Holy Thursday — Evening Office
(Saint Matthew 26:17-19; Saint Mark 14:12-16; Saint Luke 22:7-13) (Saint Matthew 26:20; Saint Mark 14:17; Saint Luke 22:14-1.6) (Saint John 13:1-20) (Saint Matthew 26:21-25, 29; Saint Mark 14:18-21, 25; Saint Luke 22:17-18, 22; Saint John 13:21-22) (Saint Matthew 26:26-28; Saint Mark 14:22-24; Saint Luke 22:19-20; I Corinthians 11:23-25) (Saint Luke 22:21-23; Saint John 13:23-32) (Saint Luke 22:24-30) (Saint John 13:33-38; Saint Luke 22:31-38) (Saint John 14:1-31, 15:1-17) "Do not let your heart be troubled! You believe in God, believe likewise in Me... "If you love Me, keep My commandments. And I will pray to the Father, and He will give you another Consoler who will abide with you forever. He is the Spirit of Truth that the world cannot receive, because it neither sees Him nor knows Him. But you will know Him, because He will abide in your midst and be in you. "I have told you these things while I am still with you .. But the Holy Spirit, the Consoler that the Father will send in My Name, will teach you all things and bring to mind all that I have told you." "I leave you My peace, I give you My peace! I do not give it to you as the world gives it. Do not let your heart be troubled, let it not be afraid. "I am the true Vine, and My Father is the Vinedresser. He will cut off every branch that does not bear fruit in Me; and He will prune every branch that does bear fruit, so that it may bear more. (Saint John 15:18-27, 16:1-24) "If the world hates you, know that it has hated Me before you. If you were of the world, the world would love what is its own. But because you are not of the world, and because I have separated you from the world, that is why the world hates you. Remember the word I said to you: 'The servant is no greater than his master.' If they have persecuted Me, they will persecute you also; if they have kept My word, they will keep yours also. But they will do all these things to you for My Name's sake, because they do not know the One who sent Me. "Nonetheless, I am telling you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go. For if I do not go, the Consoler will not come to you; whereas if I go, I will send Him to you. "In a little while you will see Me no longer; and yet a little while you will see Me again, because I am going to My Father." "Amen, amen, I say to you: Whatever you ask of the Father in My Name, He will give you. Until now, you have asked for nothing in My Name. Ask, and you shall receive, and you shall be filled with joy." (Saint John 16:25-33) (Saint John 17:1-26) Jesus spoke in this manner; then, raising His eyes to heaven, He said: "I have manifested Thy Name to the men that Thou hast separated from the world and that Thou hast given Me. They were Thine, and Thou hast given them to Me; and they have kept Thy word. Now they know that all Thou hast given Me comes from Thee. I have told them the words Thou hast said to Me, and they have received them. They have, in all truth, recognized that I have come forth from Thee, they have believed that Thou hast sent Me. "I pray not only for them, but also for those who, by their word, will believe in Me. Holy Hour in reparation at 11:00 P.M.
Brief Order of the Mass
Reading of the Holy Gospel
THE LAST SUPPER
I. — PREPARING FOR THE SUPPER
On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Law prescribed that the Paschal Lamb was to be immolated, the Disciples came to Jesus and asked Him:
"Where do You want us to go and prepare the Passover feast for You?"
Jesus sent two of His Disciples, Peter and John, telling them:
"You are the ones who will prepare Passover for us. Go into the city. As you enter, you will meet a man carrying a jug of water. Follow him to the house he is going to; wherever he enters, tell the master of the house, 'We have a message from the Master: My time is at hand. It is in your home that I will celebrate Passover with My Disciples. Where is the room in which I may eat the Paschal Lamb with them?"
"Then he will show you a large dining hall adorned with tapestry; prepare everything we will need there."
So they went into the city as Jesus told them to; they found everything just as He had said; and they prepared the Passover.II. — THE LEGAL PASSOVER BEGINS
Toward evening, Jesus entered Jerusalem with the Twelve, and when the hour had come, He took His place at table with them. Then He said to them:
"I have longed with an ardent desire to eat this Passover with you, before I suffer; for I tell you, henceforth I will not eat it again, until it has been fulfilled in the Kingdom of God."Mandatum
III. — THE WASHING OF THE FEET
Before the solemn day of Passover, Jesus, knowing that His hour had come to pass from this world to His Father, and having loved His own who were in the world, loved them till the end.
