love for them: Having loved His own which were in the world, He loved them to the end; i.e. He left nothing undone which one who greatly loved should do. He reserved this for the last, that their love might be increased by it, and to prepare them by such consolation for the trials that were coming.

His own He calls them, in the sense of intimacy. The word was used in another sense in the beginning of the Gospel: His own received Him not. It follows, which were in the world: for those were dead who were His own, such as Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob, who were not in the world. These then, His own which were in the world, He loved all along, and at the last manifested His love in completeness: He loved them to the end.

AUG. He loved them to the end, i.e. that they themselves too might pass out of this world, by love, to Him their head. For what is to the end, but to Christ? For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone that believes (Rom 10:4). But these words may be understood after a human sort, to mean that Christ loved His own up to His death.

But God forbid that He should end His love by death, who is not ended by death: except indeed we understand it thus: He loved His own to death: i.e. His love for them led Him to death. And supper having been made, i.e. having been got ready, and laid on the table before them; not having been consumed and finished: for it was during supper that He rose, and washed His disciples' feet; as after this He sat at table again, and gave the sop to the traitor.

What follows: The devil having now put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray Him, refers to a secret suggestion, not made to the ear, but to the mind; the suggestions of the devil being part of our own thoughts. Judas then had already conceived, through diabolical instigation, the intention of betraying his Master.

CHRYS. The Evangelist inserts this as if in astonishment: our Lord being about to wash the feet of the very person who had resolved to betray Him. It shows the great wickedness too of the traitor, that even the partaking of the same table, which is a check to the worst of men, did not stop him.

AUG. The Evangelist being about to relate so great an instance of our Lord's humility, reminds us first of His lofty nature: knowing that the Father had given all things into His hand, not excepting the traitor.

GREG. He knew that He had even His persecutors in His hand that He might convert them from malice to love of Him.

ORIGEN The Father has given all things into His hands; i.e. into His power; for His hands hold all things; or to Him, for His work; My Father works hitherto, and I work (John 5:17).

CHRYS. Had given all things into His hand. What is given Him is the salvation of the believers. Think not of this giving up in a human way. It signifies His honor for, and agreement with, the Father. For as the Father has given up all things to Him, so has He given up all things to the Father. When He shall hare delivered up the kingdom to God, even the Father (1 Cor 15:24).

AUG. Knowing too, that He was come from God, and went to God; not that He left God when He came, or will leave us when He returns.

THEOPHYL. The Father having given up all things into His hands, i.e. having given up to Him the salvation of the faithful, He deemed it right to show them all things that pertained to their salvation; and gave them a lesson of humility, by washing His disciples' feet. Though knowing that He was from God, and went to God, He thought it in no way took from His glory, to wash His disciples' feet; thus proving that He did not usurp His greatness. For usurpers do not condescend, for fear of losing what they have irregularly got.

AUG. Since the Father had given all things into His hands, He washed not His disciples' hands indeed, but their feet; and since He knew that He came from God, and went to God, He performed the work not of God and Lord, but of a man and servant.

CHRYS. It was a thing worthy of Him, Who came from God, and went to God, to trample upon all pride; He rises from supper, and laid aside His garment, and took a towel, and, girded Himself.; After that He pours water into a basin, and began to wash His disciples' feet, anal to wipe them with the towel wherewith He was girded. See what humility He shows, not only in washing their feet, but in other things. For it was not before, but after they had sat down, that He rose; and He not only washed them, but laid aside His garments, and girded Himself with a towel, and filled a basin; He did not order others to do all this, but did it Himself, teaching us that we should be willing and ready to do such things.

ORIGEN. Mystically, dinner is the first meal, taken early in the spiritual day, and adapted to those who have just entered upon this day. Supper is the last meal, and is set before those who are farther advanced. According to another sense, dinner is the understanding of the Old Testament, the supper the understanding the mysteries hid in the New.

