A Pastoral Ministry of the Members of the Society of St Paul

VOL. 52, NO. 25 HOLY THURSDAY (C) – White 17 APRIL 2025

Today’s liturgy is divided into five parts: (1) Liturgy of the Word, (2) Washing of Feet,
(3) Liturgy of the Eucharist, (4) Procession to the Altar of repose, and (5) Adoration. The
principal mysteries which are commemorated in this Mass: (1) The Institution of the Eucharist,
(2) the Institution of the Priesthood, and (3) Christ’s Command of brotherly love.

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins
We should glory in the Cross of our Lord of the world, receive our prayer; you are seated
Jesus Christ, in whom is our salvation, life and at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on
resurrection, through whom we are saved and us. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone
delivered. (Gal 6:14) are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus
Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God
Brethren (brothers and sisters), let us the Father. Amen.
acknowledge our sins, and so prepare ourselves
to celebrate the sacred mysteries. (a brief silence) COLLECT
O God, who have called us to participate in
I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers this most sacred Supper, in which your Only
and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts Begotten Son, when about to hand himself
and in my words, in what I have done and in what over to death, entrusted to the Church a
I have failed to do, (and, striking their breast, they sacrifice new for all eternity, the banquet of his
say:) through my fault, through my fault, through my love, grant, we pray, that we may draw from so
most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever- great a mystery, the fullness of charity and of
Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers life. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God. who lives and reigns with you in the unity of
the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever.
Cel: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive
us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life. FIRST READING
All: Amen. A reading from the Book of Exodus
Cel: Lord, have mercy. All: Lord, have mercy. (12:1-8, 11-14)
Cel: Christ, have mercy. All: Christ, have mercy. In those days, the LORD said to Moses and
Cel: Lord, have mercy. All: Lord, have mercy. Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall
be for you the beginning of months. It shall
GLORIA be the first month of the year for you. Tell all
Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace the congregation of Israel that on the tenth
to people of good will. We praise you, we bless day of this month every man shall take a lamb
you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a
thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly household. And if the household is too small
for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbour
King, O God, almighty Father. Lord Jesus Christ,
shall take according to the number of persons;
Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, according to what each can eat you shall make
Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the

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your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be Brethren, I received from the Lord what I also
without blemish, a male a year old. You may delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night
take it from the sheep or from the goats, and when he was betrayed took bread, and when he
you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my
this month, when the whole assembly of the body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance
congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs of me.” In the same way also he took the chalice,
at twilight. “Then they shall take some of the after supper, saying, “This chalice is the new
blood and put it on the two doorposts and the covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you
lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often
shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the as you eat this bread and drink the chalice, you
fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
they shall eat it. In this manner you shall eat it:
The Word of the Lord.
with your belt fastened, your sandals on your
All: Thanks be to God.
feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall
eat it in haste. It is the LORD’s Passover. For I VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL
will pass through the land of Egypt that night, Glory and praise to you, O Christ. A new
and I will strike all the firstborn in the land commandment I give to you, says the Lord, that
of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the you love one another: just as I have loved you.
gods of Egypt I will execute judgements: I am Glory and praise to you, O Christ. (Jn 13:34)
the LORD. The blood shall be a sign for you,
on the houses where you are. And when I see GOSPEL
the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague ! A reading from the Holy Gospel according
will befall you to destroy you, when I strike to John (13:1-15)
the land of Egypt. “This day shall be for you a All: Glory to you, O Lord.
memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to Before the Feast of the Passover when Jesus
the LORD; throughout your generations, as a knew that his hour had come to depart out of
statute for ever, you shall keep it as a feast.” this world to the Father, having loved his own
The Word of the Lord. who were in the world, he loved them to the
All: Thanks be to God. end. During supper, when the devil had already
put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s
RESPONSORIAL PSALM (116)
son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the
Response: The cup of blessing is a participation Father had given all things into his hands, and
in the blood of Christ. that he had come from God and was going back
How can I repay the LORD for all his goodness to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer
to me? The cup of salvation I will raise; I will garments, and taking a towel, tied it round his
call on the name of the LORD. + waist. Then he poured water into a basin and
began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe
How precious in the eyes of the LORD is the
them with the towel that was wrapped round
death of his faithful. Your servant am I, the him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
son of your handmaid; you have loosened my “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered
bonds. + him, “What I am doing you do not understand
A thanksgiving sacrifice I make; I will call on now, but afterwards you will understand.” Peter
the name of the LORD. My vows to the LORD said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.”
I will fulfil before all his people. + Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you
have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to
SECOND READING him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands
A reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who
to the Corinthians (11:23-26) has bathed does not need to wash, except for his

