Thursday, April 1, 2010

The Easter Triduum: part one

Christ Washing Peter's Feet by Ford M. Brown
Today is Holy Thursday. Lent comes to an end and this evening we gather to celebrate the Mass of the Lord's Supper. Consider first the words of the Opening Prayer this evening:
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.
So, we settle in to listen to the readings, and hear first the story of the Passover, then very familiar words in the letter to the Corinthians. But what's happening in the Gospel? Jesus, during the meal, began to take on the role of a humble servant to those who knew him as "Master and Teacher". Jesus explains, "I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do."
  • Reflecting again on the Opening Prayer, what does this 'mandatum' (command, mandate) reveal to us as Church about Jesus' love? 
  • How in this act, in this attitude, can we find fullness of love and life?

No comments:

Post a Comment