The Passover supper had begun; and already the devil had put into the heart of Judas Iscariot the resolution to betray Him.
Jesus, who knew that the Father had put everything into His hands, and that, having come forth from God, He was returning to God, rose from the table, laid aside His garments, took a towel and tied it around His waist. Then He poured some water into· a basin and began washing His Disciples' feet, wiping them with the towel tied around His waist.
He came then to Simon Peter.
"What, Lord!" exclaimed Peter, "You ... wash my feet?"
"You cannot understand what I am doing now," Jesus replied, "but you will understand later."
"Oh, no!" protested Peter, "You will never wash my feet!"
"If I do not wash you, you will have no part with Me."
Simon then replied:
"Lord, not only my feet, but my hands and my head, too!"
"A man who has already been bathed needs only to wash his feet to be entirely pure," answered Jesus. "And you are pure; but no, not all of you!"
He knew who was going to betray Hirn; that is why He added: "Not all of you are pure."
After He had washed their feet, He put His garments back on and returned to the table.
"Do you know what I have just done for you?"
He asked them. "You call Me Master and Lord, and you say well: I really am. But if I, the Master and Lord, have washed your feet, so should you wash one another's feet. For I have given you the example, that you may also do what I have done for you.
''Amen, amen, I say to you: The servant is no greater than his master, nor the Apostle greater than the One who sent him. If you understand these things, put them into practice, and blessed shall you be.
''I am not referring to all of you. I know the ones I have chosen. But these words of Scripture must be fulfilled: 'He who eats bread with Me will lift up his heel against Me.'
"I warn you about these things at this time, before they happen, so that after they have been fulfilled you might believe in what I am.
"Amen, amen, I say to you: Whoever receives the one I have sent, receives Me; and whoever receives Me, receives the One who sent Me."IV. — JESUS OPENLY REVEALS THE TRAITOR TO HIMSELF
After saying these words, Jesus grew troubled in spirit. And while His Disciples were still at table eating, He declared to them:
"Amen, amen, I say to you: One of you is going to betray Me... and he is eating with Me!"
The Disciples looked at one another, overcome with sorrow and dread, uncertain as to whom He was talking about. And each one asked Jesus:
"Is it I, Lord?"
Jesus replied:
"It is one of the Twelve! Yes, one of you who puts his hand into the dish with Me is going to betray Me. The Son of Man is going, according to what was prophesied regarding Him. But woe to the man who betrays Him! It would be better for that man had he never been born!"
Then Judas, the traitor, spoke up and asked:
"Is it I, Rabbi?"
"You have said it."
Then Jesus took the cup, gave thanks and said:
"Take this, and share it with one another. For I tell you: I will not drink of this fruit of the vine again until the Kingdom of God has come. But, with you, I shall drink it, ever new, in My Father's Kingdom."
V. — INSTITUTION OF THE EUCHARIST AND OF THE CATHOLIC PRIESTHOOD
The supper was still continuing when Jesus took some bread and, after having given thanks, He blessed it, broke it and gave it to His Disciples, saying:
"Take and eat: THIS IS MY BODY, which is given up for you."
In like manner, taking the cup, when the supper was done, He gave thanks, blessed it and gave it to His Disciples, saying:
"All of you drink of this, for THIS IS THE CHALICE OF MY BLOOD, the blood of the new covenant which shall be shed for you and for many, in remission for sins. DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME, every time you drink of it."VI. — JESUS REVEALS THE TRAITOR TO SAINT JOHN AND DISMISSES HIM
Then Jesus spoke these words:
"Even so, the hand of the man who is going to betray Me. is with Me, at this table."
Full of trouble and sorrow, the Apostles wondered which one of them would be capable of doing such a thing.
Now at that moment, one of the Disciples, the one Jesus loved, was resting on the bosom of Jesus.
Simon Peter signaled to him, asking:
"Who is He talking about?"
And that Disciple, leaning upon the bosom of Jesus, asked Him:
"Who is it, Lord?"
"The one I will hand some dipped bread to," replied Jesus, in a hushed voice.
He dipped some bread and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. As soon as Judas had eaten the bread, Satan entered him.
"What you have to do, do it quickly!" Jesus told him.
