Holy Thursday

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INSTRUCTION ON HOLY THURSDAY

Taken from Fr. Leonard Goffine's Explanations of the Epistles and Gospels for the Sundays, Holydays, and Festivals throughout the Ecclesiastical Year

36th edition, 1880

What festival does the Church celebrate to-day?

THE Catholic Church commemorates to-day the institution, by our Saviour, of the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, and the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. This commemoration she has celebrated from the first ages of Christianity.


What remarkable things did Christ perform on this day?

He ate with His apostles the Paschal lamb which was a type of Himself; it was eaten with bitter herbs and unleavened bread; they ate it standing with clothes girded, and staff in hand, in remembrance of the hurried escape of the Jews from Egypt. (Exod. xii.) After having eaten the Paschal lamb our Lord with profound humility washed the feet of His apostles, exhorting them to practise the same humility and charity; afterwards, He gave them His Flesh and Blood under the appearance of bread and wine, for spiritual food and drink, thus instituting the Most Holy Sacrament of the Altar, the Sacrifice of the Mass, and the priesthood; for when He said to the apostles: Do this in commemoration of Me, he ordained them priests.

After this He held His last discourse in which He particularly recommended brotherly love; said that beautiful, high-priestly prayer, in which He implored His Heavenly Father particularly for the unity of His Church. He then went as usual to Mount Olivet, where He commenced His passion with prayer and resignation ,to the will of His Father, suffering intense, deathlike agony, which was so great that He sweat blood. Here Judas betrayed Him into the hands of the Jews, by a treacherous kiss. They bound Him and led Him to the high-priests, Annas and Caiphas, where He was sentenced to death by the council, and denied by Peter.


The Introit of the Mass reads thus: We ought to glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ: in whom is our salvation, life, and resurrection: by whom we have been saved and delivered. (Gal. vi. 14.) May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may He cause the light of His countenance to shine upon us, and may He have mercy on us. (Ps. lxvi. 2.)


PRAYER OF THE CHURCH  [See Good Friday.]


What ceremonies are observed in this day 's Mass?

The crucifix is covered with a white veil in memory of the sacred institution of the Blessed Sacrament of the Altar. The priest comes to the altar robed in white vestments; the Gloria in excelsis is solemnly sung, accompanied by the ringing of bells, and all Christians are exhorted to render praise and gratitude to the Lord for having instituted the Blessed Feast of Love; after the Gloria the bells are silent until Holy Saturday to indicate the Church's mourning for the passion and death of Jesus; to urge us also to spend these days in silent sorrow, meditating on the sufferings of Christ, and in memory of the shameful flight of the apostle sat the capture of their Master, and their silence during these days. At the Mass the priest consecrates two hosts one of which He consumes at the Communion, and the other he preserves in the chalice, for the following day, because no consecration takes place on Good Friday. The officiating priest does not give the usual kiss of peace before Communion, because on this day Judas betrayed his Master with a kiss. After Mass, the consecrated host in the chalice, and the Blessed Sacrament in the tabernacle, are taken in procession to the sacristy or repository, in memory of the earliest times of Christianity, when the consecrated hosts for the communicants and the sick, were kept in a place especially prepared, because there was no tabernacle on the altar. Moreover it also signifies Christ's going to Mount Olivet, where His Godhead was concealed. After the procession the priests with the choir say vespers in adoration of the Blessed Sacrament.


EPISTLE, (i Cor. xi. 20 32.) BRETHREN, When you come together into one place, it is not now to eat the Lord's supper. For every one taketh before his supper to eat. And one indeed is hungry, and another is drunk. What! have you not houses to eat and drink in? Or despise ye the Church of God?and put them to shame that have not? What shall I say to you? Do I praise you? In this I praise you not. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you: that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke it, and said: Take ye, and eat:,this is my body, which shall be delivered for you: this do for the commemoration of me. In like manner,also, the Chalice, after he had supped, saying: This Chalice is the New Testament in my blood. This do ye, as often as you shall drink it, for the commemoration of me. For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink this chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until he come. Wherefore, whoever shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the body of the Lord. Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep. But if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But whilst we are judged, we are chastised by the Lord, that we be not condemned with this world.


EXPLANATION. The early Christians were accustomed, after the celebration of the Lord's Supper, to unite in a common repast; those who were able furnished the food, and rich and poor partook of it in common, in token of brotherly love. This repast they called "Agape," a "meal of love." At Corinth this custom was abused, some ate before Communion that which had been brought, became intoxicated,and deprived the poor of their share. The Apostle condemns this abuse, declaring it an unworthy preparation for Communion, and reminds the Corinthians of the institution of the Blessed Sacrament telling them what a terrible sin it is to partake of the body and blood of the Lord unworthily, for whoever does this makes himself guilty of the body and blood of the Lord, and eats and drinks his own judgment, that is, eternal damnation. Therefore prove yourself, O Christian soul, as often as you communicate,see whether you have committed any grievous sin which you have not confessed, or for which you were not heartily sorry.


GOSPEL (John xiii. i 15.) 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 to the end. And when supper was done, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray him: knowing that the Father had given him all things into his hands, and that he came from God, and goeth to God: he riseth from supper, and layeth aside his garments: and having taken a towel, he girded himself. After that, he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of the disciples, and to wipe them with the towel, wherewith he was girt. He cometh therefore to Simon Peter, and Peter saith to him:Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered, and said to him: What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. Peter saith to him: Thou shalt never wash, my feet, Jesus answered him : If I wash thee not, thou shaft have no part with me. Simon Peter saith to him: Lord! not only my feet,but also my hands and my head. 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. For he knew who he was that would betray him: therefore he said: You are not all clean. 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? You call me Master, and Lord: and you say well, for so I am. If then I, being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that as, I have done to you so do you also.


Why did Jesus wash the feet of His disciples?

To give them a proof of His sincere love and great humility which they should imitate; to, teach them that although free from sin, and; not unworthy to receive His most holy body and blood, their feet needed cleansing, that is, that they should be purified from all evil inclinations which defile the heart, and prevent holy Communion from producing fruitful effects in the soul.


Why is it that on this day in each church only one priest says Mass at which the others receive Communion?

Because on this day Christ alone offered the unbloody Sacrifice, and having instituted the Blessed Sacrament, fed with His own hands His disciples with His flesh and blood, it is therefore proper that in commemoration of this, the priests in one church should receive the Blessed Sacrament from the hands of one, according to the example of the apostles, but as a sign of the priestly dignity which on this day Christ gave to the apostles and their successors,each priest wears a stole.


Why are the altars stripped on this day?

To show that Jesus took off, as it were, at the time of  His passion, His divine glory, and yielded Himself up in utter humiliation into the hands of His enemies to be crucified, (Phil.  ii.6. 7.) and that at the crucifixion He was forcibly stripped of His garments, which the soldiers 'divided among ' them, as foretold in the twenty-first psalm, which is therefore said during this ceremony. The faithful are urged to put off the old sinful man with his actions, and by humbling themselves become conformable to Christ.


Why is it that spiritual superiors wash the feet of their subjects, as do also the Catholic princes the feet of twelve poor men?

To commemorate the washing of the apostles' feet by Christ, and to teach all, even the highest to exercise the necessary virtues of humility and charity towards all, even the lowest, according to the example given by Jesus. Princes and spiritual superiors therefore kiss the feet after washing them, and the pope presses them to his breast giving to each person a silver and a gold medal on which is pictured the washing of the feet by Christ.


What is Tenebrae and what its meaning?

It is the office which the clergy say on Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday of this week, accompanied by the lamentations of the Prophet Jeremias, arid other ceremonies. The word Tenebrae means darkness, and represents the prayers formerly said in the dark hours of the morning. In the Tenebrae the Church mourns the passion and death of Jesus, and urges her children to return to God; She therefore makes use of those mournful words of Jeremias: Jerusalem! Jerusalem! be converted to the Lord, thy God!"


Why is the Tenebrae said in the evening?

In memory of that time when the early Christians spent the whole night preceding great festivals in prayer, but later, when zeal diminished, it was observed only by the clergy on the eves of such festivals; also in order that we may consider the darkness, lasting for three hours, at the crucifixion of Christ, whence the name Tenebrae; and lastly, to represent by it that mourning, of which darkness is the type.


Why, during the prayers of the clergy, are the lights in the triangular candlestick extinguished one after another?

Because the Tenebrae, as has been already remarked, in the earliest times of the Church, were held in the night, the candles were extinguished one after another, as the daylight gradually approached they were no longer necessary; again, at the time of the passion and death of Jesus, His apostles whom He calls the light of the world, one after another gradually left Him; at the death of Christ the earth was covered with darkness. The Jews, blinded by pride, would not recognize Christ as the Saviour of the world, and therefore fell by His death into the deepest darkness of hardened infidelity.


What is meant by the last candle which is carried lighted behind the altar, and after prayers are finished, is brought back again?

This candle signifies Christ, who on the third day came forth from the grave, by His own power, as the true light of the world, though according to His human nature He died and lay in the grave until the third day.


Why is a noise made with clappers at the end of the Tenebrae?

This was formerly a sign that service was over; it also signifies the earthquake which took place at Christ's death.


How should we attend the Church service on this day?

The Church commemorates on this day the institution of the Most Blessed Sacrament of the Altar; we should therefore consider with a lively faith that Jesus, our divine Teacher and Saviour, is really and truly here present; we should adore Him as the Son of God, who became man to redeem us; should admire the love which determined Him to institute the Blessed Sacrament, that He might always be with us; and should thank Him for all the inestimable graces which we derive from this Sacrament.


Remark
In the Cathedrals the holy oils which are used in Baptism, Confirmation, Holy Orders, and Extreme Unction, as also in consecrating baptismal fonts and altar stones, are blessed on this day. Let us thank our Lord for the institution of these Sacraments at which blessed oils are used.

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Holy Thursday (Maundy Thursday)

Taken from The Liturgical Year by Dom Prosper Gueranger (1841-1875)

THE NIGHT OFFICE

Tenebrae of Holy Thursday

The Office of Matins and Lauds, for the last three days of Holy Week, differs, in many things, from that of the rest of the year, all is sad and mournful, as though it were a funeral-service: nothing could more emphatically express the grief that now weighs down the heart of our holy mother the Church. Throughout all the Office of Thursday, Friday, and Saturday, she forbids herself the use of those formulas of joy and hope, wherewith, on all other days, she begins her praise of God. The Domine, labia mea aperies (0 Lord, thou shalt oioen my lips): the Deus, in adjutorium meum intende (Incline unto mine aid, God): the Gloria Patri, at the end of the Psalms, Canticles, and Responsories — all are taken away. So likewise are those soul-stirring additions, which have been gradually made, in the different ages; and nothing is left, but what is essential to the form of the Divine Office: Psalms, Lessons, and Chants expressive of grief. Each Canonical Hour ends with the Psalm Miserere, and with a commemoration of the Death and Cross of our Redeemer.

The name of Tenebræ has been given to the Matins and Lauds of the last three days of Holy Week, because this Office used formerly to be celebrated during the night: and even when the hour was anticipated, the name of Tenebræ was kept up for another reason, namely, that it began with daylight, but ended after the sun had set. There is an impressive ceremony, peculiar to this Office, which tends to perpetuate its name. There is placed in the Sanctuary, near the Altar, a large triangular candlestick, holding fifteen candles. These candles, and the six that are on the Altar, are of yellow wax, as in the Office for the Dead. At the end of each Psalm or Canticle, one of these fifteen candles is extinguished; but the one, which is placed at the top of the Triangle, is left lighted. During the singing of the Benedictus, at Lauds, the Six candles on the Altar are also put out. Then the Master of Ceremonies takes the lighted candle from the Triangle, and holds it upon the Altar, whilst the Choir repeats the antiphon after the Canticle: after which, he hides it behind the Altar during the recitation of the Miserere and the Prayer, which follows the Psalm. As soon as this Prayer is finished, a noise is made with the seats of the stalls in the choir, which continues until the candle is brought from behind the Altar, and shows, by its light, that the Office of Tenebræ is over.

Let us now study the meaning of these ceremonies. The glory of the Son of God was obscured, and, so to say, eclipsed, by the ignominies He endured during His Passion. He, the Light of the world, powerful in word and work, who, but a few days ago, was proclaimed King by the citizens of Jerusalem, is now robbed of all His honours; He is, says Isaias, the Man of sorrows, — a leper; (Isaiah 53:3-4) He is, says the royal prophet, a worm of the earth, and no man; (Psalm 21:7) He is, as He says of Himself, an object of shame even to His own Disciples, for they are all scandalized in Him, (Mark 14:27) and abandon him, yea, even Peter protests that he never knew Him. This desertion on the part of His Apostles and Disciples is expressed by the candles being extinguished, one after the other, not only on the Triangle, but on the Altar itself. But Jesus, our Light, though despised and hidden, is not extinguished. This is signified by the candle which is momentarily placed on the altar; it figures our Redeemer suffering and dying on Calvary. In order to express His burial, the candle is hid behind the altar; its light disappears. A confused noise is heard in the House of God, where all is now darkness. This noise and gloom express the convulsions of nature, when Jesus expired on the cross: the earth shook, the rocks were split, the dead came forth from their tombs. But the candle suddenly reappears; its light is as fair as ever; the noise is hushed, and homage is paid to the Conqueror of Death.