Yet even they who sup with Jesus, who partake of the final meal, need a certain washing, not indeed of the top parts of their body, i.e. the soul, but its lower parts and extremities, which cleave necessarily to earth. It is, And began to wash; for He did not finish His washing till afterwards. The feet of the Apostles were defiled now: All of you shall be offended because of Me this night (Matt 26:31). But afterwards He cleansed them, so that they needed no more cleansing.

AUG. He laid aside His garments, when, being in the form of God, He emptied Himself; He girded Himself with a towel, took upon Him the form of a servant;

He poured water into a basin, out of which He washed His disciples' feet. He shed His blood on the earth, with which He washed away the filth of their Sins; He wiped them with the towel wherewith He was girded; with the flesh wherewith He was clothed, He established the steps of the Evangelists; He laid aside His garments, to gird Himself with the towel; that He might take upon Him the form of a servant, He emptied Himself, not laying aside indeed what He had, but assuming what He had not. Before He was crucified, He was stripped of His garments, and when dead was wound up in linen clothes: the whole bole of His passion is our cleansing.

6. Then comes he to Simon Peter: and Peter said to him, Lord, do you wash my feet?
7. Jesus answered and said to him, What I do you know not now; but you shall know hereafter.
8. Peter said to him, you shall never wash my feet. Jesus answered him, If I wash you not, you have no part with me.
9. Simon Peter said to him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.
10. Jesus said to him, He that is washed needs not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and you are clean, but not all.
11. For he knew who should betray him; therefore said he, you are not all clean.

ORIGEN. As a physician, who has many sick under his care, begins with those who want his attention most, so Christ, in washing His disciples' feet, begins with the most unclean, and so comes at last to Peter, who needed the washing less than any: Then comes He to Simon Peter. Peter resisted being washed, perhaps because his feet were nearly clean: and Peter said to Him, Lord, do you wash my feet?

AUG. What is the meaning of you and my feet? It is better to think than speak of this; lest one should fail in explaining adequately what might have been rightly conceived.

CHRYS. Though Peter was the first of the Apostles, yet it is possible that the traitor petulantly placed himself above him; and that this may be the reason why our Lord first began to wash, and then comes to Peter.

THEOPHYL. It is plain that our Lord did not wash Peter first, but none other of the disciples would have attempted to be washed before him.

CHRYS Some one will ask why none of them prevented Him, except Peter, this being a sign not of want of love, but of reverence. The reason seems to be, that He washed the traitor first, and came next to Peter, and that the other disciples were checked by the reply to Peter. Any of the rest would have said what Peter did, had his turn come first.

ORIGEN. Or thus: All the rest put out their feet, certain that so great a one would not want to wash them without reason: but Peter, looking only to the thing itself, and seeing nothing beyond it, refused out of reverence to let his feet be washed. He often appears in Scripture as hasty in putting forth his own ideas of what is right and expedient.

AUG. Or thus: We must not suppose that Peter was afraid and refused, when the others had willingly and gladly submitted to the washing. Our Lord did not go through the others first, and to the first of the Apostles afterwards; (for who is ignorant that the most blessed Peter was the first of all the Apostles?) but began with him: and Peter being the first to whom He came, was afraid; as indeed any of the others would have been.

Jesus answered and said to him, What I do you know not now; but you shall know hereafter.

CHRYS. i.e. How useful a lesson of humility it teaches you, and how, directly this virtue leads to God.

ORIGEN. Or our Lord insinuates that this is a mystery. By washing and wiping, He made beautiful the feet of those who were to preach glad tidings (Isaiah 52:7), and to walk on that way of which He tells them, I am the way. Jesus laid aside His garments that He might make their clean feet still cleaner, or that He might receive the uncleanness of their feet to His own body, by the towel with which alone He was girded: for He has borne our griefs. Observe too, He chose for washing His disciples' feet the very time that the devil had put it into the heart of Judas to betray Him, and the dispensation for mankind was about to take place. Before this the time was not come for washing their feet. And who would have washed their feet in the interval between this and the Passion? During the Passion, there was no other Jesus to do it. And after it the Holy Ghost came upon them, by which time they should already have had their feet washed. This mystery, our Lord says to Peter, is too great for you to understand now, but you shall know it hereafter when you are enlightened.