None of those at the table understood the meaning of these words. Since Judas held the purse, some of them thought that Jesus had told him, "Go and buy what we will need for the feast," or that He had told him to give alms to the poor.
As soon as he had eaten the bread, Judas went out. It was night.
Scarcely had he left when Jesus spoke again:
"Now the Son of Man is glorified, and God is glorified in Him. And because God is glorified in Him, God will then glorify Him in Himself. And He will glorify Him soon."VII. — LAST CONTENTION OF THE APOSTLES FOR PRECEDENCE
Then a dispute arose among the Apostles as to which one of them seemed to be the greatest But Jesus said to them:
"Kings of nations lord it over their subjects, and those with power over others have themselves called benefactors. Let it not be so with you. But let the one among you who is greatest be as the least, and let the one who holds the first place be as the one who serves.
"Indeed, who is greater, the one sitting at the table, or the one who serves? Is it not the one sitting at the table?... And yet, I am in your midst as the one who serves.
"For you, who have remained constantly with Me in My trials, I am preparing a kingdom, as My Father has prepared it for Me. In My kingdom, you shall eat and drink at My table, and you shall sit upon thrones to judge the twelve tribes of Israel."DISCOURSE AFTER THE SUPPER
"My little children, I shall be with you only a little longer. You will look for Me, but I tell you now what I told the Jews: 'Where I am going, you cannot come.'
"I give you a new commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. Yes, have this same love for one another. And that is the sign by which everyone will know that you are My Disciples: the love you have for one another."
"Lord," asked Simon Peter, "where are You going?"
Jesus answered, "Where I am going, you cannot follow Me now; you will follow Me later."
"But why can't I follow You now?" asked Peter.
"I would lay down my life for You! With You, Lord, I am ready to go to prison and to death!"
"You would lay down your life for Me? O Peter!
Amen, amen, I say to you: Before the cock has crowed twice, you will have denied Me three times!
"Simon, Simon! I tell you, Satan has asked to sift you as wheat! But I have prayed for you, so that your faith may not fail. And once you have converted, uphold and strengthen your brothers.''
And Jesus said to all of them:
"When I sent you out without a wallet or sack or sandals, were you lacking anything?"
"Nothing," they said.
"But now," Jesus went on, "let whoever has a wallet take it, and likewise his sack; and let whoever has no sword sell his tunic and buy one.
"For I say to you, these words of Scripture must be accomplished in Me: 'He was reckoned among the wicked.' And the prophecies regarding Me will soon be fulfilled.''
They answered;
"Lord, here are two swords!"
"That is enough," He said.THE FINAL RECOMMENDATIONS
I. — UNION WITH JESUS BY FAITH AND PRAYER
"In My Father's House there are many mansions. If it were not so, I would have told you so. I am going to prepare a place for you. Yes, I am going; but after I have prepared a place for you; I shall return and take you with Me, so that where I am, you may also be. Besides, you know where I am going, and you know the way there.''
"Lord," answered Thomas, "we do not know where You are going; how, then, could we know the way there?"
Jesus said to him:
"I am the way, the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father but through Me. If you had known Me, you would surely have known My Father. But soon you will know Him; and you have already even seen Him.''
"Lord," exclaimed Philip, "show us the Father, and that is enough for us.''
"What!" said Jesus, "I have been with you such a long time, and you do not know Me yet?... Philip, whoever sees Me, sees My Father also. How can you say to Me, 'Show us the Father'?
"Do you not believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? I do not speak the words I say to you on My own authority. And it is the Father, abiding in Me, who performs My works. Once again, do you not believe that I am in the Father, and that the Father is in Me? At least believe it because of the works themselves.
"Amen, amen, I say to you: Whoever believes. In Me will also perform the works I do; he will do even greater ones, because I am going to the Father; and whatever you ask of the Father in My Name, I will accomplish it, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. And if you ask Me anything in My Name, I will do it."II. — UNION WITH JESUS THROUGH LOVE
"No, I will not leave you orphans, I will come to you.
"In a little while, the world will see Me no more; but you will see Me, because I live, and you will also live. On that day you will know that I am in My Father, and that you are in Me, and that I am in you.
"Whoever receives My commandments and observes them, he is the one who loves Me. And My Father will love the one who loves Me; and I too will love him and I will manifest Myself to him."
