Jesus' Supreme Humility and
Unfailing Love
Introduction: May you continue to be drawn into the mystery of our salvation as you recall, reflect, and re-live what Jesus has done for you, especially during the Triduum, the three most holy days of the Church year.
On Holy Thursday we begin the liturgy that celebrates the
saving events for us. Some scholars speak of the one great liturgical rite that
begins with the Evening Liturgy of the Lord’s Supper and ends with the Easter
Vigil. This is the Triduum (“Three days”). During the Triduum, we “journey”
with our Master-Teacher as He celebrates His Last Supper with the Passover
rites. We “follow” Him as He proceeds into the Garden of Gethsemane. We are
witnesses to His “trial” and condemnation. We are able to “watch” as He carries
His cross through the streets of Jerusalem, up to the hill of Golgotha (Calvary
– Skull Place) where we “experience” His crucifixion, death, and burial. We are
given the opportunity to reflect on how all of the Hebrew Scriptures (Old
Testament) have announced God’s plan of salvation that culminates in Jesus’
resurrection. The Triduum is the re-living of mystery of salvation. Its climax
will be the Easter Vigil when we recall our being baptized into this mystery
and receiving new life with the Risen Lord.
In the Catholic and other mainline Christian traditions,
tonight begins what is known as the Triduum (a word that means “three days”).
This is the most solemn and important three days of the ecclesiastical year.
These three days celebrate in solemn and dramatic fashion the Hour of Glory of
Jesus – His giving of Himself, His agony, suffering and death — and His
resurrection.
The Triduum begins with tonight’s celebration of the Evening
Mass of the Lord’s Supper. The readings speak of the blood covenants that God
established with the “Chosen People.” They also speak of signs of God’s love
and total care for the “Chosen People.”
First Reading: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
Ordinances for the Passover meal.
Commentary: The
festival on which Passover was based was originally a nomad festival at the
move from winter pastures in the plains to summer pastures in the hills. A fine
lamb was offered to placate the gods, so that they would not harm the rest of
the flock; it was eaten at the first full moon of spring, after the spring
equinox (March 21st). Blood on the door-posts of the tents was a sign that the
offering had been made. Water is scarce for nomads, so the lamb was roasted,
not boiled – cooking-pots were packed, anyway! This primitive festival was
taken up by the Hebrews to commemorate the great move from Egypt through the
desert, and – most of all – the covenant made in the desert of Sinai,
when God made Israel his own people. It was celebrated each year, and the blood
of the lamb sprinkled over the altar (representing God) and the people
signified their union in the covenant.
Responsorial Psalm: 116:12-13. 15, 16bc. 17-18.
The cup of blessing is a communion in the blood of Christ.
The psalmist in Psalm 116 questions how he can give God
thanksgiving. He decides to take up the cup of salvation and give thanks to
God. The blessing cup used during Passover is filled with wine at four key
points in the Seder (Passover meal). As the cup is filled the fourth and last
time, a special berakah (blessing) prayer is said. This is the cup of blessing
during which the Hallel (“Praise”) Psalms are prayed/sung. Psalm 116 continues
in praising God and saying that the death of One of God’s faithful ones is
precious in God’s eyes. The praise offered by the Servant of God is His
faithful service. The response for the psalm bridges the readings from Hebrew
Scripture (Old Testament) to Christian Scripture (New Testament): “Our blessing
cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.”
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
‘For as often as you eat and drink, you proclaim the Lord’s death.’
Commentary: Paul
gives us the story of this meal, which he himself had received from what was
already traditional, hardly a dozen years after the Last Supper, well before
the Gospels were written .
Jesus himself was the lamb who was to be sacrificed, and his
new covenant was sealed, not in blood sprinkled, but in his own blood consumed
. It was a ‘memorial’, that is, an effective re-enactment, actually renewing
the act of dedication and union . In today’s reading Paul is rebuking the
Corinthians for re-enacting this significant moment thoughtlessly, as though it
was an ordinary festal meal; they had lost the intention and the seriousness .
They were no longer proclaiming the death of Jesus, no longer engaging
themselves in the new covenant . It is a dangerous thing to commit oneself to a
new covenant sealed by death and leading to new life
Gospel: John 13:1-15
He loved them to the end.
Commentary: The
feast of the Passover was taken up by Jesus as the occasion for him to make his
own new covenant, fulfilling the promises made by the prophets of a new
covenant to replace the old covenant so definitively broken at the time of the
Babylonian Exile. Jesus himself was the lamb who was to be sacrificed, and his
new covenant was sealed, not in blood sprinkled but in his own blood consumed.
It was a ‘memorial’, that is, an effective re-enactment, actually renewing the
act of dedication and union.
Jesus’s extraordinary gesture recorded in the Gospel of John
shows us the full meaning of what he was doing. The narrative stresses that
Jesus knew what was to come; he was showing his disciples the meaning of the
events. By the act of rising from the table and performing the demeaning act of
stripping down and washing the feet of his followers, his guests, he was
showing the meaning of the dire events to come – Peter’s horror says it
all, but there was far worse to come. It was a pre-enactment of his great act
of serving his community, the new family which he was binding to himself by
this new covenant, the foundational act of service in the Church
Reflection: Does
your love waver when you encounter bitter disappointments and injury from
others? As Jesus' hour of humiliation draws near, he reveals to his disciples
the supreme humility which shaped the love he had for them. He stoops to
perform a menial task reserved for servants - the washing of smelly, dirty
feet. In stooping to serve his disciples Jesus knew he would be betrayed by one
of them and that the rest would abandon him through fear and disloyalty. Such
knowledge could have easily led to bitterness or hatred. Jesus met the injury
of betrayal and disloyalty with the greatest humility and supreme love.