THE MORNING

This is the first day of the Azymes, or Feast of the Unleavened Bread. At sunset, the Jews must eat the Pasch in Jerusalem. Jesus is still in Bethania; but he will return to the City before the hour for the Paschal supper. The Law commands this; and, until he has abrogated the Law by the shedding of his Blood, he wishes to observe its ordinances. He therefore sends two of his Disciples to get everything ready for the Pasch, without, however, telling them the great Mystery, wherewith it is to terminate. We who know it, and that it was at this Last Supper that was instituted the Sacrament of the Eucharist, we can understand why he sends Peter and John, in preference to any of the other Disciples, to prepare what is needed. Peter, who was the first to confess the Divinity of Jesus, represents Faith: and John, who leaned upon the breast of the Man-God, represents Love. The mystery, which is to be instituted at tonight’s Supper, is revealed to Love by Faith. It is this that Jesus would have us learn from this choice of the two Apostles; but they themselves see not the intention of their Master.

Jesus, who knew all things, tells them by what sign they are to know the house, which he intends to honor with his presence: they have but to follow a man, whom they will see carrying a pitcher of water. The house to which this man is going belongs to a rich Jew, who recognizes Jesus as the Messias. The two Apostles apprise him of their Master’s wishes; and immediately he puts at their disposal a large and richly furnished room. It was fitting that the place where the most august Mystery was to be instituted should be something above common. This Room, where the reality was to be substituted for all the ancient figures, was far superior to the Temple of Jerusalem. In it was to be erected the first Altar for the offering up of the clean oblation, foretold by the Prophet: in it was to commence the Christian Priesthood: in it, finally, fifty days later on, the Church of Christ, collected together and visited by the Holy Ghost, was to make herself known to the world, and promulgate the new and universal Covenant of God with men. This favored sanctuary of our Faith is still venerated on Mount Sion. The Infidels have profaned it by their false worship, for even they look on it as a sacred place; but as though Divine Providence, which has mercifully preserved unto us so many traces of our Redeemer, would give us an earnest of better days to come—this venerable sanctuary has been recently thrown open to several Priests of the Church, and they have even been permitted to offer up the Holy Sacrifice in the very place where the Eucharist was instituted.

During the course of the day, Jesus has entered Jerusalem, with the rest of His Disciples: He has found all things prepared.

The Paschal Lamb, after being first presented in the Temple, has been brought to the house, where Jesus is to celebrate the Supper: it is prepared, together with the wild lettuce and the unleavened bread. In a few hours, the Divine Master and his Disciples will be standing round the table, their loins girt, and staves in their hands; and, for the last time, they will observe the solemn rite prescribed by God to his people, when they first went forth from Egypt.

But let us wait for the hour of Mass before going further into the details of this Last Supper. Meanwhile, let us seek edification and instruction in two holy functions which belong to this great day. The first is the Reconciliation of Penitents, which, although not now in use, needs to be described, in order that our readers may have a proper idea of the Lenten Liturgy. The second is the Consecration of the Holy Oils, which is a ceremony confined to Cathedral Churches, but so interesting to the Faithful that we should have scrupled to have excluded it from our volume. After having briefly described these, we will return tot he history of the Institution of the Blessed Sacrament, and assist at Mass. Then we shall have to speak of the preparation for the Mass of the Presanctified for tomorrow’s service, of the Stripping the Altars, and of the Mandatum, or Washing of the Feet. We proceed, therefore, to explain these several ceremonies, which make Maundy Thursday to be one of the most sacred days of the Liturgical Year.

The Reconciliation of Penitents

Three solemn Masses were anciently celebrated on this day; and the first was preceded by the absolution of the public Penitents, and their readmission into the Church. The following was the order of the service for the Reconciliation of Penitents. They presented themselves at the Church door, clad in penitential garb, and barefooted. Their hair of both head and beard had been allowed to grow from Ash Wednesday, the day on which they had received their penance. The Bishop recited, in the sanctuary, the seven Psalms, in which David expresses his sorrow for having offended God. These were followed by the Litany of the Saints.

During these prayers, the Penitents were prostrate in the porch, for entrance into the Church was forbidden them. Thrice during the Litany, the Bishop deputed some of the clergy to go and visit them, in his name, and bear them words of hope and consolation. The first time, two Subdeacons went to them and said: As I live, saith the Lord, I will not the death of the sinner, but rather that he be converted and live. The second time, two other Subdeacons were sent, with this message: Thus saith the Lord: Do penance; for the kingdom of heaven is at hand. Finally, a Deacon was commissioned to go to them, and say: Lift up your heads; lo! your redemption is nigh.

After these announcements of approaching pardon, the Bishop left the Sanctuary and went towards the Penitents, as far as half-way down the center nave, where was prepared a seat, turned towards the door which led into the porch, where the Penitents were still lying prostrate. The Pontiff being seated the Archdeacon addressed him in these words:

Venerable Pontiff! The acceptable time has come, the day of God’s mercy and of man’s salvation, when death was destroyed, and eternal life began. This is the time, when, in the vineyard of the Lord of Sabaoth, new plants are to be set, and the detestableness of the old growth is to be pruned away. For though there be no period of time, which is not rich in the goodness and mercy of God, yet now indulgence produces a more abundant remission of sins, and grace yields a more plentiful number of the regenerated. Those that are regenerated add to our ranks; those that return, increase our numbers. There is a laver of water; there is a laver of tears. From the one, there is joy because of the admittance of them that are called; from the other, there is gladness because of them that repent. Therefore it is, that these thy suppliant servants—after having fallen into sundry kinds of sins, by the neglect of the divine commandments, and the transgression of the moral law—humbled and prostrate, cry out to the Lord in these words of the Prophet: We have sinned: we have done unjustly; we have committed iniquity: have mercy on us, O Lord! It has not been in vain, that they have heard the words of the Gospel: Blessed are they that mourn; for they shall be comforted. As it is written, they have eaten the bread of sorrow; they have watered their couch with tears; they have afflicted their hearts with mourning, and their bodies with fasting, that thus they might recover the health of soul, which they had lost. The grace of penance, therefore, is one; but it profits each one that receives it, and gives help to all in common.

The Bishop then rose, and advanced towards the Penitents. He spoke to them concerning the mercy of God, and how they should live for the time to come. After this exhortation, he thus addressed them: Come, come, come, my children! I will teach you the fear of the Lord. The Choir then sang this Antiphon, taken from the 33rd Psalm: Come ye to him, and be enlightened, and your faces shall not be confounded. Hereupon, the Penitents got up, and, coming to the Bishop, threw themselves at his feet. The Archpriest then pleaded for them in these words:

Make good in them, O Apostolic Pontiff, all that has been corrupted in them by the temptation of the devil! By the merit of thy prayers and intercession, and by the grace of the divine reconciliation, bring these men nigh unto God. Thus, they who, heretofore, suffered by the sins they committed, may now be happy in the hope that, having overcome the author of their death, they may please the Lord, in the land of the living.

The Bishop answered: Knowest thou, if they be worthy of reconciliation? The Archpriest replied: I know, and bear witness, that they are worthy. A Deacon then ordered the Penitents to rise. This done, the Bishop took one of them by the hand, who did the same to his neighbor; and thus all, hand in hand, followed the Bishop to the place prepared in the center of the nave. Meanwhile, the Choir sang the following Antiphons: I say unto you, there is joy to the Angels of God over one sinner doing penance. It behoveth thee, my son, to rejoice; for thy brother was dead, and has come to life again; he was lost, and is found. The Bishop then offered up to God this prayer, which he sang to the solemn tone of the Preface.

It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, that we should always and in all places give thanks to thee, O Holy Lord, Almighty Father, Eternal God, through Christ our Lord: Whom thou, O Almighty Father, didst will should be born among us by an ineffable Birth, that so he might pay to thee, his Eternal Father, the debt contracted by Adam, and put our death to death by his own, and bear our wounds in his own flesh, and cleanse away our stains by his Blood; hereby enabling us, who had fallen by the envy of the old enemy, to rise again by his mercy. Through him, O Lord, we suppliantly beseech and pray thee that thou mayest graciously hear us making intercession for the sins of others, who are not worthy to plead for our own. do thou, O most merciful Lord, recall to thyself, with thy wonted goodness, these thy servants, who have separated themselves from thee by their sins. For neither didst thou reject the most wicked Achab when he humbled himself before thee, but didst avert from him the punishment he had deserved. So, likewise, didst thou graciously hear Peter, when he wept, and didst afterwards give to him the keys of the kingdom of heaven; and thou didst promise the reward of that same kingdom to the Thief when he trusted in thee. Therefore, O most merciful Lord! mercifully welcome back these for whom we offer to thee our prayers, and restore them to the bosom of the Church, that the enemy may not triumph over them, but that they may be reconciled unto thee by thy co-equal Son, and by Him be cleansed from their guilt, and graciously admitted by Him to the banquet of thy most Holy Supper. May he in such wise refresh them by his Flesh and Blood, as to lead them, after this life’s course is run, to the kingdom of heaven.

After this Prayer, all, both clergy and laity, prostrated themselves, together with the Penitents, before the Divine Majesty, and recited the three Psalms which begin with the word Miserere (that is the 50th, the 55th, and the 56th). The Bishop then stood up, and said over the Penitents (who remained prostrate, as did also all the assistants), six Prayers, from which we select the following sentences.

Give ear, O Lord, to our supplications, and mercifully hear me, though I myself need mercy above all others. Thou hast chosen me to be the minister of this work, not from any merits thou didst see in me, but by the pure gift of thy grace. Grant me courage to fulfill my office, and do thou work, by my ministry, the effects of thine own mercy. It is thou that didst bring back, on thy shoulders, the lost sheep to the fold, and that didst mercifully hear the prayers of the Publican: do thou, also, restore to life these thy servants, whom thou wouldst not have die unto thee. O thou, who abandonest not them that are gone astray, receive these who have returned to thee. We beseech thee, O Lord, let the tearful sighs of these thy servants move thee to clemency: heal their wounds: stretch out thy saving hand to them, and raise them up. Permit not thy Church to be injured in any of her members: let not thy flock suffer loss; let not the enemy exult over the destruction of any of thy family, nor the second death lay hold of them that have been regenerated in the laver of salvation. Pardon, O Lord, these that confess their sins to thee: let them not fall into the punishments of the future judgment to come; let them never know the horrors of darkness or the torments of the flames of hell. They have returned from the way of error to the path of justice; let them not be again wounded, but maintain ever within themselves both what thy grace hath conferred upon them and what thy mercy hath reformed within them.

Having said these Prayers, the Bishop stretched forth his hands over the Penitents, and pronounced the Reconciliation, in this solemn formula:

May our Lord Jesus Christ, who vouchsafed to take away the sins of the whole world by delivering himself up for us, and shedding his spotless Blood; who, also, said unto his Disciples: whatsoever ye shall bind on earth, shall be bound also in heaven; and whatsoever ye shall loose on earth, shall be loosed also in heaven: and who hath numbered me, though unworthy, among these his ministers: may he deign, by the intercession of Mary, the Mother of God, of the blessed Archangel Michael, of holy Peter the Apostle (to whom he gave the power of binding and loosing), and of all the Saints, to absolve you, by the merits of his Blood shed for the remission of sins, from all whatsoever you have negligently committed in thought, or word, or action; and, having loosed you from the bonds of sin, may he graciously lead you to the kingdom of heaven. Who, with God the Father, and the Holy Ghost, liveth and reigneth for ever and ever. Amen.

The Bishop then advanced towards the Penitents, who were still lying prostrate: he sprinkled them with holy water, and thurified them. Finally, he addressed them in these words of the Apostle: Arise, ye that sleep! arise from the dead, and Christ shall enlighten you! The Penitents stood up; and, in order to express the joy they felt at being reconciled with their God, they immediately went and changed their penitential garb for one more in accordance with gladness, and with the Holy Communion they were now to receive together with the rest of the Faithful.

This Reconciliation of Penitents has given rise to the magnificent ceremony, which takes place at Rome on this day—the Papal Benediction. After Mass, the Sovereign Pontiff, vested in cope, and wearing the tiara, goes to the balcony over the center door of the Vatican Basilica. In the Piazza of Saint Peter’s, there stands an immense crowd of people, come from every country of the world, awaiting the appearance of the Vicar of Christ, who is about to grant them the remission of the punishment due to their sins. One of the Prelates, who surround the Pope’s throne, recites the usual form of the Confession of Sins; he recites it in the name of the assembly below, whom one and the same holy Faith has thus brought before the Father of the Christian World. After a few second of silence, the Pontiff beseeches God to show the riches of his Mercy upon the multitude, who have already purified their conscience in the Tribunal of reconciliation; he invokes upon them the assistance of the holy Apostles Peter and Paul; and then rising, he raises up his hands to heaven, as though to draw thence the treasures of eternal indulgence; and immediately lowering them, he blesses the assembled multitude. This Blessing (incorrectly called a blessing Urbi et Orbi, inasmuch as it is only given to the Faithful who are present at it), which grants a Plenary Indulgence to all that have fulfilled the requisite conditions, was originally given only on Maundy Thursday; afterwards, it was given also on Easter Sunday; and again, later on, was extended to two other days in the year, namely the Ascension (at Saint John Lateran), and the Assumption (at Saint Mary Major).

The Blessing of the Holy Oils

The second Mass which used, formerly, to be said on Maundy Thursday, was that of the Blessing of the Holy Oils. This holy function, which takes place but once each year, requires a Bishop as the consecrator. For now many centuries, this great ceremony is celebrated at the single Mass, which is said, on this day, in commemoration of our Lord’s Supper. As this Blessing only takes place in Cathedral Churches, we will not enter into each detail; and yet we would not deprive our readers of what they ought to know with regard to the Holy Oils. Faith teaches us that, as we are regenerated by water, so are we confirmed and fortified by oil; and that Oil is one of the chief elements chosen by the Divine Author of the Sacraments, whereby to signify and produce grace in our souls.