Jude, not the Iscariot, asked Him:
"Why is it, Lord, that You are going to manifest Yourself to us, and not to the world?"
"If someone loves Me," answered Jesus, "he will keep My teachings; and My Father will love him, and We will come to him and make Our abode in him. Whoever does not love Me, does not keep My word. Now, the teachings you have heard do not come from Me, but from the One who sent Me, the Father."III. — UNION WITH JESUS IN THE HOLY SPIRIT
IV. — UNION WITH JESUS IN PEACE AND JOY
"You have just heard· Me say, 'I am going away, and I shall return to you.' If you loved Me, you would surely rejoice because I am going to the Father, for the Father is greater than I.
"I tell you this now, before it happens, so that you might believe when it has happened. I will not speak much longer with you now, because the prince of this world is coming, although nothing in Me belongs to him.
"But so the world may know that I love the Father and that I fulfill the Father's commandment, rise now, and let us go out."V. — INTIMATE UNION WITH JESUS NECESSARY FOR ALL HOLY WORKS, ESPECIALLY WORKS OF CHRISTIAN CHARITY
"As for you, you have already been pruned and purified by the words I have spoken to you.
"Therefore, abide in Me, and I in you! As the branch cannot bear fruit of itself unless it remains on the vine, neither can you unless you abide in Me.
"I am the Vine, you are the branches.
"Whoever abides in Me, and I in Him, will bear much fruit; for without Me, you can do nothing.
"Whoever does not abide in Me will be thrown out, like the branch, and he will wither, and they will pick him up and cast him into the fire, and he will burn.
"If you abide in Me, and if My words abide in you, you will ask whatever you want, and you will obtain it.
"It is My Father's glory that you bear much fruit and that you become My Disciples.
"As the Father has loved Me, so have I loved you. Abide in My love!
"You will abide in My love if you keep My commandments, as I abide in My Father's love by keeping His commandments.
"I have told you these things so that My joy may be in you, and that your joy may be complete.
"Now this is My commandment: Love one another as I have loved you. No one can have greater love than to lay down his life for his friends. And it is you who are My friends, if you do what I command you. I will no longer call you My servants, because the servant does not know what his master is doing. I have called you friends, because I have made known to you all that I have learned from My Father.
"It is not you who have chosen Me; it is I who have chosen you and appointed you so that you might go, that you might bear fruit, and that your fruit may remain. That is why, whatever you ask the Father in My Name, He will give you.
"Above all, what I command you is to love one another."THE TESTAMENT OF CONSOLATION
I. — CONSOLATION AND JOY IN PERSECUTION
"If I had not come and if I had not spoken to them, they would not be guilty; hut now they have no excuse for their sin. Whoever hates Me, hates My Father also. If I had not performed works among them that no one else has ever done, they would have no sins: but now they have seen them, and they hate both My Father and Me. Thus is the word written in their Law fulfilled: 'They have hated Me without cause.'
"When the Consoler comes - the One I will send you from the Father, the Spirit of truth who proceeds from the Father - He will bear witness concerning Me. And you also will bear witness concerning Me, because you are with Me from the beginning.
"I have told you these things so that you might not be scandalized.
"They will expel you from the synagogues, and the hour is coming when whoever puts you to death will think he is performing a work that is pleasing to God. They will treat you this way because they know neither the Father nor Me.
"I have told you these things so that when the hour comes, you may remember that I said them to you. I did not say them to you from the start because I was with you. And now I am going to the One who sent Me, and not one of you asks Me, 'Where are You going?' Instead, because I have told you these things, your hearts are filled with sorrow."II. — CONSOLATION IN THE IMPENDING DESCENT OF THE HOLY SPIRIT
"When He comes, He will convict the world of the fact that there has been sin, that there was justice, and that there will be judgment.
"That there has been sin, because they have not believed in Me.
"That there was justice, because I am going to My Father, and you will see Me no longer.
''And that there will be judgment, because the prince of this world is already judged.
"I still have many things to tell you, but you are not able to bear them now. When the Spirit of Truth has come, He will teach you the whole truth, for He will say nothing on His own authority; He will only reveal what He hears, and He will show you the things that are to come. He is the One who will glorify Me, because what He tells you, He will receive from what is Mine.
