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.

Verse Before the Gospel Jn 13:34

I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:
love one another as I have loved you.

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."

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

The Institution of the Passover

[1] The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, [2] “This month shall
be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you.
[3] 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;
[4] 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. [5] Your lamb shall be with-
out blemish, a male a year old; you shall take it from the sheep or from the goats;
[6] and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole as-
sembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs in the evening. [7] 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. [8] They shall eat the flesh that night, roa-
sted; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. [11] 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. [12] For I will
pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will smite all the firstborn in the
land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute
judgments: I am the Lord. [13] The blood shall be a sign for you, upon the hou-
ses 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.

[14] “This day shalt be for you a memorial day, and you shalt keep it as a feast
to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance for
ever.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

12:1-14 This discourse of the Lord contains a number of rules for celebrating the
Passover and the events commemorated in it; it is a kind of catechetical-liturgi-
cal text which admirably summarizes the profound meaning of that feast.

The Passover probably originated as a shepherds’ feast held in springtime, when
lambs are born and the migration to summer pastures was beginning; a new-born
lamb was sacrificed and its blood used to perform a special rite in petition for the
protection and fertility of the flocks. But once this feast became connected with
the history of the Exodus it acquired a much deeper meaning, as did the rites
attaching to it.

Thus, the “congregation” (v. 3) comprises all the Israelites organized as a reli-
gious community to commemorate the most important event in their history, de-
liverance from bondage.

The victim will be a lamb, without blemish (v. 5) because it is to be offered to God.
Smearing the doorposts and lintel with the blood of the victim (vv 7, 13), an essen-
tial part of the rite, signifies protection from dangers. The Passover is essentially
sacrificial from the very start. The meal (v. 11) is also a necessary part, and the
manner in which it is held is a very appropriate way of showing the urgency im-
posed by circumstances: there is no time to season it (v. 9); no other food is ea-
ten with it, except for the bread and desert herbs (a sign of indigence); the dress
and posture of those taking part (standing, wearing sandals and holding a staff)
how that they are on a journey. In the later liturgical commemoration of the Pass-
over, these things indicate that the Lord is passing among his people.

The rules laid down for the Passover are evocative of very ancient nomadic desert
rites, where there was no priest or temple or altar. When the Israelites had set-
tled in Palestine, the Passover continued to be celebrated at home, always retai-
ning the features of a sacrifice, a family meal and, very especially, a memorial of
the deliverance the Lord brought about on that night.

Our Lord chose the context of the Passover Supper to institute the Eucharist:
“By celebrating the Last Supper with his apostles in the course of the Passover
meal, Jesus gave the Jewish Passover its definitive meaning. Jesus’ passing
over to his Father by his death and Resurrection, the new Passover, is anticipa-
ted in the Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist, which fulfills the Jewish Pass-
over and anticipates the final Passover of the Church in the glory of the kingdom”
(”Catechism of the Catholic Church”, 1340).

12:2. This event is so important that it is going to mark the starting point in the
reckoning of time. In the history of Israel there are two types of calendar, both
based on the moon—one which begins the year in the autumn, after the feast of
Weeks (cf. 23:16; 34:22), and the other beginning it in spring, between March
and April. This second calendar probably held sway for quite a long time, for we
know that the first month, known, as Abib (spring) — cf. 13:4: 23:18; 34:18 —
was called, in the post-exilic period (from the 6th century BC onwards) by the
Babylonian name of Nisan (Neh 2:1; Esther 3:7). Be that as it may, the fact that
this month is called the first month is a way of highlighting the importance of the
event which is going to be commemorated (the Passover).

12:11. Even now it is difficult to work out the etymology of the word “Passover”.

In other Semitic languages it means “joy” or “festive joy” or also “ritual and fes-
tive leap”. In the Bible the same root means “dancing or limping” in an idolatrous
rite (cf. 1 Kings 18:21, 26) and “protecting” (cf. Is 31:5), so it could mean “punish-
ment, lash” and also “salvation, protection”. In the present text the writer is provi-
ding a popular, non-scholarly etymology, and it is taken as meaning that “the
Lord passes through”, slaying Egyptians and sparing the Israelites.

