HOLY THURSDAY: EVENING MASS OF THE LORD’S SUPPER

It is the Passover of the Lord. 

Today’s celebration of Holy Thursday marks the beginning of the Easter Triduum. As we begin our journey with Jesus from death to life, our first reading reminds us of the Hebrews’ passage from slavery to freedom. Their journey, like ours, begins with a meal. So let’s look at the Hebrew Passover to see if we can come to understand more deeply the new Passover of Jesus, our Messiah.

Both for the Hebrews and for us, it all starts with a lamb. At the first Passover, God told each Jewish family to sacrifice an unblemished lamb and share its roasted meat at their meal. On the cross, God provided a lamb for us—Jesus, the sinless Lamb of God, who offered himself as a sacrifice for our sins.

The Jewish Passover wasn’t just any sacrifice. It had the power to save the people from death. The blood of the lamb, which each family placed on their doorposts, protected them from the angel of death. How much more does the blood of Jesus, the saving Lamb of God, deliver us from death! He offered that blood to his disciples at the Last Supper, then poured it out the next day on the cross.

The Jewish Passover sacrifice wasn’t completed by the death of the lamb but by the eating of its flesh. So too, Jesus told his disciples, “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me” (1 Corinthians 11:24). His sacrificial death becomes our own salvation as we eat his Body and drink his Blood in faith.

The Jews had to eat their Passover meal in a hurry. But you don’t have to hurry. As he said to his disciples, Jesus says to you, “Remain here and keep watch with me” (Matthew 26:38). Many parishes offer Adoration this evening after Mass. Take this time as an opportunity to linger with Jesus. Adore, thank, and praise him for being the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world—including yours.

“Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world. Have mercy on us. Grant us peace.”

Psalm 116:12-13, 15-18
1 Corinthians 11:23-26
John 13:1-15
Exodus 12:1-8,11-14