Let the love of Christ rule
in your heart and actions: Jesus loved his disciples to the very
end, even when they failed him and forsook him. The Lord loves each of us
freely and unconditionally. His love has power to set us free to love and serve
others with Christ-like compassion and humility. Paul the Apostle tells us that
Christ's gift of love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit
who dwells in us (Romans 5:5 and 8:35-39). Does the love of Christ rule in your
heart, thoughts, intentions and actions?
The love of Christ conquers
all and never fails: Saint Augustine of Hippo (354-430 AD) in his
sermon for Holy Thursday wrote: "He had the power of laying down his life;
we by contrast cannot choose the length of our lives, and we die even if it is
against our will. He, by dying, destroyed death in himself; we are freed from
death only in his death. His body did not see corruption; our body will see
corruption and only then be clothed through him in incorruption at the end of
the world. He needed no help from us in saving us; without him we can do
nothing. He gave himself to us as the vine to the branches; apart from him we
cannot have life.
Finally, even if brothers die for brothers, yet no martyr by
shedding his blood brings forgiveness for the sins of his brothers, as Christ
brought forgiveness to us. In this he gave us, not an example to imitate but a
reason for rejoicing. Inasmuch, then, as they shed their blood for their
brothers, the martyrs provided "the same kind of meal" as they had
received at the Lord's table. Let us then love one another as Christ also loved
us and gave himself up for us."
Lord Jesus, your love conquers all and never fails. Help me
to love others freely, with heart-felt compassion, kindness and goodness. Where
there is injury, may I sow peace rather than strife.
Daily Quote from the Early
Church Fathers: Christ chose to
be a servant who offered himself for us, by Augustine of Hippo, 354-430 A.D.
"Even though the man Christ Jesus, in the form of God
together with the Father with whom He is one God, accepts our sacrifice,
nonetheless He has chosen in the form of a servant to be the sacrifice rather
than accept it. Therefore, He is the priest Himself Who presents the offering,
and He Himself is what is offered." (excerpt from City of God, 10,20)
Let Jesus love you
“Do you understand what I just did for you?” —John 13:12
Jesus washes our feet, even if we betray or deny Him (Jn
13:5ff). Foot washing was the work of a slave. There is no limit to how low
Jesus will descend to love and serve us. He became a slave (see Phil 2:7ff).
St. Peter’s objection to foot-washing was similar to that of
the centurion, who said: Lord, “I am not worthy to have You under my roof” (Mt
8:8). But in this case, Jesus wanted to share His humble, loving service with
Peter. Remember how St. John the Baptizer also protested that he was not worthy
to baptize Jesus? Jesus said to John, “Give in for now” (Mt 3:15). St. John,
St. Peter, and the centurion allowed Jesus to minister as He desired, on His
terms. How will we respond to Jesus’ offer to love and serve us? Will we say,
“You shall never wash” me? (Jn 13:8) Will we say to Jesus, “If those are Your
terms, You shall never love me”?
Let us say with the Blessed Virgin Mary, “Be it done unto me
according to Your will” (see Lk 1:38). Jesus wants to give Himself to us in the
Holy Eucharist. We are who Jesus says we are. If He says we are worthy of His
love, then we are. Jesus is Love (1 Jn 4:8, 16). Let Him love you and unite you
to Himself.
Prayer: Father,
may my next reception of Holy Communion be as though I was receiving Jesus for
the first time. “Every time, then, you eat this bread and drink this cup, you
proclaim the death of the Lord until He comes!” —1 Cor 11:26. “O Sacrament most
holy, O Sacrament divine. All praise and all thanksgiving be every moment
Thine.”
The personal action for
today: What does it mean to me
that Jesus invites me to eat at His table and to be fed by and with Him? What
can I do to fulfill my call to be a servant to others as my Master-Teacher has
demonstrated through His acts of giving Himself to others? How can I spend more
time in prayer with my Master?
Maundy Thursday, also called Holy Thursday, inaugurates the Sacred
Triduum and draws us into the heart of the Paschal Mystery, where Christ
reveals the depth of His love “to the end” (Jn 13:1). It commemorates the Last
Supper, in which Jesus instituted the Eucharist, offering His Body and Blood as
the new covenant and perpetual memorial of His sacrifice. In this sacred
moment, the mystery of divine self-giving becomes tangible, as Christ
transforms bread and wine into the means of eternal communion with Him.
At the same time, Maundy Thursday celebrates the institution
of the priesthood, through which the Eucharistic mystery is continually made
present in the life of the Church. The washing of the feet stands as a powerful
sign of Christ’s humility, revealing that true authority in the Kingdom of God
is expressed through loving service, as He commands, “As I have done to you,
you also should do” (Jn 13:15). The “mandatum,” or new commandment, to love one
another as Christ has loved us, becomes the foundational law of Christian
discipleship, inviting a radical transformation of heart and relationships.
The liturgy culminates in a movement toward the Passion, as
the Blessed Sacrament is taken in solemn procession to the place of repose,
symbolizing Jesus’ journey to Gethsemane and His agony in prayer. The stripping
of the altar evokes the desolation and abandonment Christ will endure, inviting
the faithful into a deeper participation in His suffering love. Thus, Maundy
Thursday is not merely a remembrance but a living invitation to abide in the
Eucharist, embrace humble service, and accompany Christ faithfully through His
Passion toward the glory of the Resurrection.