In the New Testament it will be applied to Christ’s passage to the Father by
death and resurrection, and the Church’s “passage” to the eternal Kingdom: “The
Church will enter the glory of the kingdom only through this final Passover, when
she will follow her Lord in his death and Resurrection” (”Catechism of the Catho-
lic Church”, 677).

12:14. The formal tone of these words gives an idea of the importance the Pass-
over always had. If the historical books (Joshua, Judges, Samuel and Kings) har-
dly mention it, the reason is that they allude only to sacrifices in the temple, and
the Passover was always celebrated in people’s homes. When the temple ceased
to be (6th century BC), the feast acquired more prominence, as can be seen from
the post-exilic biblical texts (cf. Ezra 6:19-22; 2 Chron 30:1-27; 35:1-19) and ex-
trabiblical texts such as the famous “Passover papyrus of Elephantine” (Egypt) of
the 5th century BC. In Jesus’ time a solemn passover sacrifice was celebrated in
the temple and the passover meal was held at home.

*********************************************************************************************
Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

The Institution of the Eucharist

[23] For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Je-
sus on the night when He was betrayed took bread, [24] and when He had given
thanks, He broke it, and said, “This is My body which is for you. Do this in re-
membrance of Me.” [25] 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.” [26] For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup,
you proclaim the Lord’s death until He comes.

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

23-26. These verses clearly bear witness to the early Christians’ faith in the eu-
charistic mystery. St. Paul is writing around the year 57 — only twenty-seven
years since the institution of the Eucharist—reminding the Corinthians of what
they had been taught some years earlier (c. the year 51). The words “received”
and “delivered” are technical terms used to indicate that a teaching is part of
apostolic Tradition; cf. also 1 Corinthians 15:3. These two passages highlight
the importance of that apostolic Tradition. The words “I received from the Lord”
are a technical expression which means “I received through that Tradition which
goes back to the Lord Himself.”

There are three other New Testament accounts of the institution of the Eucharist
(Matthew 26:26-29; Mark 14:22-25; Luke 22:16-20). This account, which is most
like St. Luke’s, is the earliest of the four.

The text contains the fundamental elements of Christian faith in the mystery of
the Eucharist: 1) the institution of this Sacrament by Jesus Christ and His real
presence in it; 2) the institution of the Christian priesthood; 3) the Eucharist is
the sacrifice of the New Testament (cf. notes on Matthew 26:26-29; Mark
14:22-25; Luke 22:16-20; 1 Corinthians 10:14-22).

“Do this in remembrance of Me”: in instituting the Eucharist, our Lord charged
that it be re-enacted until the end of time (cf. Luke 22:19), thereby instituting the
priesthood. The Council of Trent teaches that Jesus Christ our Lord, at the Last
Supper, “offered His body and blood under the species of bread and wine to God
the Father and He gave His body and blood under the same species to the Apos-
tles to receive, making them priests of the New Testament at that time. [...] He
ordered the Apostles and their successors in the priesthood to offer this Sacra-
ment when He said, “Do this in remembrance of Me”, as the Catholic Church has
always understood and taught” (”De SS. Missae Sacrificio”, Chapter 1; cf. Canon
2). And so, Bl. John Paul II teaches, the Eucharist is “the principal and central
reason-of-being of the Sacrament of the priesthood, which effectively came into
being at the moment of the institution of the Eucharist, and together with it” (”Let-
ter To All Bishops”, 24 February 1980).

The word “remembrance” is charged with the meaning of a Hebrew word which
was used to convey the essence of the feast of the Passover — commemoration
of the exodus from Egypt. For the Israelites the Passover rite not only reminded
them of a bygone event: they were conscious of making that event present, revi-
ving it, in order to participate in it, in some way, generation after generation (cf.
Exodus 12:26-27; Deuteronomy 6:20-25). So, when our Lord commands His
Apostles to “do this in remembrance of Me”, it is not a matter of merely recal-
ling His supper but of renewing His own Passover sacrifice of Calvary, which al-
ready, at the Last Supper, was present in an anticipated way.