AUG. He did not refuse, because our Lord's act was above his understanding, but he could not bear to see Him bending at his feet: Peter says to Him, you shall not wash my feet; i.e. I will never suffer it: not for ever is the same as never.

ORIGEN. This is an instance, that a man may say a thing with a good intention, and yet ignorantly to His hurt. Peter, ignorant of our Lord's deep meaning, at first, as if in doubt, says mildly, Lord, do you wash my feet? and then, you shall never wash my feet; which was in reality to cut himself off from having a part with Jesus. Whence he not only blames our Lord for washing the disciples' feet, but also his fellow-disciples for giving their feet to be washed. As Peter then did not see his own good our Lord did not allow His wish to be fulfilled: Jesus answered and said to him, If I wash you not, you have no part with Me.

AUG. If I wash you not, He says, though it was only his feet that He was going to wash, just as we say, you tread on me; though it is only our foot that is trodden on.

ORIGEN. Let those who refuse to allegorize these and like passages, say how it is probable that he who out of reverence for Jesus said, you shall never wash my feet, would have had no part with the Son of God; as if not having his feet washed was a deadly wickedness. Wherefore it is our feet, i.e. the affections of our mind, that are to be given up to Jesus to be washed, that our feet may be beautiful; especially if we emulate higher gifts, and wish to be numbered with those w ho preach glad tidings.

CHRYS. He does not say on what account He performs this act of washing, but only threatens him. For Peter was not persuaded by the first answer: you shall know hereafter he did not say, Teach me then that I may submit. But when he was threatened with separation from Christ, then he submitted.

ORIGEN. This saying we may use against those who make hasty and indiscreet resolutions. By strewing them, that if they adhere to these, they will have no part with Jesus, we disengage them from such resolves; even though they may have bound themselves by oath.

AUG. But he, agitated by fear and love, dreaded more the being denied Christ, than the seeing Him at His feet: Simon Peter said to Him, Lord, not my feet only, but also my hands and my head.

ORIGEN. Jesus was unwilling to wash hands, and despised what was said of Him in this respect: Your disciples wash not their hands when they eat bread (Matt 15:2). And He did not wish the head to be submerged, in which was apparent the image and glory of the Father; it was enough for Him that the feet were given Him to wash: Jesus answered and said, He that is washed needs not save to wash his feet, but is clean every whit: and you are clean, but not all.

AUG. Clean all except the feet. The whole of a man is washed in baptism, not excepting his feet; but living in the world afterwards, we tread upon the earth. Those human affections then, without which we cannot live in this world, are, as it were, our feet, which connect us with human things, so that if we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves (1 Jn 1:8). But if we confess our sins, He who washed the disciples' feet, forgives us our sins even down to our feet, wherewith we hold our converse with earth.

ORIGEN. It was impossible that the lowest parts and extremities of a soul should escape defilement, even in one perfect as far as man can be; and many, even after baptism, are covered up to their head with the dust of wickedness; but the real disciples of Christ only need washing for their feet.

AUG. From what is here said, we understand that Peter was already baptized, indeed that He baptized by His disciples, shows that His disciples must have been baptized, either with John's baptism, or, which is more probable, Christ's. He baptized by means of baptized servants; for He did not refuse the ministry of baptizing, Who had the humility to wash feet.

AUG. And you are clean, but not all: what this means the Evangelist immediately! explains: For He knew who should betray Him; therefore said He, you are not all clean.

ORIGEN. you are clean, refers to the eleven; but not all, to Judas. He was unclean, first, because he cared not for the poor, but was a thief; secondly, because the devil had put it into his heart to betray Christ washes their feet after they are clean, strewing that grace goes beyond necessity, according to the text, He that is holy, let him be holy still.