The reason of the Church’s selecting Maundy Thursday for the Blessing of the Holy Oils, was that they would be so much needed for the Baptism of the neophytes on Easter Eve. It behooves the Faithful to understand the mystery of those sacred elements. We will, therefore, briefly explain it to them, in order that we may excite their hearts to gratitude to our Blessed Lord, who has made material things the instruments of grace and, by his Blood, has given them the sacramental power which resides within them.

The first of the Holy Oils, that is, the first that is blessed by the Bishop, is the one called the Oil of the Sick. It is the matter of the Sacrament of Extreme Unction. It takes away, from the dying Christian, the remnants of sin; it strengthens him in his last combat; and, by the supernatural power it possesses, sometimes restores to him the health of the body. Formerly, it used to be blessed on any day of the year, as often as required: but later on, its Blessing was fixed for this day, that thus the three Oils might be blessed all together. The Faithful should assist, with much devotion, at this ceremony; for the element that is thus sanctified, is one day to anoint and purify their bodies, sinking under sickness. Let them, as they see it being blessed, think upon their last hour, and praise the infinite goodness of their Savior, “whose blood streams so plentifully through this precious fluid.”

The noblest of the three Oils is the Chrism, and its consecration is more solemn, and fuller of mystery, than those of the other two. It is by the Chrism that the Holy Ghost imprints his indelible seal on the Christian, that has already been made a member of Christ by Baptism. The Water gives us our spiritual birth; the Chrism gives us strength; and, until such time as we have received its holy anointing, we have not as yet the perfect character of a Christian. Anointed with holy Oil, the Faithful has a visible sign given him of his being a member of the Man-God, whose name of Christ signifies the unction he has received both as King and Pontiff. This consecration of a Christian by Chrism is so much in accordance with the spirit of our holy Religion that, immediately after Baptism, the child receives upon its head an anointing (though it is not a sacramental one) of this Oil, to show that he is already a sharer of the kingly character of Jesus Christ.

In order to express, by an outward sign, the sacredness of Chrism, an Apostolic tradition requires the Bishop to mix Balm with it. This Balm represents what the Apostle calls the good odor of Christ, of whom it is written: We will run after thee, to the odor of thy ointments. The scarcity and high price of other perfumes has obliged the Latin Church to be content with Balm alone in the mixture of holy Chrism; but in the Eastern Church, where the climate is more favorable than ours, three and thirty species of precious perfumes are put into the Oil, and it thus becomes an ointment of exquisite fragrance.

The holy Chrism, besides its sacramental use in Confirmation, and its being put upon the head of the newly baptised, is also used by the Church in the consecration of her Bishops, in the consecration of Chalices and Altars, in the blessing of Bells, and in the Dedication of a Church, in which last most imposing ceremony, the Bishop pours out the Chrism on the twelve crosses, which are to attest to all succeeding ages, the glory of God’s House.

The third of the holy Oils is that which is called the Oil of Catechumens. Though it be not the matter of any Sacrament, it is, nevertheless, an Apostolic institution. Its blessing is less solemn than that of the Chrism, but more so than that of the Oil of the Sick. The Oil of Catechumens is used in the ceremonies of Baptism, for the anointing the breast and shoulders. It is also used for the anointing of a Priest’s hands in Ordination, and for the coronation of a King or Queen.

These few words of explanation will give the Faithful some idea of the importance of the Blessing of the holy Oils. By this threefold Blessing, says St. Fortunatus (in the beautiful Hymn, which is used during the ceremony), the Bishop acquits the debt he owes, and which none but he can pay.

The holy Church seldom employs such pomp as she does on this occasion. Twelve Priests, seven Deacons, and seven Subdeacons, are present. The Roman Pontifical tells us that the twelve Priests assist as witnesses and cooperators of the holy Chrism. The Mass commences, and goes on as far as the Prayer of the Canon, which immediately precedes the Pater noster. The Bishop then leaves the Altar, and goes to the place prepared for the Blessing. The first phial of Oil that is brought to him is that which is intended for the sick. He prefaces the blessing by pronouncing the words of exorcism over this oil, in order to drive from it the influence of the wicked spirits who, out of hatred for man, are ever seeking to infest the creatures given to us for our use. This done, he blesses it in these words:

We beseech thee, O Lord, send forth from heaven thy Holy Spirit the Paraclete upon this rich juice of the olive, which thou hast graciously produced from the green wood, for the solace of both mind and body. By thy holy blessing, may all they that are anointed with this ointment of heavenly virtue, receive help to mind and body; may it remove from them all pains, all infirmities, and all sickness of mind and body, for it was with oil that thou didst anoint thy Priests, Kings, Prophets, and Martyrs. May this, being blessed by thee, O Lord, become unto us an ointment of perfection, and abide within our whole being. In the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.

One of the seven Subdeacons then carries the phial back, and the Bishop returns to the Altar, and continues the Mass. As soon as he has given Holy Communion to the clergy, he returns to the place prepared for the blessing of the Oils. The twelve Priests, the seven Deacons, and the seven Subdeacons, repair to the place where the other two phials have been put. One contains the oil, which is to become the Chrism of salvation; the other, the oil which is to be sanctified as the oil of Catechumens. The procession is soon seen returning towards the Pontiff. The two phials are carried by two Deacons; a Subdeacon carries the vase of Balm. The Bishop begins by blessing the Balm: he calls it “the fragrant tear of dry bark—the oozing of a favored branch, that gives us the priestly unction.” Before proceeding to bless the oil of the Chrism, he thrice breathes upon it, in the form of a cross. The twelve Priests do the same. The Gospel tells us that our Blessed Savior used this same ceremony over his Apostles. It signifies the power of the Holy Ghost, and expresses his name, which is The Spirit. This Holy Spirit is about to make this oil become an instrument of his Divine power. The Bishop first prepares it for the heavenly dignity by exorcising it. He then celebrates the praises of the Chrism by this magnificent Preface, which has been handed down to us from the earliest ages of our faith.

It is truly meet and just, right and available to salvation, that we should always, and in all places, give thanks to thee, O Holy Lord, Almighty Father, Eternal God: who, in the beginning, among the rest of thy bounteous gifts, didst command the earth to yield fruitbearing trees, among which should be the olive, which produces this most rich liquor, and whose fruit was to serve for the making holy Chrism. Hence it was that David, foreknowing, by a prophetic spirit, the Sacraments of thy grace, sang that our faces were to be made glad with oil: and when the sins of the world were expiated of old, by the deluge, a dove announced that peace was restored to the earth, by bearing an olive-branch, the type of the gift to come, which has been manifested in these latter ages; for after the waters of Baptism have washed away the sins of men, this anointing of oil gave us joy and calm. Hence, too, thou didst command thy servant Moses to ordain his brother Aaron priest, by pouring oil upon him, after he had been cleansed with water. A greater honor still was, that when thy Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, bade John baptise him in the waters of the Jordan, thou didst send upon him the Holy Ghost in the form of a dove; that thus, by a voice that bore testimony, thou mightest designate thine Only Begotten Son, in whom thou wast well pleased, and mightest prove, beyond all doubt, that this was the fulfillment of what the Prophet David had foretold, when he sang, that he was to be anointed with the oil of gladness above his fellows. We, therefore, beseech thee, O Holy Lord, Almighty Father, Eternal God, through the same Jesus Christ, thy Son, our Lord, that thou vouchsafe to sanctify, by thy blessing, this thy creature oil, and infuse into it the virtue of the Holy Ghost, through the cooperating power of Christ, thy Son, from whose name it hath borrowed its own of Chrism, and wherewith thou didst anoint the Priests, Kings, Prophets, and Martyrs. Raise this Chrism into a Sacrament of perfect salvation and life, to them that are to be renewed by the spiritual laver of Baptism. That thus, the corruption of their first birth being absorbed by the infusion of this holy anointing, they may become a holy temple, redolent with the fragrance of the innocence of holy living. According to what thou hast appointed in this mystery, bestow upon them the honor of kings, priests, and prophets, by vesting them in the robe of incorruption. May this oil be to them, that are born again from water and the Holy Ghost, a Chrism of salvation, making them partakers of life everlasting, and co-heirs of heavenly glory.

The Bishop then takes the Balm; and having mixed it on a paten with a little oil, he pours it into the Phial. The consecration of the Chrism thus completed, he salutes it with these words: Hail, O Holy Chrism! This he does with the intention of honoring the Holy Ghost, who is to work by this sacramental oil. The same is done by each of the twelve Priests.

The Bishop then proceeds to bless the Oil of Catechumens. After having breathed upon it, and pronounced the exorcism (as before, in the blessing of the holy Chrism), he says this prayer:

O God, the rewarder of every spiritual increase and growth! who strengthenest the beginnings of weakly souls by the power of the Holy Ghost: we beseech thee, O Lord, that thou vouchsafe to pour out thy blessing upon this oil, and grant to them, that come to the laver of holy regeneration, the cleansing of soul and body, by the anointing they receive from this thy creature; that so, if there should be any stains fixed upon them by their spiritual enemies, they may be effaced by the touch of this holy oil. May the wicked spirits find no room there; may the powers, that have been put to flight, have no further sway; may there be no lurking place left to insidious evil ones. May thy servants that come to the faith, and are to be cleansed by the operation of thy Holy Spirit, find in this anointing a preparation for that salvation, which they are to receive in the Sacrament of Baptism, by the birth of a heavenly regeneration. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, who is to come to judge the living, and the dead, and the world by fire. Amen.

The Bishop then salutes the Oil, on which he has conferred these wonderful prerogatives, saying: Haily, O holy Oil! The same act of reverence is repeated by each of the Priests. One of the deacons takes the Chrism, another the Oil of Catechumens, and a procession is again formed for taking them to the place prepared for them. They are covered with veils of silk—the holy Chrism, with white; the Oil of Catechumens, with purple.

We will conclude our outline of this imposing ceremony by giving our readers the beautiful Hymn, composed in the 6th century, by St. Venantius Fortunatus, Bishop of Poitiers. The Church has adopted it for the two processions, which we have already described.

Hymn

O Redemptor, sume carmen temet concinentium. 
O Redeemer of mankind! receive the hymn of them that sing thy praise.

Repeat: O Redemptor. 
Repeat: O Redeemer.


Audi, judex mortuorum,
Una spes mortalium,
Audi voces proferentum
Donum pacis prævium.

O judge of the dead! thou only hope of men! hear the prayers of them that carry the emblem of the gift of peace.


O Redemptor. 
O Redeemer.


Arbor fœta alma luce
Hic sacrandum protulit:
Fert hoc prona præsens turba
Salvatori sæculi. 

A tree made fruitful by the fostering sun, produced this oil that is now to be blessed, which we, the adorers of his holy name, bring to the Savior of the world.


O Redemptor.
O Redeemer.

Stans ad aram immo supplex
Infulatus Pontifex,
Debitum persolvit omne,
Consecrato Chrismate. 

The mitred Pontiff, too, standing humbly before the altar, is about to pay his debt, by consecrating the Chrism.


O Redemptor. 
O Redeemer.


Consecrare tu dignare,
Rex perennis patriæ,
Hoc olivum, signum vivum
Jura contra dæmonum. 

O King of the everlasting kingdom! deign to consecrate this oil, this instrument of life, that breaks the demon’s power.


O Redemptor. 
O Redeemer.


Ut novetur sexus omnis
Unctione Chrismatis,
Ut sanetur sauciata
Dignitatis gloria. 

Men and women are renovated by the unction of the Chrism; and their glorious dignity, that had been wounded, is healed by the same.


O Redemptor. 
O Redeemer.


Lota mente sacro fonte
Aufugantur crimina:
Uncta fronte, sacrosancta
Influunt charismata. 

When the soul is washed in the sacred font, her crimes are put to flight: and holiest graces come upon them, whose brow is anointed with this oil.


O Redemptor. 
O Redeemer.


Corde natus ex Parentis,
Alvum implens Virginis,
Præsta lucem, claude mortem
Chrismatis consortibus.

 O thou the Son of the Eternal Father, and Son of the Virgin-Mother! grant light and life to us whom thou hast made to share in thine own anointing.


O Redemptor.
O Redeemer.


Sit hæc dies festa nobis
Sæculorum sæculis:
Sit sacrata, digna laude,
Nec senescat tempore. 

May this day be to us an everlasting feast. May it be sacred, praiseworthy, nor grow old with time.


O Redemptor. 
O Redeemer.

✠ ✠ ✠

THE MASS OF MAUNDY THURSDAY

The Church intends, on this day, to renew, in a most solemn manner, the mystery of the Last Supper: for our Lord himself, on this occasion of the institution of the Blessed Sacrament, said to his Apostles: Do this for a Commemoration of me. Let us, therefore, resume the Gospel narrative.

Jesus is in the Supper chamber, where the Paschal Lamb is to be eaten. All the Apostles are with him; Judas is there also, but his crime is not known to the rest. Jesus approaches the table on which the Lamb is to be served. His Disciples stand around him. The ceremonies prescribed by God to Moses are religiously observed. At the beginning of the repast, Jesus speaks these words to his Apostles: With desire I have desired to eat this Pasch with you, before I suffer. In saying this, he does not imply that the Pasch of this year is intrinsically better than those that have preceded it; but, that it is dearer to him, inasmuch as it is to give rise to the institution of the new Pasch, which he has prepared for mankind, and which he is now going to give them as his last gift: for as St. John says, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them unto the end.

