HOLY THURSDAY- Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper - Gospel (Jn 13:1-15) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another's feet.” (Jn 13:14)

FIRST READING - 12:1-8, 11-14

A reading from the Book of Exodus

The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,

“This month shall stand at the head of your calendar;

you shall reckon it the first month of the year.

Tell the whole community of Israel:

On the tenth of this month every one of your families

must procure for itself a lamb, one apiece for each household.

If a family is too small for a whole lamb,

it shall join the nearest household in procuring one

and shall share in the lamb

in proportion to the number of persons who partake of it.

The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish.

You may take it from either the sheep or the goats.

You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month,

and then, with the whole assembly of Israel present,

it shall be slaughtered during the evening twilight.

They shall take some of its blood

and apply it to the two doorposts and the lintel

of every house in which they partake of the lamb.

That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh

with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.

“This is how you are to eat it:

with your loins girt, sandals on your feet and your staff in hand,

you shall eat like those who are in flight.

It is the Passover of the LORD.

For on this same night I will go through Egypt,

striking down every firstborn of the land, both man and beast,

and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt—I, the LORD!

But the blood will mark the houses where you are.

Seeing the blood, I will pass over you;

thus, when I strike the land of Egypt,

no destructive blow will come upon you.

“This day shall be a memorial feast for you,

which all your generations shall celebrate

with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution.”

SECOND READING from the first letter to the Corinthians - 11:23-26

Brothers and sisters:

I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,

that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,

took bread, and, after he had given thanks,

broke it and said, “This is my body that 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 death of the Lord until he comes.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - 13:1-15

From the Gospel according to John

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come

to pass from this world to the Father.

He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.

The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.

So, during supper,

fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power

and that he had come from God and was returning to God,

he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.

He took a towel and tied it around his waist.

Then he poured water into a basin

and began to wash the disciples’ feet

and dry them with the towel around his waist.

He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,

“Master, are you going to wash my feet?”

Jesus answered and said to him,

“What I am doing, you do not understand now,

but you will understand later.”

Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered him,

“Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”

Simon Peter said to him,

“Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.”

Jesus said to him,

“Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed,

for he is clean all over;

so you are clean, but not all.”

For he knew who would betray him;

for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

So when he had washed their feet

and put his garments back on and reclined at table again,

he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you?

You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am.

If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet,

you ought to wash one another’s feet.

I have given you a model to follow,

so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

HOLY THURSDAY- Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper - Gospel (Jn 13:1-15)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

 Dear People of God,

In today's Word, God renews His covenant with the people of Israel, which He made with the people of Israel when they were slaves in Egypt. This covenant was sealed by God with the blood of a spotless lamb, according to His instructions. Each family was to sacrifice a spotless lamb, then take the lamb's blood and smear it on the doorposts of their homes.

On that night, God would pass through the land of Egypt. Any house that had the mark of the lamb's blood—a sign that they belonged to God’s people—would be passed over, and they would not be struck when God brought disaster upon the land. However, any house without the mark of the lamb's blood would be destroyed. All who followed His instructions would live. This covenant was God's call for His people to always live in close union with Him, their Father. He said: "This covenant will be kept forever and ever." The image of the ancient covenant was the blood of a spotless lamb. And more than two thousand years ago, this covenant was fulfilled through the blood of Jesus Christ, the Son of God, who came down to earth in human form, sacrificed, and died to redeem the sins of all people.

This love comes from the heart of God the Father. Because of His great love for humanity, He sent His Son into the world to live among us and be with us until the end of time. God is love—and it was because of love that He signed the covenant. He loves all people in the world, and He loves them to the very end. Truly, there is no love in this world greater than God's love for humanity. Not only that, but He gave Himself completely—becoming a human, to suffer, to be tested, to die—to pay the price of His blood to redeem humanity from the captivity of Satan.

This image is expressed by God through the life of Jesus Christ, the Son of God who came to earth and became human. On the night of His betrayal, Jesus Christ performed an act of love for humanity, by leaving the table, tightening His belt, then going to serve, by bending down to wash the feet of His disciples. This is an act, a shining example of service, through which God wants to teach His children: to love one another, to serve one another with the same love that God has done.

As before Jesus was taken away to be killed, He taught His disciples: "Love one another as I have loved you." This is the invitation that God the Father wants all of His children to direct their lives towards God and unite with their brothers and sisters. The unity here is love, which is to love God above all things and to love our brothers and sisters as ourselves.

In today's Word of God, God invites all of humanity to be humble, to humble themselves, to bow down to serve, to wash feet, to support, to love our fellow human beings, as Jesus Christ once said to His disciples: "I am the Teacher, the Lord, and I have washed your feet, so you also should wash each other's feet." This invitation will always echo until the end of the world. Let's sacrifice as Jesus Christ sacrificed for humanity so that people can enjoy eternal life.

Today's Word of God also says: God loves humanity to the utmost, He has sought to stay with people everywhere and at all times. That image is actualized through the Sacrament of the Eucharist when He makes a covenant with people with His own Flesh and Blood. He stays with people so that people can become similar to Him everywhere and at all times. When people are determined to live the teachings of God the Father and desire for God the Father to dwell in their hearts, He invites all humanity as His children:

Come to the Eucharist, which is the sacrament of love, the very Flesh and Blood of the Son of God.

Ask Him to dwell in your heart, to accompany, nourish and protect you from the captivity of Satan. Because the Eucharist is the divine food given by God, to nourish people.

God always accompanies and is with people forever, everywhere, at all times. Especially, He is present in the Eucharist, as Jesus Christ, the only Son of God who came to earth and became human, voluntarily sacrificed himself to death to become a small piece of bread, so that people can receive Him into their souls, to be nourished by Him and given eternal life.

Thanks be to God. Amen.