"Everything the Father has is Mine; that is why I told you that what He tells you, He will receive from what is Mine."III. — CONSOLATION IN THE TRIUMPHS THAT WILL CROWN THE STRUGGLE
The Disciples asked one another:
"What does He mean: 'In a little while you will see Me no longer; and yet a little while you will see Me again, because I am going to My Father'? What is this 'little while' He is talking about? We do not know what He means..."
Seeing that they wanted to question Him, Jesus went on:
"You are asking each other what these words mean: 'In a little while you will see Me no longer; and yet a little while you will see Me again.'
'Amen, amen, I say to you: You will weep and moan, and the world will rejoice; and you will be sad, but your sadness will turn into joy.
''A woman giving birth is also sad, because Her hour has come: but as soon as she has given birth to a son, she forgets her pain, in the joy she feels because a man is born into the world.
"And so now you are sad too. But I will see you again: then your hearts will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.
"On that day, you will no longer have to ask Me any questions."IV. — CONSOLATION IN THE EFFICACY OF PRAYER
CONCLUSION OF THE DISCOURSE
"I have told you all these things in parables. The time is coming when I will no longer teach you in parables, but when I will speak plainly to you about My Father. On that day you will ask in My Name, and I do not tell you that I will pray to the Father for you: for the Father also loves you, because you have loved Me and you have believed that I have come forth from God.
"I came forth from the Father and I came into the world: now I am leaving the world and returning to the Father."
"Now You are speaking plainly and not in parables!" exclaimed the Disciples. "Now we understand that You know all things, and that there is no need for anyone to question You. Likewise, we believe that You have come forth from God."
"You believe now?" Jesus said. "The hour is coming, and it has already come, when you will be scattered in every direction, and you will leave Me all alone!... But no, I am not alone, for the Father is with Me.
"I have told you these things so that you may find your peace in Me. In the world you will be pressed by tribulation. But trust in Me!... I have overcome the world."
SUPREME PRAYER OF JESUS TO HIS FATHER
I. — JESUS PRAYS FOR HIMSELF
"Father, the hour has come!
"That Thy Son may glorify Thee, glorify Thy Son, according to the power Thou hast given Him over all flesh, so that He may give eternal life to all those Thou hast given Him.
"Eternal life is to know Thee, the one true God, and the One Thou hast sent, Jesus Christ.
"On earth, I have glorified Thee; I have accomplished. the work Thou hast given Me to do.
"And now, O Father, glorify Me in Thyself with the glory that I had in Thee before the existence of the world."II. — JESUS PRAYS FOR HIS DISCIPLES
"It is for them that I pray! I pray not for the world, but for those Thou hast given Me, because they are Thine. For all that I have is Thine, and all that is Thine is Mine: I am glorified in them.
"Soon I will have left the world; but they remain in the world, and I am returning to Thee.
"Holy Father! by Thy Name, keep those Thou hast given Me, that they may be one, just as We are.
"While I was with them, I kept them by Thy Name. I have kept those Thou hast given Me, and not one of them has perished, except for the son of perdition, in whom Scripture has been fulfilled. But now I am returning to Thee.
"I say all these things while I am still in this world, so that they may have in themselves the fullness of My joy.
"I have imparted to them Thy word, and the world has hated them, because they are not of the world.
"I ask Thee not to take them out of the world, but to preserve therm from evil.
"They are not of the world, as I am not of the world.
"Sanctify them in the truth! Thy word is the truth.
"As Thou hast sent Me into the world, so have I sent them into the world.
"And I sanctify Myself for them, that they also may be sanctified in the truth." III. — JESUS PRAYS FOR ALL THE FAITHFUL
"May they all be one! As Thou, Father, art in Me, as I am in Thee: may they likewise be one in Us, so the world may believe that Thou hast sent Me.
"I have associated them with the glory I received from Thee so that they may be one, as We Ourselves are One.
"I in them, and Thou in Me! May they be made perfect in one, so that the world may recognize that it is Thou who hast sent Me, and that Thou hast loved them with the same love with which Thou hast loved Me.
"Father, wherever I am, I want those Thou hast given Me to be with Me! I want them to see the glory Thou hast given Me! For Thou hast loved Me before the constitution of the world.
"Just Father, the world has not known Thee! But I have known Thee, and they have understood that Thou hast sent Me. I have manifested Thy Name to them; I will make it known to them again, so that the love with which Thou hast loved Me may be in them, and so that I Myself may be in them!"