During the repast, Jesus, who reads the hearts of all men, utters these words, which cause great consternation among the Disciples: Amen I say to you, that one of you is about to betray me:—he that dippeth his hand with me in the dish, he shall betray me. The sadness with which he speaks is enough to soften any heart; and Judas, who knows his Master’s goodness, feels that they imply a merciful pardon, if he will but ask it. But no: the passion of avarice has enslaved his soul, and he, like the rest of the Apostles, says to Jesus: Is it I, Rabbi? Jesus answers him in a whisper, in order not to compromise him before his brethren: Thou hast said it! But Judas yields not. He intends to remain with Jesus until the hour comes for betraying him. Thus, the august mystery, which is on the point of being celebrated, is to be insulted by his presence!

The legal repast is over. It is followed by a feast, which again brings the Disciples around their Divine Master. It was the custom in the East, that guests should repose two and two on couches round the table; these have been provided by the disciple, who has placed his house at Jesus’ service. John is on the same couch as Jesus, so that it is easy for him to lean his head upon his Master’s breast. Peter is on the next couch, on the other side of Jesus, who is thus between the two Disciples, whom He had sent, in the morning, to prepare the Pasch, and who, as we have already observed, represent faith and love This second repast is a sorrowful one, in consequence of Jesus having told the guests, that one of them is a traitor. The innocent and affectionate John is overwhelmed with grief, and seeks consolation on the Heart of this dear Lord, whom some one is about to deliver to His enemies.

But the Apostles little expect a third Supper. Jesus has not told them of his intention; but he had made a promise, and he would fulfill it before his Passion. Speaking one day to the people, he had said: I am the Living Bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this Bread, he shall live for ever, and the Bread that I will give, is my Flesh for the life of the world … My Flesh is meat indeed, and my Blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood, abideth in me, and I in him. The time has come for the fulfillment of this his loving promise. But as it was both his Flesh and his Blood that he promised us, he waited till the time of his sacrifice. His Passion has begun; he is sold to his enemies; his life is already in their hands—he may at once, therefore, offer himself in sacrifice, and give to his Disciples the very Flesh and Blood of the Victim.

As soon as the second repast was over, Jesus suddenly rises and, to the astonishment of his Apostles, takes off his upper garments, girds himself, as a servant, with a towel, pours water into a basin, and prepares to wash the feet of the guests. It was the custom, in the East, to wash one’s feet before taking part in a feast; it was considered as the very extreme of hospitality when the master of the house himself did this service to his guest. Jesus is about to regale his Apostles with a Divine Banquet; he wishes to treat them with every possible mark of welcome and attention. But in this, as in every other action of his, there is a fund of instruction: he would teach us, by what he is now doing, how great is the purity wherewith we should approach the Holy Table. He that is washed, says he, needeth not but to wash his feet; as though he would say: “The holiness of this Table is such that they who come to it should not only be free from grievous sins, but they should, moreover, strive to cleanse their souls from those lesser faults which come from contact with the world, and are like the dust that covers the feet of one that walks on the highway.” We will explain further on the teachings conveyed by this action of our Lord.

It is with Peter, the future Head of his Church, that Jesus begins. The Apostle protests; he declares that he will never permit his Master to humble himself so low as this: but he is obliged to yield. The other Apostles (who, as Peter himself, are reclining upon their couches), receive the same mark of love: Jesus comes to each of them in turn, and washes their feet. Judas is not excepted: he has just received a second warning from his merciful Master; for Jesus, addressing himself to all the Apostles, said to them: You are clean; but not all: but the reproach produced no effect upon this hardened heart. Having finished washing the feet of the Twelve, Jesus resumes his place, side by side with John.

Then taking a piece of the unleavened bread that had remained over from the feast, he raises his eyes to heaven, blesses the bread, breaks it, and distributes it to his Disciples, saying to them: Take ye, and eat; this is my Body. The Apostles take the bread, which is now changed into the Body of their Divine Master; they eat;—and Jesus is, now, not only with them, but in them. But as this sacred mystery is not only the most holy of the Sacraments, but, moreover, a true Sacrifice; and as a Sacrifice requires the shedding of blood—our Jesus takes the cup, and changing the wine into his own Blood, he passes it around to his Disciples, saying to them: Drink ye, all, of this; for this is my Blood of the new testament, which shall be shed for many, unto remission of sins. The Apostles drink from the sacred chalice thus proffered them; when it comes to Judas, he too partakes of it, but he drinks his own damnation, as he ate his own judgment, when he received the Bread of Life. Jesus, however, mercifully offers the traitor another grace, by saying, as he gives the Cup to his Disciples: The hand of him that betrayeth me is with me on the table.

Peter is struck by Jesus thus frequently alluding to the crime which is to be committed by one of the Twelve. He is determined to find out who the traitor is. Not daring himself to ask Jesus, at whose right hand he is sitting, he makes a sign to John, who is on the other side, and begs him to put the question. John leans on Jesus’ breast, and says to him in a whisper: Lord, who is it? Jesus answers him in an equally suppressed tone: He to whom I shall reach bread dipped. And having taken one of the pieces of bread that remained over from the repast, he dipped it, and gave it to Judas. It was one more grace offered and refused, for the Evangelist adds: And after the morsel, Satan entered into him. Jesus again addresses him, saying: That which thou dost, do quickly. The wretch then leaves the room, and sets about the perpetration of his crime.

Such is the history of the Last Supper, of which we celebrate the anniversary on this day. But there is one circumstance of the deepest interest to us, and to which we have, so far, only made an indirect allusion. The institution of the Holy Eucharist, both as a Sacrament and Sacrifice, is followed by another—the institution of a new Priesthood. How could our Savior have Except you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, and drink his Blood, you shall not have life in you,—unless he had resolved to establish a ministry upon earth whereby he would renew, even to the end of time, the great Mystery he thus commands us to receive? He begins it today, in the Cenacle. The twelve Apostles are the first to partake of it: but observe what he says to them: Do this for a commemoration of me. By these words, he gives them power to change bread into his Body, and wine into his Blood; and this sublime power shall be perpetuated in the Church, by holy Ordination, even to the end of the world. Jesus will continue to operate, by the ministry of mortal and sinful men, the Mystery of the Last Supper. By thus enriching his Church with the one and perpetual Sacrifice, he also gives us the means of abiding in him, for he gives us, as he promised, the Bread of heaven. Today, then, we keep the anniversary not only of the Institution of the Holy Eucharist, but also of the equally wonderful Institution of the Christian Priesthood.

To offer the faithful an outward expression of the greatness and the unity of this Supper, which our Saviour gave to his Disciples, and, through them, to us, the Church forbids her priests to say private Masses on this day, except in cases of necessity. She would have but one Sacrifice to be offered in each church, at which the other Priests are to assist, and receive Holy Communion from the hands of the Celebrant. When approaching the altar, they put on the stole, the emblem of their priesthood.

The Mass of Maundy Thursday is one of the most solemn of the Year; and although the Feast of Corpus Christi is the day for the solemn honouring the mystery of the Holy Eucharist,still, the Church would have the anniversary of the Last Supper to be celebrated with all possible splendour. The colour of the vestments is white, as it is for Christmas Day and Easter Sunday; the decorations of the Altar and Sanctuary all bespeak joy: and yet, there are several ceremonies during this Mass, which show that the holy Spouse of Christ has not forgotten the Passion of her Jesus, and that this joy is but transient. The Priest entones the angelic hymn, Glory be to God in the highest! and the Bells ring forth a joyous peal, which continues during the whole singing of the heavenly canticle: but, from that moment, they remain silent, and their long silence produces, in every heart, a sentiment of holy mournfulness. But why does the Church deprive us, for so many hours, of the grand melody of these sweet bells, whose voices cheer us during the rest of the year? It is to show us, that this world lost all its melody and joy when its Saviour suffered and was crucified. Moreover, she would hereby remind us, how the Apostles, (who were the heralds of Christ, and are figured by the bells, whose ringing summons the faithful to the house of God,) fled from their Divine Master and left him a prey to his enemies.

The Holy Sacrifice continues as usual; but at the solemn moment of the Elevation of the Holy Host and the Chalice of Salvation, the Bell is silent, and, outside the Church, there is not given to the neighbourhood the usual signal of the descent of Jesus upon the altar. When the time of the holy Communion is near, the priest does not give the kiss of peace to the deacon, who, according to the Apostolic tradition, should transmit it, by the subdeacon, to those that are about to communicate. Our thoughts turn to the traitor Judas, who, on this very day, profaned the sign of friendship by making it an instrument of death. It is out of detestation for this crime, that the Church omits, today, the sign of fraternal charity: it would too painfully remind us of sacrilegious hypocrisy.

Another rite, peculiar to today, is the Priest’s consecrating two Hosts during the Mass. One of these he receives in Communion; the other he reserves, and reverently places it in a chalice, which he covers with a veil. The reason of this is, that, tomorrow, the Church suspends the daily Sacrifice. Such is the impression produced by the anniversary of our Saviour’s Death, that the Church dares not to renew, upon her altars, the immolation which was then offered on Calvary: — or rather, her renewal of it will be by the fixing all her thoughts on the terrible scene of that Friday Noon. The Host reserved from today’s Mass, will be her morrow’s participation. This rite is called the Mass of the Presanctified, because, in it, the priest does not consecrate, but only receives the Host consecrated on the previous day. Formerly, as we shall explain more fully further on, the holy Sacrifice was not offered up on Holy Saturday, and yet the Mass of the Presanctified was not celebrated, as it was on the Friday.

But although the Church suspends, for a few short hours, the oblation of the perpetual Sacrifice, she would not that her Divine Spouse should lose aught of the homage that is due to him in the Sacrament of his Love. Catholic piety has found a means of changing these trying hours into a tribute of devotion to the Holy Eucharist. In every Church is prepared a richly ornamented side-chapel or pavilion where, after today’s Mass, the Church places the Body of her Divine Lord. Though veiled from their view, the Faithful will visit him in this his holy resting place, pay him their most humble adorations, and present him their most fervent supplications. Wheresoever the Body shall be, there shall the eagles be gathered together. In every part of the Catholic world, a concert of prayer, more loving and earnest than at any other period of the Year, will be offered to our Jesus, in reparation for the outrages he underwent, during these very hours, from the Jews. Around this anticipated Tomb will be united both his long-tried and fervant servants, and those who are newly converted, or are preparing for their reconciliation.

At Rome, the Station is in the Lateran Basilica. The metropolitan Church both of the Holy City and the World was deservedly chosen for this great Day of the Reconciliation of Sinners and the Consecration of the Chrism. The Papal function, however, now takes place at the Vatican; and, as we have already stated, the Apostolic Benediction is given by the Sovereign Pontiff from the loggia’ of Saint Peter’s.

Mass

In the Introit, the Church makes use of the words of St. Paul, in praise of the Cross of Christ. She is filled with gratitude for this her Redeemer, who has made himself our Salvation, by dying for us; our Life, by the Bread of Heaven he has given us; and our Resurrection, by his having risen from the grave.

Introit
Nos autem gloriari oportet in cruce Domini nostri Jesu Christi, in quo est salus, vita, et resurrectio nostra: per quem salvati, et liberati sumus. 
We ought to glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ: in whom is our salvation, life, and resurrection: by whom we have been saved and delivered.


Ps. Deus misereatur nostri, et benedicat nobis, illuminet vultum suum super nos, et misereatur nostri. 
Ps. May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may his countenance shine upon us, and may he have mercy on us.


Nos autem. 
We ought.



In the Collect, the Church reminds us of Judas and the Good Thief: both are guilty: and yet, the one is condemned, the other is pardoned. She prays for us to God, that the Passion of his Son (during which were thus shown the Divine Justice and Mercy) may procure us the forgiveness of our sins and the fullness of grace.

Collect
Deus, a quo et Judas reatus sui pœnam, et confessionis suæ latro præmium sumpsit: concede nobis tuæ propitiationis effectum: ut sicut in passione sua Jesus Christus Dominus noster diversa utrisque intulit stipendia meritorum, ita nobis, ablato vetustatis errore, resurrectionis suæ gratiam largiatur. Qui tecum. 

O God, from whom both Judas received the punishment of his sin, and the Thief the reward of his confession: grant us the effects of thy mercy; that as our Lord Jesus Christ, at the time of his Passion, bestowed on both different rewards according to their merits; so, having destroyed the old man in us, he may give us grace to rise again with him. Who liveth, &c.


Epistle

Lesson of the Epistle of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians.  I. Ch. XI.

Brethren: When you come therefore together into one place, it is not now to eat the Lord’s supper. For every one taketh before his own supper to eat. And one indeed is hungry, and another is drunk. What, have you not houses to eat and drink in? Or despise ye the Church of God, and put them to shame that have not? What shall I say to you? Do I praise you? In this I praise you not. For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread, and giving thanks, broke, and said: Take ye and eat: this is my Body which shall be delivered for you: this do for the commemoration of me. In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying: This Chalice is the New Testament in my Blood: this do ye, as often as ye shall drink it, for the commemoration of me. For as often as you shall eat this bread, or drink the chalice, you shall show the death of the Lord, until he come. Therefore whosoever shall eat this bread or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall be guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. But let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread, and drink of the chalice. For he that eateth and drinketh unworthily, eateth and drinketh judgment to himself, not discerning the Body of the Lord. Therefore are there many infirm and weak among you, and many sleep. But if we would judge ourselves, we should not be judged. But whilst we are judged, we are chastised by the Lord, that we be not condemned with this world.