AUG. Or, the disciples when washed had only to have their feet washed; because while man lives in this world, he contracts himself with earth, by means of his human affections, which are as it were his feet.

CHRYS. Or thus: When He calls them clean, you must not suppose that they were delivered from sin before the victim was offered. He means cleanness in respect of knowledge; for they were now delivered from Jewish error.

12. So after he had washed their feet, and had taken his garments, and was set down again, he said to them, Know you what I have done to you?
13. You call me Master and Lord: and you say well; for so I am.
14. If I then, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another's feet.
15. For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.

AUG. Our Lord, mindful of His promise to Peter that he should know the meaning of His act, you shall know here after, now begins to teach him: So after He had washed their feet, and had taken His garments, and was sat down again, He said to them, Know you what I have done to you?

ORIGEN. Know you, is either interrogative, to show the greatness of the act, or imperative, to rouse their minds.

ALCUIN. Mystically, when at our redemption we were changed by the shedding of His blood, He took again His garments, rising from the grave the third day, and clothed in the same body now immortal, ascended into heaven, and sits on the right hand of the Father, from whence He shall come to judge the world.

CHRYS. He speaks now not to Peter alone, but to all: you call Me Master and Lord. He accepts their judgment; and to prevent the words being set down merely to favor on their parts, adds, And you say well, for so I am.

AUG. It is enjoined in the Proverbs, Let another man praise you, and not your own mouth. For it is dangerous for one to praise himself, who has to beware of pride. But He who is above all things, howsoever He praise Himself, extols not Himself too highly. Nor can God be called arrogant: for that we should know Him is no gain to Him, but to us. Nor can anyone know Him, unless He who knows, show Himself. So that if to avoid arrogance He did not praise Himself, He would be denying us wisdom. But why should the Truth fear arrogance? To His calling Himself Master, no one could object, even were He man only, since professors in different arts call themselves so without presumption. But what free man can bear the title of lord in a man? Yet when God speaks, height cannot exalt itself; truth cannot lie; it is for us to submit to that height, to obey that truth. Wherefore you say well in that you call Me Master and Lord, for so I am; but if I were not what you say, you would say ill.

ORIGEN. They do not say well, Lord, to whom it shall be said, Depart from Me, you that work iniquity. But; the Apostles say well, Master and Lord, for wickedness had not dominion over them, but the Word of God.

If then I your Lord and Master have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.

CHRYS. He shows us the greater, that we may do the less. For He was the Lord, but we, if we do it, do it to our fellow-servants:

For I have given you an example, that you should do as I have done to you.

BEDE. Our Lord first did a thing, then taught it: as it is said, Jesus began both to do and to teach (Acts 1:1).

AUG. This is, blessed Peter, what you were ignorant of; this you were told that you should know afterwards.

ORIGEN. But it is not necessary for one who wishes to do all the commandments of Jesus, literally to perform the act of washing feet. This is merely a matter of custom; and the custom is now generally dropped.

AUG. This act is done literally by many, when they receive one another in hospitality. For it is unquestionably better that it should be done with the hands, and that the Christian disdain not to do what Christ did. For when the body is bent at the feet of a brother, the feeling of humility is made to rise in the heart, or, if it be there already, is confirmed. But besides this moral meaning, is not a brother able to change a brother from the pollution of sin? Let us confess our faults one to another, forgive one another's faults, pray for one another's faults. In this way we shall wash one another's feet.

ORIGEN. Or thus: This spiritual washing of the feet is done primarily by Jesus Himself, secondarily by His disciples, in that He said to them, you ought to wash one another's feet. Jesus washed the feet of His disciples as their Master, of His servants as their Lord. But the object of the master is to make His disciples as Himself; and our Savior beyond all other masters and lords, wished His disciples to be as their Master and Lord, not having the spirit of bondage, but the spirit of adoption, whereby they, cry, Abba, Father (Rom 8:19). So then before they become masters and lords, they need the washing of the feet, being as vet insufficient disciples, and savoring of the spirit of bondage. But when they have attained to the state of master and lord, they then are able to imitate their Master, and to wash the disciples' feet by their doctrine.

