The Church has set apart Holy Thursday as a day on which to consider what Jesus did and taught during his last meal on earth. It was no ordinary meal; it was the meal of the Passover, sacred to the Jews. Jesus gave it a new and fuller meaning than it had till then. We call this meal THE LAST SUPPER OF JESUS. The principal mysteries which are commemorated in this Mass are: the institution of the Eucharist, the institution of the priesthood, and Christ’s new commandment of love.

ENTRANCE ANTIPHON

It is our duty to glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ. He saves us and sets us free; through him we find salvation, life and resurrection.

Glory to God in the highest,/ and peace to his people on earth./ Lord God, heavenly King,/ almighty God and Father,/ we worship you,/ we give you thanks,/ we praise you for your glory./ Lord Jesus Christ,/ only Son of the Father,/ Lord God, Lamb of God,/ you take away the sin of the world:/ have mercy on us;/ you are seated at the right hand of the Father,/ receive our prayer./For you alone are the Holy One,/you alone are the Lord,/ you alone are the Most High,/ Jesus Christ,/ with the Holy Spirit,/ in the glory of God the Father./ Amen.

OPENING PRAYER

God our Father, we are gathered here to share in the supper which your only Son left to his Church to reveal his love. He gave it to us when he was about to die and commanded us to celebrate it as the new and eternal sacrifice. We pray that in this eucharist we may find the fullness of love and life. Grant this…

FIRST READING

A reading from the Book of Exodus  (12:1-8,11-14)

The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month they shall take every man a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household; and if the household is too small for a lamb, then a man and his neighbour next to his house shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old; you shall take it from the sheep or from the goats; and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs in the evening. Then they shall take some of the blood, and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat them. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. In this manner you shall eat it: your loins girded, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand; and you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will smite all the first-born in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgements: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, upon the houses where you are; and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague shall fall upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt.
“This day shall be for you a memorial day and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations you shall observe it as an ordinance for ever.”
This is the Word of the Lord

PSALM (115)

Response: The blessing cup, that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.

How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me? The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name.

O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful. Your servant, Lord, your servant am I; you have loosened my bonds.

A thanksgiving sacrifice I make: I will call on the Lord’s name. My vows to the Lord I will fulfil before all his people.

SECOND READING

A reading from the First Letter of St Paul to the Corinthians (11:23-26)

I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.
This is the Word of the Lord

ACCLAMATION (Jn 13:34)

A new commandment I give to you, says the Lord, that you love one another even as I have loved you.

GOSPEL

A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St John (13:1-15)

Before the feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. And during supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, rose from supper, laid aside his garments, and girded himself with a towel. Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the disciples’ feet, and to wipe them with the towel with which he was girded. He came to Simon Peter; and Peter said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not know now, but afterward you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no part in me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “He who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but he is clean all over, and you are clean, but not all of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “You are not all clean.” When he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.”

This is the Gospel of the Lord

(Homily)

WASHING OF FEET

(During the washing of feet the following song: WJL D.29, D.68, D.115 or other appropriate songs may be sung.)

Jesus always loved his own and he showed it to the full:
When at supper from the table, he got up and took a towel.
Then he wrapped it round his waist, in a basin water poured.
Then began to wash the feet of all his friends.

Ch: Know, my brothers, what I have done to you:
Lord you call me. It is what I am, If then I, your Lord, deigned to wash your feet,
You should do the same and wash each other’s feet.

…When he came to Simon Peter, the apostle said to him:
‘Never shall you wash my feet’. Then the Lord replied to him:
‘It is not for you to know what now I do.’ (Know…)

...When he said to Simon Peter: ‘If I do not wash your feet,
you can have no part with me.’ Then said Peter to his Lord:
‘Wash my hands, my head and not my feet alone’. (Know…)

...He has set us an example that we do as he has done.
Can a servant greater be than his master Christ, the Lord?
If we know and do this, happy we shall be. (Know…)

LITURGY OF THE EUCHARIST

(At the beginning of the liturgy of the eucharist, there may be a procession of the faithful with gifts for the poor. During the procession the following hymn (WJL D.11) may be sung, or another appropriate song.)

Ch: Where love and charity are found, God there abides.

The love of Christ has gathered us together into one,
Let us rejoice to be united in the Lord,
Let us revere, let us love the living God.
With hearts sincere, let us love one another. (Where..)

And since we live in unity together,
Let us take heed that we be not divided,
Let our disputes, our quarrels and contentions cease,
And so let Jesus, our God, in our midst abide. (Where..)

And let us also with your saints,
O Christ our Lord,
Behold your face in the glory of heaven,
Where you, yourself, will be our happiness and joy,
For evermore through all ages to come. Amen. (Where..)

PRAYER OVER THE GIFTS

Lord, make us worthy to celebrate these mysteries. Each time we offer this memorial sacrifice the work of our redemption is accomplished. We ask this…

PREFACE (P 47)

Father, all-powerful and ever-living God, we do well always and everywhere to give you thanks through Jesus Christ our Lord.

He is the true and eternal priest who established this unending sacrifice. He offered himself as a victim for our deliverance and taught us to make this offering in his memory. As we eat his body which he gave for us, we grow in strength. As we drink his blood which he poured out for us, we are washed clean.

Now with angels and archangels, and the whole company of heaven, we sing the unending hymn of your praise:

All: Holy, holy, holy…

COMMUNION ANTIPHON

This body will be given for you. This is the cup of the new covenant in my blood; whenever you receive them, do so in remembrance of me.

PRAYER AFTER COMMUNION

Almighty God, we receive new life from the supper your Son gave us in this world. May we find full contentment in the meal we hope to share in your eternal kingdom. We ask this…

TRANSFER OF THE HOLY EUCHARIST

(During the procession to the place of reposition, the hymn ‘Sing My Tongue’, (exclusive of the last two stanzas) or some other Eucharistic song is sung).

Sing my tongue the Saviour’s glory.
Of his flesh the mystery sing:
Of his blood, all price exceeding
Shed by our immortal King.
Destined for the world’s redemption,
From a noble womb to spring.

Of a pure and spotless Virgin,
Born for us on earth below,
He, as man, with man conversing
Stayed, the seeds of truth to sow.
Then he closed in solemn order
Wondrously his life of woe.

On the night of that last supper
Seated with his chosen band
He, the Paschal Victim eating
First fulfils the law’s command;
Then as food to all his brethren
Gives himself with his own hand.

Word made flesh, the bread of nature
By his word to flesh he turned
Wine into his blood he changes.
What though sense no change discerns;
Only be the heart in earnest
Faith her lesson quickly learns.

Down in adoration falling
Lo, the sacred Host we hail.
Lo, o’er ancient forms departing
Newer rites of grace prevail,
Faith for all defects supplying
Where the feeble senses fail.

To the everlasting Father
And the Son who reigns on high,
With the Holy Spirit proceeding
Forth from each eternally,
Be salvation, honour, blessing,
Might and endless majesty. Amen.