After having rebuked the Christians of Corinth for the abuses into which they had fallen at the Feasts (called Agape) which had been introduced by a spirit of fraternal charity but were soon abolished—the holy Apostle relates the history of the Last Supper. His account, which corresponds throughout with that given by the Evangelists, rests upon the testimony of our Blessed Savior himself, who deigned to appear to him, and instruct him in person after his conversion. The Apostle does not omit to give the words whereby our Lord empowered his Apostles to renew what he himself had done: he tells us that as often as the Priest consecrates the Body and Blood of Christ, he shows the Death of the Lord, thus expressing the oneness there is between the Sacrifice of the Cross and that of the Altar. We have explained this important doctrine in the 6th Chapter (“On Hearing Mass”) of the introduction to this present Volume. 

The consequences to be drawn from this teaching is evident; it is contained in these words of the Apostle: Let a man prove himself, and so let him eat of that bread and drink of the chalice. What could be more just than that having to be initiated in so intimate a manner, with the Mystery of Redemption, and contract so close a union with the Divine Victim—we should banish from our hearts sin and affection to sin? He that eateth my Flesh and drinketh my Blood, abideth in me, and I in him, says our Lord. Could there be a closer union? God and man abiding in each other! Oh! how carefully ought we not to purify our soul, and render our will conformable with the will of Jesus, before approaching this Divine Banquet, to which he invites us! Let us beseech him to prepare us himself, as he did his Apostles, by washing their feet. He will grant us our request not only today, but as often as we go to Holy Communion, provided we are docile to his grace.

The Gradual is made up of those admirable words, which the Church so often repeats during these three days, and by which St. Paul warns us to gratitude towards the Son of God, who delivered himself up for us.

Gradual
Christus factus est pro nobis obediens usque ad mortem, mortam autem crucis. 
Christ became, for our sakes, obedient unto death, even to death of the Cross.

℣. Propter quod et Deus exaltavit illum, et dedit illi nomen, quod est super omne nomen. 
℣. For which cause, God also hath exalted him, and hath given him a name, which is above all names.


Gospel
Sequel of the holy Gospel according to John. Ch. XIII.

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. And when supper was done (the devil having now put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon, to betray him), knowing that the Father had given him all things into his hands, and that he came from God and goeth to God: he riseth from supper, and layeth aside his garments, and having taken a towel, girded himself. 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. He cometh therefore to Simon Peter. And Peter saith to him: Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered, and said to him: What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter. 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. Simon Peter saith to him: Lord not only my feet, but also my hands and my head. 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. For he knew who he was that would betray him: therefore he said: You are not all clean. 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? You call me Master, and Lord: and you say well, for so I am. If then I, being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so do you also.

Our Savior’s washing the feet of his Disciples before permitting them to partake of his Divine Mystery, conveys an instruction to us. The Apostle has just been telling us that we should prove ourselves: and here, we have Jesus saying to his Disciples: You are clean. It is true, he adds: but not all: just as the Apostle assures us that there are some who render themselves guilty of the Body and Blood of the Lord. God forbid we should ever be of the number! Let us prove ourselves; let us sound the depths of our conscience, before approaching the Holy Table. Mortal sin, and the affection to mortal sin, would change the Bread of Life into a deadly poison for our souls. But if respect for the holiness of God, who is about to enter within us by Holy Communion, should make us shudder at the thought of our receiving him in the state of mortal sin, which robs the soul of the image of God and gives her that of Satan—ought not that same respect urge us to purify our souls from venial sins, which dim the beauty of grace? He, says our Savior, that is washed, needeth not but to wash his feet. The feet are those earthly attachments, which so often lead us to the brink of sin. Let us watch over our senses, and the affections of our hearts. Let us wash away these stains by a sincere confession, by penance, by sorrow, and by humility; that thus we may worthily receive the Adorable Sacrament, and derive from it the fullness of its power and grace.

In the Offertory-Antiphon, the Soul—confiding in the promise made to her by Christ, that he will feed her with the Bread of Life—gives way to a transport of joy. She praises her God for this Divine nourishment, which keeps death from them that eat.

Offertory
Dextera Domini fecit virtutem, dextera Domini exaltavit me; non moriar, sed vivam, et narrabo opera Domini. 
The right hand of the Lord hath displayed its might: the right hand of the Lord hath raised me up; I shall not die, but live, and publish the works of the Lord.


In the Secret, the Church reminds our Heavenly Father that it was on this very day that was instituted the august Sacrifice which she is now celebrating.

Secret
Ipse tibi, quæsumus, Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, æterne Deus, sacrificium nostrum reddat acceptum, qui Discipulis suis in sui commemorationem hoc fieri hodierna traditione monstravit, Jesus Christus Filius tuus Dominus noster: Qui tecum. 

We beseech thee, O Holy Lord, Almighty Father, Eternal God, that our Lord Jesus Christ, thy Son, may make our sacrifice acceptable to thee, who on this day commanded his disciples to celebrate it in memory of him. Who liveth, &c.


After the Priest has received under both kinds, he puts into a Chalice the Host reserved for tomorrow: he then gives Communion to the Clergy and, afterwards, to the Laity. As soon as the Communion is finished, the Choir sings the following Antiphon, which tells us how Jesus prepared his Disciples for the great Mystery by humbly washing their feet.

Communion
Dominus Jesus postquam cœnavit cum Discipulis suis, lavit pedes euroum, et ait illis: Scitis quid federim vobis, ego Dominus et Magister? Exemplum dedi vobis, ut et vos ita faciatis. 
The Lord Jesus, after he had supped with his disciples, washed their feet, and said to them: Do you understand what I have done to you, I your Lord and Master? I have set you an example, that you may do the same.


Our holy Mother prays for us in the Postcommunion, that we may preserve in ourselves, for all eternity, the Divine Gift just bestowed upon us.

Postcommunion
Refecti vitalibus alimentis, quæsumus, Domine Deus noster: ut quod tempore nostræ mortalitatis exsequimur, immortalitatis tuæ munere consequamur. Per Dominum. 
We beseech thee, O Lord, our God, that being nourished with this life-giving food, we may receive by thy grace, in immortal glory, what we celebrate in this mortal life. Through, &c.


As soon as the Mass is over, a Procession is formed to the place prepared for the sacred Host, which is to be reserved for the morrow. The Celebrant carries it beneath a canopy, as on the Feast of Corpus Christi; it is now however exposed, as on that day of its Triumph, but concealed in a chalice closely veiled. Let us adore this Diving Sun of Justice, whose rising at Bethlehem brought gladness to our hearts: he is now near his setting: a few hours more, and his Light will be eclipsed. Our earth will then be buried in gloom until, on the third day, he will rise again with renewed splendor.

During the Procession, the Choir sings the well-known Hymn of the Blessed Sacrament.

Hymn

Pange, lingua, gloriosi
Corporis mysterium,
Sanguinisque pretiosi,
Quem in mundi pretium,
Fructus ventris generosi,
Rex effudit gentium.

Sing, my tongue, the Mystery of the glorious Body and precious Blood!—that Blood which the King of all nations, the Fruit of Mary’s womb, shed for the world’s redemption.


Nobis datus, nobis natus
Ex intacta Virgine,
Et in mundo conversatus,
Sparso verbi semine,
Sui moras incolatus
Miro clausit ordine. 

He gave himself to us; for us was he born from a pure Virgin; he lived among men, sowing the seed of his word, and closed his career on earth by a gift of wondrous love.


In supremæ nocte cœnæ
Recumbens cum fratribus,
Observata lege plene
Cibis in legalibus,
Cibum turbæ duodenæ
Se dat suis manibus. 

On the night of the Last Supper, he assembled his Brethren around him; and having observed the law, and eaten the Pasch prescribed, he, with his own hands, gave himself to the Twelve, as their Food.


Verbum caro, panem verum
Verbo carnem efficit:
Fitque sanguis Christi merum:
Et si sensus deficit,
Ad firmandum cor sincerum
Sola fides suffit. 

The Word made Flesh changes bread, by his word, into his own Flesh, and the Wine becomes the Blood of Christ. Our senses fail us here: but Faith has power to take all wavering from the Christian heart.


Tantum ergo Sacramentum
Veneremur cernui:
Et antiquum documentum
Novo cedat ritui:
Præstat fides supplementum
Sensuum defectui. 

Let us, therefore, venerate this great Sacrament in prostrate adoration! Let the ancient form give place to the new rite! Let Faith supply what the senses cannot give.


Genitori, Genitoque
Laus et jubilatio,
Salus, honor, virtus quoque
Sit et benedictio:
Procedenti ab utroque
Compar sit laudatio. Amen. 

Be praise and jubilee to the Father and the Son! Salvation, honor, power, yea and benediction, be to them; and to the Spirit that proceeds from both, be one co-equal praise! Amen.


Having reached the place prepared, the Priest places the Chalice upon the Altar, and censes the Sacred Host. The Deacon takes the Chalice, and puts it in the Tabernacle. After a short prayer in silence, the Procession returns to the Choir, and Vespers are immediately begun. This Office, which, on Feast Days, is celebrated with so much solemnity is, today and tomorrow, deprived of everything that betokens joy. The Psalms are recited, without the slightest chant or even inflection. The Church, as a disconsolate widow, mourns the loss of her Jesus.

The Stripping of the Altars

As soon as Vespers are over, the Celebrant returns to the Sanctuary, assisted by the Deacon and Subdeacon. He goes to the Altar, and takes off the cloths and ornaments. This ceremony signifies the suspension of the Holy Sacrifice. The Altar should be left in this denuded state, until the daily offering can be again presented to the Divine Majesty; that is, when the Spouse of the holy Church shall arise from the Grave, the Conqueror of Death. He is now in the Hands of his enemies, the Jews, who are about to strip him of his garments, just as we strip the Altar. He is to be exposed naked to the insults of the rabble: and for this reason, the Psalm selected to be recited during this mournful ceremony is the 21st, wherein the Messias speaks of the Roman Soldiers’ dividing his garments among them.

Ant. Diviserunt sibi vestimenta mea, et super vestem meam miserunt sortem. 
Ant. They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture they cast lots.

Psalm 21

Deus, Deus meus, respice in me: quare me dereliquisti: * Longe a salute mea verba delictorum meorum. 
O God, my God, look upon me: why hast thou forsaken me? Far from my salvation are the words of my sins.


Deus meus, clamabo per diem, et non exaudies: * et nocte, et non ad insipientiam mihi.
 O my God, I shall cry by day, and thou wilt not hear: and by night, and it shall not be reputed as folly in me.


Tu autem in sancto habitus: * Laus Israël.
But thou dwellest in the holy place, the praise of Israel.


In te speraverunt patres nostri: * speraverunt, et liberasti eos. 
In thee have our fathers hoped: they have hoped and thou hast delivered them.


Ad te clamaverunt, et salvi facti sunt: * in te speraverunt, et non sunt confusi. 
They cried to thee, and they were saved: they trusted in thee, and were not confounded.


Ego autem sum vernis, et non homo: * opprobrium hominum, et abjectio plebis. 
But I am a worm, and no man: the reproach of men, and the outcast of the people.


Omnes videntes me deriserunt me: * locuti sunt labiis, et moverunt caput. 
All they that saw me have laughed me to scorn: they have spoken with the lips, and wagged the head.


Speravit in Domino, eripiat eum: * salvum faciat eum, quoniam vult eum. 
He hoped in the Lord, let him deliver him: let him save him, seeing he delighted in him.


Quoniam tu es, qui extraxisti me de ventre: * spes mea ab uberibus matris meæ. In te projectus sum ex utero.
 For thou art he that hast drawn me out of the womb: my hope from the breasts of my mother. I was cast upon thee from the womb.


De ventre matris meæ Deus meus es tu: * ne discesseris a me. 
From my mother’s womb thou art my God, depart not from me.


Quoniam tribulatio proxima est: * quoniam non est qui adjuvet. 
For tribulation is very near: for there is none to help me.


Circumdederunt me vituli multi: * tauri pingues obsederunt me.
Many calves have surrounded me: fat bulls have besieged me.


Aperuerunt super me os suum: * sicut leo rapiens et rugiens. 
They have opened their mouths against me, as a lion ravening and roaring.


Sicut aqua effusus sum: * et dispersa sunt omnia ossa me. 
I am poured out like water: and all my bones are scattered.


Factum est cor meum tamquam cera liquiescens: * in medio ventris mei. 
My heart is become like wax melting in the midst of my bowels.


Aruit tamquam testa virtus mea, et lingua mea, adhæsit faucibus meis: * et in pulverem mortis deduxisti me. 
My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue hath cleaven to my jaws: and thou hast brought me down into the dust of death.


Quoniam circumdederunt me canes multi: * concilium malignantium obsedit me. 
For many dogs have encompassed me: the council of the malignant hath besieged me.


Foderunt manus meas et pedes meos: * dinumeraverunt omnia ossa mea. 
They have dug my hands and feet: they have numbered all my bones.


Ipsi vero consideraverunt et inspexerunt me: * diviserunt sibi vestimenta mea, et super vestem meam miserunt sortem. 
And they have looked and stared upon me: they parted my garments amongst them, and upon my vesture they cast lots.


Tu autem, Domine, ne elongaveris auxilium tuum a me: * ad defensionem meam conspice. 
But thou, O Lord, remove not thy help to a distance from me: look towards my defense.


Erue a frames, Deus, animam meam: * et de manu ean is unicam meam. 
Deliver, O God, my soul from the sword: my only one from the hand of the dog.


Salva me ex ore leonis: * et a cornibus unicornium humilitatem meam. 
Save me from the lion’s mouth: and my lowness from the horns of the unicorns.