Catena Aurea John 13

[annalex]

Christ washing the disciples' feet

Monreale Cathedral of the Assumption of the Virgin Mary

12 century
Sicily

[Salvation]

 

Marriage = One Man and One Woman

Til' Death Do Us Part

Daily Marriage Tip for April 5, 2012:

(Holy Thursday) A meal is a holy thing to share. Who cooks, prepares the table, or cleans up in your family? Who leads a prayer? Share it all.

[Salvation]

Vultus Christi

The Night of My Agony and Betrayal

By

Father Mark

 on April 5, 2012 3:11 PM |

 

I am close to you now, and you are close to Me in the Sacrament of My Love.
I accept your presence here tonight
as an offering of friendship and reparation
for the sake of all My priests, your brothers.

Tonight I look for them.
I wait for each one to seek Me out.
I continue to hope that My chosen ones,
even those who have allowed their hearts to grow hard against Me,
will be converted tonight
and find their way to My tabernacles where I wait for them.

There are graces destined for My priests
in this the night of My agony and of My betrayal
that are not given at any other time.
I am bound tonight.
I have already been taken,
and My captors led Me away as a lamb to the slaughter.
I am silent but My Heart watches and waits for My priests.
If only they would come to Me, I would undo the bonds that hold them in slavery.
I would give them light in the spiritual darknesses that oppress them.
I would speak to them words of comfort and of compassion.

Your being with Me tonight
allows Me to touch the souls of many priests who have stayed away from Me.
You are here only because My grace has worked within you,
changing your heart,
and drawing you into the grace of My abiding friendship.
What I have done in My infinite mercy for you,
I would do for every one of My priests.

I am about to renew the priesthood of My Church in holiness.
I am very close to cleansing My priests of the impurities that defile them.
Soon, very soon, I will pour out graces of spiritual healing upon all My priests.
I will separate those who will accept the gift of My Divine Friendship
from those who will harden their hearts against Me.
To the first I will give a radiant holiness
like that of John and of My apostles in the beginnings.
From the others I will take away even what they think they have.
It must be so.
I want the priests of My Church clean in heart
and faithful in responding to the immense love
with which I have loved each one of them
and chosen each one for Myself
and for the realization of the designs of My Heart.
Those who do not live in My friendship betray Me and impede My work.
They detract from the beauty of holiness
that I would see shine in My Church.
I weep over their hardness of heart
and My Immaculate Mother, their sorrowing Mother, weeps with Me over them.

The renewal of My priesthood in the Church
will begin from the fire of love that blazes in the Sacrament of My Body and Blood.
I call all priests to seek My Eucharistic Face and to abide in My presence.
I want all My priests to discover My open Heart,
My living Heart beating with Love for them,
and pouring forth a purifying stream of Blood and of Water for their holiness,
and for the life of the world.
I summon all My priests into My Eucharistic presence.
They must learn that in My company is the fullness of joy.
They must discover in the Sacrament of My Love
the sweetness and strength of My Divine Friendship.

Many, so many, have forsaken Me in the Sacrament of My Love,
but I will not forsake a single priest who comes to Me in the Sacrament of My Love.
There I wait for My priests.
There I offer them My Divine Embrace.
There I would draw them to My open Side,
and through the wound in My Side, into the sanctuary of My Sacred Heart.

Adore Me for the sake of your brother priests who do not adore Me.
Let Me give you what I would give each of them.
Accept My Love.
Receive the gift of My Divine Friendship.
Make My Eucharistic Presence the very heart of your life
and the centre to which you return
for warmth, for healing, for comfort, and for light.
Seek My Eucharistic Face, and invite others to do the same.

In the light of My Eucharistic Face great things take place in souls.
You have only to present yourself before Me,
and the light of My Countenance,
veiled in the Sacrament of My Love,
begins at once to work in your soul.

From In Sinu Iesu, The Journal of a Priest