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

From: John 13:1-15

Jesus Washes His Disciples’ Feet

[1] 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. [2] And during supper, when the devil
had already put it 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 had come from God and was going to God, [4] rose from supper, laid aside
His garments, and girded Himself with a towel. [5] 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. [6] He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to Him,
“Lord, do You wash my feet?” [7] Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you
do not know now, but afterward you will understand.” [8] 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.” [9] Simon Peter said to Him, “Lord, not my feet only
but also my hands and my head!” [10] 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 all of you.” [11] For He knew who was to betray Him; that was
why He said, “You are not all clean.

[12] 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 for you? [13] You call
Me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. [14] If then your Lord and
Teacher have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. [15]
For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done for you.”

*********************************************************************************************
Commentary:

1. Jewish families sacrificed a lamb on the eve of the Passover, in keeping with
God’s command at the time of the exodus from Egypt when God liberated them
from the slavery of Pharaoh (Exodus 12:3-14; Deuteronomy 16:1-8). This libera-
tion prefigured that which Jesus Christ would bring about—the redemption of men
from the slavery of sin by means of His sacrifice on the cross (cf. 1:29). This is
why the celebration of the Jewish Passover was the ideal framework for the
institution of the new Christian Passover.

Jesus knew everything that was going to happen; He knew His death and resur-
rection were imminent (cf. 18:4); this is why His words acquire a special tone of
intimacy and love towards those whom He is leaving behind in the world. Surroun-
ded by those whom He has chosen and who have believed in Him, He gives them
His final teachings and institutes the Eucharist, the source and center of the life
of the Church. “He Himself wished to give that encounter such a fullness of mea-
ning, such a richness of memories, such a moving image of words and thoughts,
such a newness of acts and precepts, that we can never exhaust our reflection
and exploration of it. It was a testamentary supper, infinitely affectionate and im-
mensely sad, and at the same time a mysterious revelation of divine promises,
of supreme visions. Death was imminent, with silent omens of betrayal, of aban-
donment, of immolation; the conversation dies down but Jesus continues to
speak in words that are new and beautifully reflective, in almost supreme intima-
cy, almost hovering between life and death” (Paul VI, “Homily on Holy Thursday”,
27 March 1975).

What Christ did for His own may be summed up in this sentence: “He loved them
to the end.” It shows the intensity of His love—which brings Him even to give up
His life (cf. John 15:13); but this love does not stop with His death, for Christ lives
on and after His resurrection He continues loving us infinitely: “It was not only
thus far that He loved us, who always and forever loves us. Far be it from us to
imagine that He made death the end of His loving, who did not make death the
end of His living” (St. Augustine, “In Ioann. Evang.”, 55, 2).

2. The Gospel shows us the presence and activity of the devil running right
through Jesus’ life (cf. Matthew 4:1-11; Luke 22:3; John 8:44; 12:31; etc.). Sa-
tan is the enemy (Matthew 13:39), the evil one (1 John 2:13). St. Thomas Aqui-
nas (cf. “Commentary on St. John, in loc.”) points out that, in this passage, on
the one hand, we clearly see the malice of Judas, who fails to respond to this
demonstration of love, and on the other hand great emphasis is laid on the good-
ness of Christ, which reaches out beyond Judas’ malice by washing his feet al-
so and by treating him as a friend right up to the moment when he betrays Him
(Luke 22:48).

3-6. Aware that He is the Son of God, Jesus voluntarily humbles Himself to the
point of performing a service appropriate to household servants. This passage
recalls the Christological hymn in St. Paul’s Letter to the Philippians: “Christ
Jesus, who, though He was in the form of God, did not count equality with God
a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a servant...” (Phi-
lippians 2:6-7).

