John 13:34

“I give you a new commandment: love one another. As I have loved you, so you also should love one another” (Jn 13:34).

Maundy is derived from the Latin mandatum, which means “command” or “order”. It is inspired by the words of Jesus above – the new commandment to love one another as Christ has loved us.

Maundy Thursday celebrates two actions of Jesus and His new command to love one another. The first action of Jesus, as recorded in Matthew, Mark, Luke, and St. Paul’s First Letter to the Corinthians, was the institution of the Eucharist. Jesus died and was buried, then He rose again and ascended into heaven. But He did not intend to leave us alone. He gave us His presence in the Holy Eucharist, His Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity under the appearance of bread and wine. The bread and wine consecrated at every Mass in the world is no longer bread and wine. It is the Real Presence of Christ. In each tabernacle in every Catholic church, the Real Presence of Christ is reserved for us. There we can come to sit before Him, to pray to Him, to adore Him, and to be comforted by Him. Jesus is present for us. We are not alone. Maundy Thursday celebrates this great mystery.

The second action of Jesus was to institute the priesthood. Priests are there to consecrate. At every Mass, the priest consecrates the bread and wine, changing it by God’s grace and power into the Body and Blood of Jesus. The priest is alter Christus, “another Christ”. He represents Christ present at every Mass. It is Christ who consecrates the gifts into His Body and Blood through the actions of the priest. At every Mass, the one sacrifice of Christ is made present on the altar so that those gathered today may participate in that sacrifice. Jesus is the new Passover lamb, the one sacrificed for all for the forgiveness of sins. At the first Passover, the lamb was sacrifice and its blood poured out on the lintels and doorposts of the homes of the Hebrews. Then they roasted the lamb and ate it in a communion meal. At the new Passover, Jesus is sacrificed and His blood poured out for the forgiveness of sins. He, the new Passover lamb, is then eaten in a communion meal.

Finally, Jesus gave the new commandment, to love one another. It is the Christian call to service to others, to see Jesus in others, especially the poor and downcast. We are to love as Jesus loved. How did Jesus love? He loved all by living a life of perfect obedience to the will of the Father. In imitation of Jesus, we are called to do the same. He loved by living such a life even onto death, death on a cross. In imitation of Jesus, we are to do the same – to give our lives for the sake of others. This will mean dying to ourselves and living for Jesus, living for others. This is the new commandment Jesus gave to us on the first Holy Thursday. We are to live this new commandment every Holy Thursday, and every day of our lives. If we are Christians, we live lives for Jesus. That means living lives for others, out of love.

Be Christ for all. Bring Christ to all. See Christ in all.