Narrabo nomen tuum fratribus meis: * in medio ecclesiæ laudabo te. 
I will declare thy name to my brethren: in the midst of the church will I praise thee.


Qui timetis Dominum, laudate eum: * universum semen Jacob, glorificate eum. 
Ye that fear the Lord, praise him: all ye the seed of Jacob, glorify him.


Timeat eum omne semen Israël: * quoniam non sprevit, neque despexit deprecationem pauperis. 
Let all the seed of Israel fear him: because he hath not slighted nor despised the supplication of the poor man.


Nec avertit faciem suam a me: et cum clamarem ad eum, exaudivit me. 
Neither hath he turned away his face from me: and when I cried to him he heard me.


Apud te laus me in ecclesia magna: * vota mea reddam in conspectu timentium eum. 
With thee is my praise in the great church: I will pay vows in the sight of them that fear him.


Edent pauperes, et saturabuntur, et laudabunt Dominum qui requirunt eum: * vivent corda eorum in sæculum sæculi. 

The poor shall eat, and shall be filled, and they shall praise the Lord that seek him: their hearts shall live for ever and ever.


Reminiscentur, et convertentur ad Dominum: * universi fines terræ. 
All the ends of the earth shall remember, and shall be converted to the Lord.


At adorabunt in conspectu ejus: * universæ familiæ gentium. 
And all the kindreds of the Gentiles shall adore in his sight.


Quoniam Domini est regnum: * et ipse dominabitur gentium.
 For the kingdom is the Lord’s: and he shall have dominion over the nations.


Manducaverunt, et adoraverunt omnes pingues terraelig: * in conspectu ejus cadent omnes, qui descendunt in terram. 
All the fat ones of the earth have eaten and have adored: all they that go down to the earth, shall fall before him.


Et anima mes illi vivet: * et semen meum serviet ipsi. 
And to him my soul shall live: and my seed shall serve him.


Annuntiabitur Domino generatio ventura: * et annuntiabunt cœli justitiam ejus, populo qui nascetur quem fecit Dominus. 

There shall be declared to the Lord a generation to come: and the heavens shall show forth his justice to a people that shall be born, which the Lord hath made.


Ant. Diviserunt sibi vestimenta mea, et super vestem meam miserunt sortem. 
Ant. They parted my garments among them, and upon my vesture they cast lots.



After having stripped the High Altar, the Celebrant takes off the Cloths from the other Altars that are in the Church. And air of desolation pervades the Temple of God. The very Tabernacle has lost its Divine Guest. The Ciborium (in which the Blessed Sacrament is reserved for Viaticum) has been taken to the place where reposes the Chalice containing the Body of our Lord. The Majesty of our God has withdrawn to that mysterious Sanctuary, into which we enter not but with silence and compunction.

It was the custom in some Churches for the Priest to wash, in the afternoon, the Altars with wine and water, which he sprinkled upon them with a branch of hyssop. This ceremony (which has now ceased to be observed in almost every Church, excepting at St. Peter’s, in Rome) was intended as an homage offered to our Blessed Lord, in return for the humility wherewith he deigned to wash the feet of his Disciples. We find it so explained by St. Isidore of Seville, and St. Eligius, Bishop of Noyon.

The Washing of the Feet

After having, on this day, washed the feet of his Disciples, Jesus said to them: Know ye what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord: and you say well, for so I am. If then I, being your Lord and Master, have washed your feet; you, also, ought to wash one an other’s feet. For I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also. Although the meaning of these words is that after the example of our Divine Master, we should practice works of fraternal charity towards our neighbor—yet the literal imitation of this our Savior’s act has always been observed in the Church.

At the commencement, it was almost a daily practice. St. Paul, when mentioning the qualities which should adorn the Christian Widow, includes that of washing the feet of the Saints, that is, of the Faithful. We find this act of humble charity practiced in the Ages of Persecution, and even later. The Acts of the Saints of the first six centuries, and the Homilies and Writings of the Holy Fathers, are filled with allusions to it. Afterwards, charity grew cold, and this particular way of exercising it was confined, almost exclusively, to Monasteries. Still, from time to time, it was practiced elsewhere. We occasionally find Kings and Queens setting this example of humility. The holy King Robert of France, and later, St. Louis, used frequently to wash the feet of the poor. The holy Queens, St. Margarite of Scotland, and St. Elizabeth of Hungary, did the same. The Church, with that spirit which makes her treasure up every recommendation of her Divine Lord, has introduced this act of humility into her Liturgy, and it is today that she puts the great lesson before her children. In every Church of any importance, the Prelate, or Superior, honors our Savior’s condescension by the ceremony called the Washing of the Feet. The Bishops throughout the world follow the example set them by the Sovereign Pontiff, who performs this ceremony in the Vatican. Yea, there are still to be found Kings and Queens who, on this day, wash the feet of the poor, and give them abundant alms.

The Twelve Apostles are represented by the twelve poor, who, according to the most general practice, are chosen for this ceremony. The Pope, however, washes the feet of thirteen Priests of as many different countries; and this is the reason of the Ceremonial requiring this number for Cathedral Churches. But why thirteen? Some have interpreted it thus: that it represented the full number of the Apostolic College, with is thirteen, for St. Matthias was elected in Judas’ place, and our Lord himself, after his Ascension, called St. Paul to be an Apostle. Other authors, however, among them the learned Pope Benedict the Fourteenth, assert that the reason for this number being chosen was the miracle related in the life of St. Gregory the Great. This holy Pope used, every day, to wash the feet of twelve poor men, whom he afterwards invited to his own table. One day, a thirteenth was present:—it was an Angel, whom God had sent, that he might thereby testify how dear to him was the charity of his Servant.

The Ceremony of the Washing of the Feet is, also, called the Mandatum, from the first word of the first Antiphon. After the Deacon has chanted the Gospel of the Mass of Maundy Thursday, the Celebrant takes off the Cope, girds himself with a towel, and, kneeling down, begins to wash the feet of those who have been chosen. He kisses the right foot of each one, after having washed it. Meanwhile, the Choir sings the following Antiphons:

Ant. Mandatum novum do vobis: ut diligatis invicem sicut dilexi vos, dicit Dominus. 
℣. Beati immaculati in via: * qui ambulant in lege domini. Mandatum. 

Ant. I give you a new commandment: that ye love one another, as I have loved you, says our Lord. 
℣. Blessed are the immaculate in the way; who walk in the law of the Lord. I give, &c.


Ant. Postquam surrexit Dominus a cœna misit aquam in pelvim, et cœpit lavare pedes discipulorum suorum: hoc exemplum reliquit eis. 
℣. Magnus Dominus et laudabilis nimis: * in civitate Dei nostri, in monte sancto ejus. Postquam. 

Ant. After our Lord was risen from supper, he put water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of his disciples; to whom he gave this example. 
℣. Great is the Lord, and exceedingly to be praised: in the city of our God, in his holy mountain. After, &c.


Ant. Dominus Jesus, postquam cœnavit cum discipulis suis, lavit pedes eorum, et ait illis: Scitis quid fecerim vobis ego Dominus et Magister? Exemplum dedi vobis, ut et vos ita faciatis.
℣. Benedixisti, Domine, terram tuam; * advertisti captivitatem Jacob. Dominus. 

Ant. Our Lord Jesus, after he had supped with his disciples, washed their feet, and said to them: Know you what I your Lord and Master have done to you? I have given you an example, that ye also may do the same. 
℣. Thou hast blessed, O Lord, thy land: thou hast delivered Jacob from captivity. Our Lord, &c.


Ant. Domine, tu mihi lavas pedes! Respondit Jesus, et dixit ei: Si non lavero tibi pedes, non habebis partem mecum. 
℣. Venit ergo ad Simonem Petrum, * et dixit ei Petrus: Domine. 
℣. Quod ego facio tu nescis modo: scies autem postea. Domine. 

Ant. Lord, dost thou wash my feet? Jesus answered, and said to him: If I shall not wash thy feet, thou shalt have no part with me. 
℣. He came to Simon Peter, and Peter said to him: Lord, &c. 
℣. What I do thou knowest not now: but thou shalt know it afterwards. Lord, &c.


Ant. Si ego Dominus et Magister vester lavi vobis pedes: quanto magis debetis alter alterius lavare pedes! 
℣. Audite hæc, omnes gentes: * auribus percipite qui habitatis orbem. Si ego. 

Ant. If I your Lord and Master have washed your feet: how much more ought you to wash the feet of one another? 
℣. Hear these things, all ye nations: harken to them, all ye that inhabit the world. If I, &c.


Ant. In hoc cognoscent omnes quia discipuli mei estis, si dilectionem habueritis ad invicem. 
℣. Dixit Jesus discipulis suis. In hoc. 

Ant. In this all shall know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love for one another. 
℣. Said Jesus to his disciples. In this, &c.


Ant. Maneant in vobis fides, spes, charitas, tria hæc: major autem horum est charitas.
℣. Nunc autem manent fides, spes, charitas, tria hæc: * major horum est charitas. Maneant. 

Ant. Let these three, Faith, Hope, and Charity, remain in you: but the greatest of them is charity. 
℣. But now remain Faith, Hope, and Charity, these three: but the greatest of them is charity. Let, &c.


Ant. Benedicta sit sancta Trinitas atque indivisa unitas: confitebimur ei, quia fecit nobiscum misericordiam suam. 
℣. Benedicamus Patrem et Filium, * cum Sancto Spiritu. 

℣. Quam dilecta tabernacula tua, Domine virtutum! * concupiscit et deficit anima mea in atria Domini. Benedicta. 
Ant. Blessed be the holy Trinity and undivided Unity: we will praise him because he has shown us his mercy. 

℣. Let us bless the Father and the Son, with the Holy Ghost.
℣. How lovely are thy tabernacles, O Lord of Hosts: my soul desires and longs after the house of the Lord. Blessed, &c.

After these Antiphons, the Choir sings the following Canticle. It is a fervent exhortation to Fraternal Charity, of which the Washing of the Feet is a symbol.

Canticle

Ubi charitas, et amor, Deus ibi est. 
Where charity and love are, there is God.


℣. Congregavit nos in unum Christi amor. 
℣. The love of Christ hath gathered us together.


℣. Exsultemus, et in ipso jocundemur. 
℣. Let us rejoice in him, and be glad.


℣. Timeamus, et amemus Deum vivum. 
℣. Let us fear and love the living God.


℣. Et ex corde diligamus nos sincero. 
℣. And let us love one the other with a sincere heart.


Ubi charitas et amor, Deus ibi est. 
Where charity and love are, there is God.


℣. Simul ergo cum in unum congregamur, 
℣. When, therefore, we are gathered together,


℣. Ne nos mente dividamur caveamus. 
℣. Let us take heed we be not divided in mind.


℣. Cessent jurgia maligna, cessent lites, 
℣. Let wiked quarrels and contentions be at an end,

℣. Et in medio nostri sit Christus Deus. 
℣. And let Christ our God dwell among us.


Ubi charitas et amor, Deus ibi est. 
Where charity and love are, there is God.


℣. Simul quoque cum bheatis vedeamus, 
℣. Let us, also, with the Blessed, see


℣. Glorianter, vultum tuum, Christe Deus. 
℣. Thy face in glory, O Christ our God!


℣. Gaudium, quod est immensum, atque probum, 
℣. There to possess an immense and happy joy,


℣. Sæcula per infinita sæculorum. Amen. 
℣. For endless ages. Amen.

The Celebrant having resumed his Cope, the ceremony concludes with the following prayers:

Pater Noster. 
Our Father.

The rest of the Lord’s Prayer is said in silence, as far as the last two petitions.

℣. Et ne nos inducas in tentationem. 
℣. And lead us not into temptation.


℟. Sed libera nos a malo. 
℟. But deliver us from evil.


℣. Tu mandasti mandata tua, Domine, 
℣. Thou hast commanded, O Lord,


℟. Custodiri nimis. 
℟. That thy precept be exactly observed.


℣. Tu lavasti pedes discipulorum tuorum.
 ℣. Thou hast washed the feet of thy disciples.


℟. Opera manuum tuarum ne descipicias. 
℟. Despise not the work of thy hands.


℣. Domine, exaudi orationem meam. 
℣. O Lord, hear my prayer.


℟. Et clamor meus ad te veniat. 
℟. And let my cry come unto thee.


℣. Dominus vobiscum. 
℣. The Lord be with you.


℟. Et cum spiritu tuo. 
℟. And with thy spirit.


Oremus. 
Adesto, Domine, quæsumus, officio servitutis nostræ et quia tu discipulis tuis pedes lavare dignatus es, ne despicias opera manuum tuarum, quæ nobis retinenda mandasti: ut sicut hic nobis, et a nobis exteriora abluuntur inquinamenta, sic a te omnium nostrum interiora laventur peccata. Quod ipse præstare digneris, qui vivis et regnas Deus per omnia sæcula sæculorum. 

Let us pray.
Accept, O Lord, we beseech thee, this duty of our service, and since thou didst vouchsafe to wash the feet of thy disciples, despise not the work of thy hands, which thou hast commanded us to imitate: that as here the outward stains are washed away by us and from us, so the inward sins of us all may be blotted out by thee. Which be thou pleased to grant, who livest and reignest one God for ever and ever.
℟. Amen.

The Office of Tenebræ

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At a late hour in the afternoon, the night Office of Good Friday is anticipated, as was done yesterday. The faithful repair to the church at the time specified. Let them remember that the bells are not rung from this till Saturday.

The Office of Tenebrae of Good Friday is given in that entry.