Christ had said that He came to the world not to be served but to serve (Mark
10:45). In this scene He teaches us the same thing, through specific example,
thereby exhorting us to serve each other in all humility and simplicity (cf. Gala-
tians 6:2; Philippians 2:3). “Once again He preaches by example, by His deeds.
In the presence of His disciples, who are arguing out of pride and vanity, Jesus
bows down and gladly carries out the task of a servant.[...] This tactfulness of
our Lord moves me deeply. He does not say: ‘If I do this, how much more ought
you to do?’ He puts Himself at their level, and He lovingly chides those men for
their lack of generosity.

“As He did with the first twelve, so also, with us, our Lord can and does whisper
in our ear, time and again: ‘exemplum dedi vobis’ (John 13:15), I have given you
an example of humility. I have become a slave, so that you too may learn to
serve all men with a meek and humble heart” (St. J. Escriva, “Friends of God”,
103).

Peter understands particularly well how thoroughly our Lord has humbled Him-
self, and he protests, in the same kind of way as he did on other occasions,
that he will not hear of Christ suffering (cf. Matthew 8:32 and par.). St. Augustine
comments: “Who would not shrink back in dismay from having his feet washed
by the Son of God....You? Me? Words to be pondered on rather than spoken
about, lest words fail to express their true meaning” (St. Augustine, “In Ioann.
Evang.”, 56,1).

7-14. Our Lord’s gesture had a deeper significance than St. Peter was able to
grasp at this point; nor could he have suspected that God planned to save men
through the sacrificing of Christ (cf. Matthew 16:22 ff). After the Resurrection the
Apostles understood the mystery of this service rendered by the Redeemer: by
washing their feet, Jesus was stating in a simple and symbolic way that He had
not come “to be served but to serve”. His service, as He already told them, con-
sists in giving “His life as a ransom for many” (Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45).

Our Lord tells the Apostles that they are now clean, for they have accepted His
words and have followed Him (cf. 15:3)—all but Judas, who plans to betray Him.
St. John Chrysostom comments as follows: “You are already clean because of
the word that I have spoken to you. That is: You are clean only to that extent.
You have already received the Light; you have already got rid of the Jewish error.
The Prophet asserted: ‘Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the
evil from your souls’ (Isaiah 1:16).... Therefore, since they had rooted evil from
their souls and were following Him with complete sincerity, He declared, in ac-
cordance with the Prophet’s words: ‘He who has bathed is clean all over’” (St.
John Chrysostom, “Hom. on St. John”, 70, 3).

15-17. Jesus’ whole life was an example of service towards men, fulfilling His
Father’s will to the point of dying on the Cross. Here our Lord promises us that
if we imitate Him, our Teacher, in disinterested service (which always implies sa-
crifice), we will find true happiness which no one can wrest from us (cf. 16:22; 17:
13). “’I have given you an example’, He tells His disciples after washing their feet,
on the night of the Last Supper. Let us reject from our hearts any pride, any am-
bition, any desire to dominate; and peace and joy will reign around us and within
us, as a consequence of our personal sacrifice” (St. J. Escriva, “Christ Is Pas-
sing By”, 94).

Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible by Darton, Longman & Todd

Readings at Mass

Liturgical Colour: White.

Here are the readings for the morning Chrism Mass:

First reading
Isaiah 61:1-3,6,8-9 ©

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,

for the Lord has anointed me.

He has sent me to bring good news to the poor,

to bind up hearts that are broken;

to proclaim liberty to captives,

freedom to those in prison;

to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord,

a day of vengeance for our God,

to comfort all those who mourn and to give them

for ashes a garland;

for mourning robe the oil of gladness,

for despondency, praise.

But you, you will be named ‘priests of the Lord’,

they will call you ‘ministers of our God.’

I reward them faithfully

and make an everlasting covenant with them.

Their race will be famous throughout the nations,

their descendants throughout the peoples.