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feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, Eucharist during the Last Supper which he ate with
but not every one of you.” For he knew who was his disciples. Through the worthy celebration of
to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of the Eucharist, we experience the Lord’s presence
you are clean.” When he had washed their feet in our midst. With this confidence, let us place
and put on his outer garments and resumed our petitions before him, saying,
his place, he said to them, “Do you understand Response: Lord, may the Eucharist transform
what I have done to you? You call me Teacher our lives.
and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I
1. For the Pope, the bishops and the clergy
then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your
that as ministers in the Church they
feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet.
may exercise their duties with a sense of
For I have given you an example, that you also
should do just as I have done to you.” humility following the examples of Christ
who washed the feet of his disciples at the
Cel: The Gospel of the Lord. Last Supper, we pray … +
All: Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
2. For all the priests who celebrate their feast
(The Creed is not said) today that the Lord who has chosen them to
THE WASHING OF FEET be priests in his Church may reward them for
the tireless and selfless service they do to build
(During the washing of feet the following song: WJL the community of the faithful, we pray … +
D. 29, or other appropriate songs may be sung.)
3. For the priests who run our parishes that
1. Jesus always loved his own prayerful support may be offered for them by the
and he showed it to the full: faithful so that they may become true shepherds
When at supper from the table, after the example of Christ, we pray … +
he got up and took a towel. 4. For vocations to priesthood and religious
Then he wrapped it round his waist, life that young men and women who show
in a basin water poured. aptitude for priestly and religious life may be
Then began to wash the feet of all his friends. identified and trained so that they may take the
Chorus: Know, my people, what I’ve done to mission of the Church forward,we pray … +
you: / Lord you call me. It is what I am. / If then 5. That all of us who participate in this
I, your Lord, deigned to wash your feet, / you solemn celebration that through the active
should do the same and wash each other’s feet. participation in the Eucharist during the
2. When he came to Simon Peter, liturgical year we may establish communion
the apostle said to him: with Christ and his Church, we pray … +
‘Never shall you wash my feet’. Cel: God our Father, we thank you for the gift of
Then the Lord replied to him: the Holy Eucharist that unites us with your Son
‘It is not for you to know what now I do’. Jesus. Give us the grace that by celebrating the
3. When he said to Simon Peter: Eucharist worthily we may receive the spiritual
‘If I do not wash your feet, nourishment necessary for our life with Your Son
you can have no part with me’. Jesus Christ, our Lord. We make this prayer....
Then said Peter to his Lord:
PRAYER OVER THE OFFERINGS
‘Wash my hands, my head and
not my feet alone’. Grant us, O Lord, we pray, that we may
participate worthily in these mysteries, for
PRAYER OF THE FAITHFUL whenever the memorial of this sacrifice is
Cel: Dear brothers and sisters, today we celebrate celebrated the work of our redemption is
the Lord’s Supper. Jesus instituted the Holy accomplished. Through Christ our Lord.

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PREFACE (Eucharist) sacrament of the priesthood so that his sacrifice

It is truly right and just, our duty and our will continue to be made present to His people;
salvation, always and everywhere to give you to make him always available to his people. To
thanks, Lord, holy Father, almighty and eternal illustrate this, while at supper, Jesus stood up,
God, through Christ our Lord. removed his outer garment, and washed the feet
of his disciples. At first, they resisted. They could
For he is the true and eternal Priest, who not accept that their Master will do an act meant
instituted the pattern of an everlasting sacrifice for a slave. They were simply embarrassed. But
and was the first to offer himself as the saving for Jesus it was an unmistakable expression of his
Victim, commanding us to make this offering humility and desire to serve his people.
as his memorial. As we eat his flesh that was
Life in Palestine in the time of Jesus was hard. The
sacrificed for us, we are made strong, and, as we
popular means of transport was your feet. People
drink his Blood that was poured out for us, we walked long distances on rough, dusty roads
are washed clean. to go from Galilee to Jerusalem, for example.
And so, with Angels and Archangels, with Travellers often arrived their destinations with
Thrones and Dominions, and with all hosts and sore and aching feet. As a sign of hospitality, the
powers of heaven, we sing the hymn of your host would see to it that his guests were given a
glory, as without end we acclaim: warm foot bath and massage as a way of relieving
All: Holy, Holy, Holy Lord God of hosts… their aches and pains. This was usually done by
the house servants or slaves.
COMMUNION ANTIPHON This service of bathing and soothing the tired
This is the Body that will be given up for you; feet was also provided by the rest houses or inns
this is the Chalice of the new covenant in my found at strategic locations along the major roads
Blood, says the Lord; do this, whenever you and highways. Travellers worn out along the way
receive it, in memory of me. (1 Cor 11:24-25) could go into these rest houses and have food and
foot bath. Their energy thus restored they would
PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION then be able to continue and complete their long
journey. That is how such rest houses along the
Grant, almighty God, that, just as we are way got the name “restaurants” — they restored
renewed by the Supper of your Son in this strength to tired and exhausted travellers on
present age, so we may enjoy his banquet for all the way. The disciples would have understood
eternity. Who lives and reigns for ever and ever. Jesus washing their feet in light of this cultural
(During the procession to the place of reposition, background. And for us it is a pointer to the
meaning of the Eucharist we celebrate.
the hymn ‘Sing my tongue’, or some other
Understood in light of the washing of feet, the
eucharistic song is sung.)
Eucharist is a place of restoration for people on
LITURGY AND LIFE the way. The life of a Christian in the world is a
pilgrimage, a long, hard journey. Along the way
Holy Thursday is the day of the institution of we get tired and worn out and we are tempted to
the Holy Eucharist. It is also a Feast Day for all give up and turn back. But Jesus has provided us
the Priests. In the Sacrament of the Eucharist,
with the Eucharist as a place where we can go in
we experience the love of God for mankind for
to bathe our aching feet and to be refreshed in
we receive the greatest gift He can ever give us
– the very body and blood of His Beloved Son. body and soul for the journey that is still ahead.
But why did Jesus choose a meal as the venue for Every time we come to this celebration of the
imparting his lasting memorial of love? As we all Eucharist, let us always be reminded that we
know, giving nourishment is an expression and are celebrating the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross
sign of love. being made present to us. Let us also pray for
The priesthood is not about honour and prestige, our priests so that they will always enjoy God’s
nor about power and domination; rather, it is protection and guidance to faithfully fulfil their
all about humble service. Jesus instituted the ministry of bringing Jesus to his people. – AK

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