✠ ✠ ✠

THE EVENING

Judas has left the cenacle, and, profiting by the darkness, has reached the place where the enemies of his Savior are assembled. Jesus then turns to His faithful apostles, and says to them: “Now is the Son of Man glorified.” Yes, His Passion is to be followed by triumph and glory; and the Passion has already begun, for Judas has commenced his work of betraying Him. Meanwhile, the apostles, forgetting the trouble into which they had been thrown by Jesus’ telling them that one of the twelve was about to betray Him, begin to dispute among themselves, which of them should seem to be greater. They have not fogotten the words spoken by Jesus to Peter, when He made him the rock on which He would build His Church; and here at the supper, they have seen the divine Master wash the feet of Peter first. On the other hand, John’s affectionate familiarity with Jesus, during this same supper, has made some of them argue that he who was most loved would be most honored.

Jesus puts an end to this dispute, by giving to these future pastors of His Church a lesson of humility. There shall, it is true, be a head among them, but, says our Redeemer, “let him that is the greater among you, become as the younger; and he that is the leader, as he that serveth.” He bids them look at Him: He is their Master, and yet, says He, “I am in the midst of you, as he that serveth.” Then turning towards Peter, thus addresses him: “Simon, Simon! behold Satan hath desired to have you, that he may sift you as wheat. But I have prayed for thee, that thy faith fail not: and thou, being once converted, confirm thy brethren.” This last interview is, as it were, our Savior’s testament; He provides for His Church, before leaving her. The apostles are to be Peter’s brethren, but Peter is to be their head. This sublime dignity is to be enhanced by the humility of him that enjoys it: he shall be “the servant of the servants of God.” The apostolic college is to be exposed to the fury of hell; but Peter alone is to confirm his brethren in the faith. His teaching shall ever be conformable to divine truth; it shall ever be infallible: Jesus has prayed that it may be so. Such a prayer is all-powerful; and thereby, the Church, ever docile to the voice of Peter, shall forever maintain the doctrine of Christ.

Jesus, after having provided for the future of His Church by the words He addressed to Peter, thus speaks affectionately to all the eleven: “Little children! yet a little while I am with you. Love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one for another.” Peter says to him: “Lord! whither goest Thou?” “Whither I go,” answers Jesus, “thou canst not now follow Me; but thou shalt follow hereafter.” “Why cannot I follow thee now?” again asks Peter: “I will lay down my life for Thee.” “Wilt thou,” replies Jesus, “lay down thy life for Me? Amen, amen, I say to thee: the cock shall not crow, till thou deny Me thrice.” Peter’s love for Jesus had too much of the human about it, for it was not based on humility. Presumption comes from pride: it almost always results in a fall. In order to prepare Peter for his future ministry of pardon, as also to give us a useful lesson, God permits that he, who was soon to be made prince of the apostles, should fall into a most grievous and humiliating sin.

But let us return to the instructions contained in the last words spoken by our Jesus before He leaves His disciples. “I am,” says He, “the way, the truth, and the life. If you love Me, keep My commandments. I will ask the Father, and He shall give you another Paraclete, that He may abide with you forever. I will not leave you orphans; I will come to you. Peace I leave with you, My peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth, do I give unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, nor let it be afraid. If you loved Me, you would indeed be glad, because I go to the Father. I will not now speak many things with you, for the prince of this world cometh, and in Me he hath not anything. But that the world may know that I love the Father, and as the Father hath given Me commandment, so do I: arise, let us go hence.” Deeply impressed by these words, the disciples arise, and, after the hymn of thanksgiving has been said, they accompany Jesus to Mount Olivet.

He continues His instructions as they go along. He takes occasion from their passing by a vine to speak of the effect produced by divine grace, in the soul of man. “I am the true vine,” He says, “and my Father is the husbandman. Every branch in Me, that beareth not fruit, He will take away, and every one that beareth fruit, He will purge it, that it may bring forth more fruit. Abide in Me, and I in you. As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself, unless it abide in the vine; so neither can you, unless you abide in Me. I am the vine, you are the branches: he that abideth in Me, and I in him, the same beareth much fruit: for without Me you can do nothing. If any one abideth not in Me, he shall be cast forth as a branch, and shall wither, and they shall gather him up, and cast him into the fire, and he burneth. You have not chosen Me: but I have chosen you, and have appointed you, that you should go, and should bring forth fruit, and your fruit should remain.”

He next speaks to them of the persecutions that await them, and of the hatred the world will have of them. He renews the promise He had made them of the holy Spirit, the Comforter, and tells them that it is to their advantage that He Himself should leave them. He assures them that they shall obtain whatever they ask of the Father in His name. “The Father,” He adds, “loveth you, because you have loved me, and have believed that I came from God. I come forth from the Father, and am come into the world; again I leave the world, and I go to the Father.” The disciples say to Him: “Now we know that Thou knowest all things, and Thou needest not that any man should ask Thee. By this we believe that Thou camest forth from God.&rdqo; “Do you now believe?” answers Jesus: “Behold! the hour cometh, and it is now come, that you shall be scattered every man to his own, and shall leave Me alone. All you shall be scandalized in Me this night; for it is written: ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep of the flock shall be dispersed.’ But after I shall be risen again, I will go before you into Galilee.”

Peter again protests that he will be faithful to his Master; the rest may abandon Him, if they will, but he will keep with Him to the last! It should, indeed, be so, for he has received so much more from Jesus than the others have: but he is again humbled by being told of his coming speedy fall. Jesus then calmly raising up his eyes to heaven, says: “Father! the hour is come; glorify Thy Son, that Thy Son may glorify Thee. I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do; I have manifested Thy name to the men whom Thou hast given Me. They have known that I came out from Thee, and they have believed that Thou didst send Me. I pray for them; I pray not for the world. And now I am not in the world, and these are in the world, and I come to Thee. Holy Father! keep them in Thy name, whom Thou hast given Me; that they may be one, as We also are. While I was with them, I kept them in Thy name. Those whom Thou gavest Me, have I kept; and none of them is lost, but the son of perdition, that the Scripture may be fulfilled. I have given them Thy word; and the world hath hated them, because they are not of the world, as I also am not of the world. I pray not that Thou shouldst take them out of the world, but that Thou shouldst keep them from evil. Not for them only do I pray, but for them also who, through their word, shall believe in Me: that they all may be one, as Thou, Father! in Me, and I in Thee: that they also may be one in Us: that the world may know that Thou hast sent Me. Father, I will that where I am, they also, whom Thou hast given Me, may be with Me; that they may see the glory which Thou hast given Me, because Thou hast loved Me before the creation of the world. Just Father! the world hath not known Thee; but I have known Thee, and these have known that Thou hast sent Me. And I have made known Thy name to them, and will make it known, that the love, wherewith Thou hast loved Me, may be in them, and I in them.”

Such are the outpourings of the loving Heart of our Jesus, as He crosses the brook of Cedron, and ascends, with His disciples the Mount of Olives. Having come as far as Gethsemani, He goes into a garden, whither He had often led His apostles and rested there with them. Suddenly, His Soul is overpowered with grief; His human Nature experiences, as it were, a suspension of that beatitude which results from its union with the Divinity. This His Humanity will be interiorly supported even to the very last moment of His Passion; but it must bear everything that it is possible for it to bear. Jesus feels such intense sadness, that the very presence of His disciples is insupportable; He leaves them, taking with Him only Peter, James, and John, who, a short time before, had been witnesses of His glorious Transfiguration:—will they show greater courage than the rest, when they see their divine Master in the hands of His enemies? His words show them what a sudden change has come over Him. He whose language was, a few moments before, so calm, His look so serene, and His tone of voice so sweet, now says to them: “My soul is sorrowful even unto death: stay you here, and watch with Me.”

He leaves them, and goes to a grotto, which is about a stone’s throw distant. Even to this day it exists, perpetuating the memory of this terrible event. There does our Jesus prostrate Himself and pray saying: “Father! all things are possible to Thee. Remove this chalice from Me:—but not what I will, but what Thou wilt.” While He is thus praying, a sweat of Blood flows from His Body and bathes the ground. It is not merely a swooning, it is an agony, that he suffers. God sends help to His sinking frame, and it is an angel that is entrusted with the office. Jesus is treated as man; His Humanity, exhausted as it is, is to receive no other sensible aid than that which is now brought Him by an angel (whom tradition affirms to have been Gabriel). Hereupon He rises, and again accepts the chalice prepared for Him. But what a chalice! Every pain that body and soul can suffer; the sins of the whole world taken upon Himself, and crying out vengeance against Him; the ingratitude of men, many of whom will make His sacrifice useless: Jesus has to accept all this, and at the very time when He seems to be left to His human Nature. The power of the Divinity, which is in Him, supports Him: but it does not prevent Him from feeling every suffering, just as though He had been mere Man. He begins His prayer by asking that the chalice may be taken from Him: He ends it by saying to His Father: “Not My will, but Thine be done!”

Jesus then rises, leaving the earth covered with the Blood of His agony: it is the first bloodshedding of His Passion. He goes to His three disciples, and, finding them asleep, says to them: “What! could you not watch one hour with Me?” This is the beginning of that feature of His sufferings which consists in His being abandoned. He twice returns to the grotto, and repeats His sorrowful, but submissive, prayer; twice He returns to His disciples, whom He had asked to watch near Him, but at each time finds them asleep. At length, He speaks to them saying: “Sleep ye now, and take your rest! Behold, the hour is at hand, and the Son of Man shall be betrayed into the hands of sinners.” Then resuming the energy of His divine courage, He adds: “Rise! let us go! Behold, he is at hand that will betray Me.”

While He is speaking these last few words, a numerous body of armed men enter the garden with torches in their hands. Judas is at their head. The betrayal is made by a profanation of the sign of friendship. “Judas! dost thou betray the Son of Man with a kiss?” These piercing words should have made the traitor throw himself at his Master’s feet, and ask pardon; but it was too late: he feared the soldiers. But the servants of the high priest cannot lay hands on Jesus, unless He, their Victim, permit them to do so. With a single word, He casts them prostrate on the ground. Then permitting them to rise, He says to them with all the majesty of a King: “If you seek Me, let these go their way. You are come out, as it were against a thief with swords and clubs. When I was daily with you in the temple, you did not stretch forth your hands against Me: but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.” Then turning to Peter, who has drawn and used his sword, He says to him: “Thinkest thou that I cannot ask My Father, and He will give Me presently twelve legions of angels? How then shall the Scriptures be fulfilled?”

And now, Jesus permits Himself to be led. Whereupon, His apostles run away in fear. Peter and another disciple follow Him, but as far off as they can. The soldiers lead Jesus by the same road, along which He had passed on the previous Sunday, when the people met Him with palm and olive branches in their hands. They cross the brook Cedron; and there is a tradition of the Church of Jerusalem that the soldiers, as they passed the bridge, threw Jesus into the water. Thus was fulfilled the prophecy of David: He shall drink of the torrent in the way.

They reach the City walls. The gate is opened, and the divine Prisoner enters. . It is night, and the inhabitants know not the crime that has been committed. It is only on the morrow^, that they will learn, that Jesus of Nazareth, the great Prophet, has fallen into the hands of the Chief Priests and Pharisees. The night is far advanced; but many hours must elapse before the dawn of day. The enemies of Jesus have arranged to take him, in the morning, to Pontius Pilate, and accuse him as being a disturber of the peace: but in the meanwhile, they intend to condemn him as guilty in matters of religion I Their tribunal has authority to judge in cases of this nature, only they cannot pass sentence of death upon a culprit, how guilty soever they may prove him. They, consequently, hurry Jesus to Annas, the father in-law of the High Priest Caiphas. Here is to take place the first examination. These blood-thirsty men have spent these hours in sleepless anxiety. They have counted the very minutes since the departure of their minions for Mount Olivet. They’re not without some doubt as to whether their plot will succeed. At last, their Victim is brought before them, and he shall not escape their vengeance!

Here let us interrupt our History of the Passion, till the morrow shall bring us to the solemn hour, when the great Mystery of our instruction and salvation was accomplished. What a day is this that we have been spending! How full of Jesus’ love! He has given us his Body and Blood to be our Food; he has instituted the Priesthood of the New Testament; he has poured out upon the world the sublimest instructions of his loving Heart. We have seen him struggling with the feelings of human weakness, as he beheld the Chalice of the Passion that was prepared for him; but he triumphed over all, in order to save us. We have seen him betrayed, fettered, and led captive into the holy City, there to consummate his Sacrifice. Let us adore and love this Jesus, who might have saved us by one and the least of all these humiliations; but whose love for us was not satisfied unless he drank, to the very dregs, the Chalice he had accepted from his Father.

The following beautiful Preface of the Gothic missal of Spain will assist us in our devotion towards the mysteries we have been celebrating.