All who see them will admit

that they are a race whom the Lord has blessed.

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 88(89):21-22,25,27 ©

I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

I have found David my servant

and with my holy oil anointed him.

My hand shall always be with him

and my arm shall make him strong.

I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

My truth and my love shall be with him;

by my name his might shall be exalted.

He will say to me: ‘You are my father,

my God, the rock who saves me.’

I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.

Second reading
Apocalypse 1:5-8 ©

Grace and peace to you from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the First-Born from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth. He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. It is he who is coming on the clouds; everyone will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the races of the earth will mourn over him. This is the truth. Amen. ‘I am the Alpha and the Omega’ says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.

Gospel Acclamation	Is61:1(Lk4:18)

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me.

He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor.

Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!

Gospel	Luke 4:16-21 ©

Jesus came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:

The spirit of the Lord has been given to me,

for he has anointed me.

He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,

to proclaim liberty to captives

and to the blind new sight,

to set the downtrodden free,

to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.

He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down. And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them, ‘This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.’

Here are the readings for the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper:

First reading
Exodus 12:1-8,11-14 ©

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:

‘This month is to be the first of all the others for you, the first month of your year. Speak to the whole community of Israel and say, “On the tenth day of this month each man must take an animal from the flock, one for each family: one animal for each household. If the household is too small to eat the animal, a man must join with his neighbour, the nearest to his house, as the number of persons requires. You must take into account what each can eat in deciding the number for the animal. It must be an animal without blemish, a male one year old; you may take it from either sheep or goats. You must keep it till the fourteenth day of the month when the whole assembly of the community of Israel shall slaughter it between the two evenings. Some of the blood must then be taken and put on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where it is eaten. That night, the flesh is to be eaten, roasted over the fire; it must be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. You shall eat it like this: with a girdle round your waist, sandals on your feet, a staff in your hand. You shall eat it hastily: it is a passover in honour of the Lord. That night, I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, man and beast alike, and I shall deal out punishment to all the gods of Egypt, I am the Lord! The blood shall serve to mark the houses that you live in. When I see the blood I will pass over you and you shall escape the destroying plague when I strike the land of Egypt. This day is to be a day of remembrance for you, and you must celebrate it as a feast in the Lord’s honour. For all generations you are to declare it a day of festival, for ever.”’

Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 115(116):12-13,15-18 ©

The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.

How can I repay the Lord

for his goodness to me?

The cup of salvation I will raise;

I will call on the Lord’s name.

The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.

O precious in the eyes of the Lord

is the death of his faithful.

Your servant, Lord, your servant am I;

you have loosened my bonds.

The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make;

I will call on the Lord’s name.

My vows to the Lord I will fulfil

before all his people.

The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.

Second reading
1 Corinthians 11:23-26 ©

This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said, ‘This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me.’ In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said, ‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’ Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.

Gospel Acclamation	Jn13:34

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

I give you a new commandment:

love one another just as I have loved you,

says the Lord.

Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!

Gospel	John 13:1-15 ©

It was before the festival of the Passover, and Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father. He had always loved those who were his in the world, but now he showed how perfect his love was.

They were at supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, and he got up from table, removed his outer garment and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, ‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ‘At the moment you do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.’ ‘Never!’ said Peter ‘You shall never wash my feet.’ Jesus replied, ‘If I do not wash you, you can have nothing in common with me.’ ‘Then, Lord,’ said Simon Peter ‘not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!’ Jesus said, ‘No one who has taken a bath needs washing, he is clean all over. You too are clean, though not all of you are.’ He knew who was going to betray him, that was why he said, ‘though not all of you are.’

When he had washed their feet and put on his clothes again he went back to the table. ‘Do you understand’ he said ‘what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.’

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

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

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April 13, 2017

Holy Thursday – Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper

Reading 1 Ex 12:1-8, 11-14

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

Reading 2 1 Cor 11:23-26

Verse Before the Gospel Jn 13:34

Gospel Jn 13:1-15

Readings at Mass