Illation

Dignum et justum est nos tibi, Domine sancte, Pater omnipotens, gratias agere: et Jesu Christo Filio tuo. Cujus nos humanitas colligit: humilitas erigit: traditio solvit. pœna redimit: crux salvificat: sanguis emaculat: caro saginat. Qui seipsum pro nobis hodie tradidit; et culpæ nostræ vincula relaxavit. Qui ad commendandam fidelibus bonitatis suæ humilitatisque magnificentiam, etiam traditoris sui non dedignatus est pedes abluere: cujus jam manus prævidebat in scelere. Sed quid mirum: si dum ministerium formæ servilis voluntariæ morti vicinus adimplet, posuit vestimenta sua: qui cum in forma Dei esset, semetipsum exinanivit? Quid mirum si præcinxit se linteo: qui formam servi accipiens, habitu est inventus ut homo? Quid mirum si misit aquam in pelvim: unde lavaret pedes discipulorum: qui in terra sanguinem suum fudit: quo immunditias dilueret peccatorum? Quid mirum, si linteo quo erat præcinctus, pedes quos laverat tersit: qui carne qua erat indutus evangelistarum vestigia confirmavit? Et linteo quidem ut se præcingeret: posuit vestimenta quæ habebat: ut autem formam servi acciperet: quando semetipsum exinanivit; non quod habebat deposuit: sed quod non habebat accepit. Crucifigendus sane suis exspoliatus est vestimentis: et mortuus involutus est linteis: et tota illa ejus passio credentium facta est purgatio. Passurus igitur exitia; præmisit obsequia. Non solum eis pro quibus subiturus venerat mortem; sed etiam illi qui fuerat traditurus illum ad mortem. Tanta quippe est humanæ humilitatis utilitas: ut eam suo commendaret exemplo divina sublimitas. Quia homo superbus in æternum periret: nisi illum Deus humilis inveniret. Ut qui periret superbia deceptoris: salvaretur humilitate piissimi redemptoris. Cui merito omnes Angeli et Archangeli non cessant clamare quotidie: una voce dicentes: Sanctus, sanctus, sanctus. 

It is meet and just, that we should give thanks to thee, O holy Lord, almighty Father, and to Jesus Christ thy Son. We have been fostered by his Humanity, exalted by his humility, set free by his betrayal, redeemed by his punishment, saved by his cross, cleansed by his Blood, fed by his Flesh. He, on this day, delivered himself for us; and loosed the bonds of our sin. He showed to his faithful people the riches of his goodness and humility, by deigning to wash the feet of his very betrayer, whose hand he already perceived to be engaged in this wicked deed. But what wonder that he, on the eve of his voluntary death, when about to do the work of a servant, should take off his garments, who, being in the form of God, had emptied himself? What wonder that he should gird himself with a towel, who, taking the form of a servant, was found in the habit of man? What wonder that he should put water into a basin to wash the feet of his disciples, who shed his Blood upon the earth to cleanse away the defilements of sinners? What wonder that with the towel, wherewith he was girt, he should wipe the feet he had washed, who, with the Flesh wherewith he had clothed himself, had strengthened the feet of them that were to preach his Gospel? Before girding himself with the towel, he took off the garments he wore; but, when he took the form of a servant, and emptied himself, he laid not aside what he had, but assumed what he had not. When he was crucified, he was stripped of his garments, and when dead, was wrapped in linen: and his whole Passion was a purification of them that believe. When, therefore, he was on the eve of his sufferings, he prepared for them by benefits, given not only to them for whom he was about to suffer death, but even to him who was about to betray him unto death. Such, indeed, is the importance of humility to man, that the very majesty of God taught it him by his own example. Proud man would have been forever lost, had not the humble God found him: and thus, he that had been ruined by the pride of the seducer, was saved by the humility of the most loving Redeemer, to whom deservedly all the Angels and Archangels cry out daily without ceasing, saying with one voice: Holy! Holy! Holy![/align]

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Holy Thursday
by St. Alphonsus Liguori



Morning Meditation
"IN REMEMBRANCE OF ME."

Do this in commemoration of me. (Luke xxii. 19). St. Thomas says that the Redeemer left us the Most Blessed Sacrament that we may ever remember the blessings He has obtained for us, and the love He showed us in dying for us. And hence the Blessed Eucharist is called by the same holy Doctor Passionis Memoriale, a memorial of the Passion.

I.

It is the opinion of sound Theologians that by these words, "Do this in commemoration of me," priests are bound when celebrating to call to mind the Passion and Death of Jesus Christ. And the Apostle would seem to require the same of all who communicate. As often as ye shall eat this bread and drink this cup, ye shall show forth the Lord's death. (1 Cor. xi. 26). St. Thomas writes that it was for this very end the Redeemer left us the Most Holy Sacrament, namely, that we might ever remember the blessings He has obtained for us and the love He has shown in dying for us. And hence the same holy Doctor calls the Blessed Eucharist a Memorial of the Passion Passionis Memoriale..

Consider therefore that in the Sacrifice of the Mass it is the same Holy Victim Who gave His Blood and His Life for you. And the Holy Mass is not only the Memorial of the Sacrifice of the Cross; it is the same Sacrifice; for He Who offers it, and the Victim offered, are the same, namely, the Incarnate Word. The manner alone is different. The one was a Sacrifice of Blood; this is unbloody: in the one Jesus Christ really died, in the other He dies mystically. "One and the same Victim," says the holy Council of Trent, "only the manner of offering is different." Imagine, therefore, when you are at Mass that you are on Calvary and offering to God the Blood and Death of His Son. And when you communicate, imagine that you are drawing His Precious Blood from the Wounds of your Saviour.

O Lord, I am unworthy to appear before Thee, but encouraged by Thy goodness I come this morning to offer unto Thee Thy Son. Ecce Agnus Dei! Behold the Lamb here Which Thou didst behold one day sacrificed for Thy glory and for our salvation upon the Altar of the Cross! For the love of this Victim so dear to Thee, apply His merits to my soul and pardon all the offences great and small that I have committed against Thee. I grieve with my whole heart for having offended Thy Infinite Goodness.

And Thou, my Jesus, come and wash away in Thy Blood all my stains ere I receive Thee this morning. Domine, non sum dignus ut intres sub tectum meum, sed tantum dic verbo, et sanabitur anima mea! I am not worthy to receive Thee, but Thou, O heavenly Physician, art able with one word to heal all my wounds. Come and heal me.

II.

Consider, moreover, that in every Mass the work of Redemption is renewed: so much so that if Jesus Christ had not died once upon the Cross, the celebration of one Mass could procure for the world the very same blessings we have received through the Death of our Redeemer. Tantum, valet celebratio missae quantum mors Christi in cruce. The celebration of the Mass is of as much value as the Death of Christ on the Cross (St. John Chrysostom). Therefore all the merits of the Passion are applied to men by means of the Sacrifice of the Altar.

According to the Council of Trent the time of the celebration of Holy Mass is precisely, then, that time in which the Lord is on His throne of grace to which we are exhorted to have recourse that we may obtain the Divine mercy and find grace in seasonable aid. (Heb. iv. 16). St. John Chrysostom says that the Angels wait for the time of Mass to intercede with greater efficacy in our favour, and he adds that what is not obtained at Mass is with difficulty obtained at any other time.

O miserable being that I am! How many graces have I lost, O my God, from having neglected to ask Thee for them during Mass! But since Thou now givest me new light I will no longer be negligent. I unite, then, O Eternal Father, my prayers with those of Jesus Christ. I hope for all through Thy merits, O my Jesus, and through thy intercession, O my Mother Mary.

Spiritual Reading
MEDITATION BEFORE THE MOST BLESSED SACRAMENT

Meditation, wherever it is made, pleases God; but it is certain that Jesus Christ especially delights in the meditation that is made before the Most Holy Sacrament, since it appears that there He bestows light and grace most abundantly upon those who visit Him. He has left Himself in this Sacrament, not only to be the food of souls who receive Him in Holy Communion, but also to be found at all times by every one who seeks Him. Devout pilgrims go to the Holy House of Loretto, where Jesus Christ dwelt during His life, and to Jerusalem where He died on the Cross; but how much greater ought to be our devotion when we find Him before us in a Tabernacle, where this very Lord Himself now dwells in person, Who lived among us, and died for us on Calvary!

It is not permitted in the world for persons of all ranks to speak alone with kings; but with Jesus Christ, the King of Heaven, both nobles and plebeians, rich and poor, can converse at their will in this Sacrament, and employ themselves as long as they will in setting before Him their wants, and in seeking His graces; and there Jesus gives audience to all, hears all, and comforts them.

Men of the world, who know no treasures but those of the earth, cannot comprehend what pleasure can be found in spending a long time before an Altar where is placed a consecrated Host; but to souls who love God, hours and days passed before the Blessed Sacrament seem as moments, because of the celestial sweetness which the Lord there gives them to taste and to enjoy.

But how can worldly people expect to enjoy this sweetness if they keep their hearts full of the earth? St. Francis Borgia said that in order that Divine love may rule in our hearts, we must first drive the world away from them; otherwise, Divine love will never enter into them, because it finds no place to rest. Be still, and see that I am God. (Ps. xlv. 11). In order to have experience of God, and to prove how sweet He is to them that love Him, our hearts must be empty, that is, detached from earthly affections. Wouldst Thou find God? "Detach thyself from creatures and thou shalt find Him," said St. Teresa.

What should a soul do when in the presence of the Blessed Sacrament? It should love and pray. It should not come there in order to experience sweetness and consolation, but only to give pleasure to God, by making acts of love, by giving itself wholly to God without reserve, by stripping itself of its own will, and offering itself, saying: "O my God, I love Thee and desire nothing but Thee; grant that I may ever love Thee, and then do with me, and with all that I possess, according to Thy pleasure." Among all acts of love, that is most pleasing to God which the blessed continually exercise in Heaven, namely, the rejoicing in the infinite joy of God; for the blessed soul loves God infinitely more than it loves itself, and therefore desires the happiness of her Beloved far more than her own; and seeing that God enjoys infinite joy, the blessed soul would thence receive an infinite delight, but as a creature is not capable of an infinite delight, it rests full of satisfaction, and thus the joy of God constitutes its joy and its Paradise. These acts of love, even when made by us without any sensible sweetness, please God. He does not, however, give to souls whom He loves a perpetual enjoyment of His comforts in this life, but only at intervals; and when He gives them, He gives them not so much as a reward for good works (the full reward of which He reserves for them in Heaven), as to give them more strength to suffer with patience the troubles and adversities of this present life, and especially the distractions and dryness of spirit which pious souls experience in meditation.

So far as distractions are concerned, of these we must not make much account, it is enough to drive them away when they come. Besides, even the Saints suffered involuntary distractions. But they did not on this account leave off meditation; and so also must we ourselves act. St. Francis de Sales said that if in meditation we did nothing but drive away, or seek to drive away, distractions, our meditation would be of great profit. As for dryness of spirit, the greatest pain of souls in meditation is to find themselves sometimes without a feeling of devotion, weary of it, and without any sensible desire of loving God; and with this is often joined the fear of being in the wrath of God through their sins, on account of which the Lord has abandoned them; and being in this gloomy darkness, they know not any way of escaping from it, for it seems to them that every way is closed against them. Let the devout soul, then, continue resolute in not leaving off meditation, as the devil will suggest to it. At such a time let it unite its desolation to that which Jesus Christ suffered upon the Cross; and if it can only say this, it is enough to say it, at least with the whole heart and will: "My God, I wish to love Thee; I wish to be wholly Thine! Have pity on me! Oh, leave me not!" Let it say, also, as a holy soul said to its God, in time of desolation: "I love Thee, though I seem to myself an enemy in Thy sight. Drive me away as Thou wilt; I will ever follow after Thee."

Evening Meditation
JESUS DIES UPON THE CROSS.

I.

Behold how the loving Saviour is now drawing nigh unto death. Behold, O my soul, those beautiful eyes growing dim, that face become all pallid, that Heart all but ceasing to beat, and that Sacred Body now disposing itself to the final surrender of its life. After Jesus had received the vinegar, He said: It is consummated. He then passed over in review the many and terrible sufferings that He had undergone during His life, in the shape of poverty, contempt, and pain; and then offering them all up to His Eternal Father, He turned to Him and said: It is consummated. My Father, behold by the sacrifice of My Life, the work of the world's Redemption which Thou hast laid upon Me, is now completed. And it seems as though, turning Himself again to us, He repeated: It is consummated. As if He would have said, O men, O men, love Me, for I have done all; there is nothing more that I can do in order to gain your love.

Behold how, at last, Jesus dies. Come ye Angels of Heaven, come and assist at the death of your King. And thou, O sorrowing Mother Mary, do thou draw nearer to the Cross, and fix thine eyes yet more attentively on thy Son, for He is now on the point of death. Behold Him, how, after having commended His Spirit to His Eternal Father, He calls upon Death, giving it permission to come and take away His life. Come, O Death, says Jesus, be quick and perform thine office; slay Me, and save My flock. The earth now trembles, the graves open, the veil of the Temple is rent in twain. The strength of the dying Saviour is failing through the violence of His sufferings; the warmth of His Body is gradually diminishing; He gives up His Body to death; He bows His Head down upon His breast, He opens His mouth, and dies: And bowing his head, he gave up the ghost. (John xix. 30).

II.

The people behold Jesus expire, and, observing that He no longer moves, they say, He is dead, He is dead! And to them the voice of Mary makes echo, while she says, "Ah, my Son, Thou art, then, dead!"

He is dead! O God, who is it that is dead? The Author of life, the only-begotten Son of God, the Lord of the world, --He is dead! O Death, thou wert the amazement of Heaven and of all nature! O Infinite Love! A God to sacrifice His Blood and His Life! And for whom? For His ungrateful creatures; dying in an ocean of sufferings and shame, in order to pay the penalty due to their sins. Ah, Infinite Goodness! O Infinite Love! O my Jesus, Thou art, then, dead, on account of the love Thou hast borne me! Oh, let me never again live, even for a single moment, without loving Thee! I love Thee, my chief and only Good; I love Thee, my Jesus, --dead for me! O my sorrowing Mother Mary, do thou help a servant of thine, who desires to love Jesus

[Stone]

Maundy Thursday 

Common Liturgy

Monastic Liturgy

[Stone]

A reminder ...