Commemoration of Christ’s Last Supper with his apostles and the institution of the Eucharist.
Invitation
This evening we commemorate that Jesus
May I take this opportunity to draw your attention to
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation is intended to share with you the joy of the Gospel.
Everyone, without exception,
can experience that joy by opening their hearts
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day
Consideration
Tonight’s Eucharist is very special.
We realise even more than usual that every Eucharist
is linked to the Last Supper that Jesus celebrated.
His words and gestures concerning bread and wine
speak of his gift of life for his friends.
He washes the feet of his disciples
and makes himself a servant to all.
Let us show our gratitude in this Eucharist
for Jesus’ gift of love
and for his enduring presence in bread and wine.
FIRST READING Ex . 12, 1-8, 11-14
Instructions for eating the Passover lamb.
From the Book of Exodus
In those days the Lord spoke to Moses and Aaron
in Egypt, saying:
“You shall regard this month as the first month,
the first month of the year.
“Proclaim to the whole community of Israel:
“On the tenth day of this month,
every household shall select a lamb,
one lamb per household.
“If a household is too small for a lamb, then they shall,
taking into account the number of people,
share it with their nearest neighbour.
“When dividing the lamb,
account shall be taken of everyone’s appetite.
“The lamb must be without blemish,
male and a year old.
“You may take a sheep or a goat instead.
“You must keep the animals
until the fourteenth of the month.
“Then the whole assembled community of Israel must
slaughter them at twilight.
“Then you must take some of the blood and apply it
to the two doorposts and the lintel of the door
of every house where the lamb is eaten.
“That very night the meat must be eaten,
roasted over the fire.
“It must be eaten with unleavened bread
and bitter herbs.
“And this is how you are to eat the lamb:
your loins girded, your sandals on your feet
and your staff in your hand.
“You must eat it in haste
for it is the Passover to the Lord.
“This night I will pass through Egypt
and strike down every firstborn in Egypt, both man and beast.
“I will execute judgement upon all the gods of Egypt.
“But the blood on the houses shall be a sign
that you dwell there.
“When I see the blood on your houses,
I will pass over you.
“No destructive plague shall befall you when I strike Egypt.
“You shall make this day a day of remembrance,
you shall celebrate it as a feast in honour of the Lord.
“From generation to generation you shall celebrate it
as a perpetual ordinance.”
Responsorial Ps. 116(115), 12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18
Refrains
The cup of blessing brings communion with the blood of Christ.
How can I express my thanks
for all that the Lord has given me?
I will take the cup of salvation,
and call upon the name of the Lord.
For precious in the sight of the Lord
is the death of his faithful ones.
O Lord, I am your servant,
You have loosed my bonds.
I will offer you a sacrifice of thanksgiving,
and call upon the name of the Lord.
I will fulfil my vows
before all his people.
SECOND READING 1 Cor. 11, 23-26
Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup, you proclaim the Lord’s death.
From the first letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Christians of
Corinth
Brothers and sisters,
I myself received this tradition from the Lord,
which I in turn have passed on to you:
That the Lord Jesus,
on the night He was betrayed,
took bread,
and having given thanks, broke it,
and said:
“This is my body for you.
“Do this in remembrance of me.”
In the same way, after supper, He took the cup, saying:
“This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
“Do this
whenever you drink it,
in remembrance of me.”
Whenever you eat this bread and drink this cup,
you proclaim the Lord’s death
until He comes again.
Vers for the Gospel John 13, 34
Praise and glory be to You, Lord Jesus.
A new commandment I give unto you, says the Lord,
that ye love one another, as I have loved you.
Praise and glory be to You, Lord Jesus.
GOSPEL John 13, 1-15
He gave proof of his love to the very end.
From the Holy Gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
John
The Passover was at hand.
Jesus,
knowing that his hour had come
to pass from this world to the Father,
and having loved his own in the world,
showed them his love to the very end.
During supper,
when the devil had already
put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot, the son of Simon,
to betray Him,
Jesus rose from the table.
Aware that the Father had placed everything in His hands,
took a linen cloth and girded Himself with it.
Then He poured water into the basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and to dry them with the cloth with which He was girded.
Thus He came to Simon Peter,
who, however, said to Him:
“Lord, are You going to wash my feet?”
Jesus answered him:
“You do not yet understand what I am doing,
but you will understand later.”
Then Peter said to Him:
“Never in all eternity shall You wash my feet!”
Jesus replied to him:
“If you do not let Me wash you,
you cannot be my companion.”
Then Simon Peter said to Him:
“Lord, not just my feet,
but my hands and my head as well.”
But Jesus replied:
“Whoever has bathed needs not wash again,
except for their feet,
for they are completely clean.
“You too are clean,
though not all of you.”
For He knew who was going to betray Him.
That is why He said:
“Not all of you are clean.”
When He had washed their feet,
put on His outer garments
and returned to the table,
He said to them:
“Do you understand what I have done for you?
“You call me Teacher and Lord,
and rightly so, for that is what I am.
“But if I,
the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet,
then you ought to wash one another’s feet as well.
“I have set you an example,
so that you may do as I have done for you.”
Laudato Si
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCIS
On Care for Our Common Home
75. We cannot support a spirituality that forgets God the Almighty and the Creator.
In this way, we would ultimately end up worshipping other powers of the world
or putting ourselves in the place of the Lord,
so that we even presume to trample upon the reality He has created without knowing any limits.
The best way to put humanity in its place and put an end to its claim to be an absolute ruler of the earth is to hold up once more the figure of a Father as Creator and sole ruler of the world, because otherwise humanity will tend to impose its own laws and interests upon reality.
To be continued
Every day at 1 am
The Bible text in this edition is taken fromThe New Bible Translation,
©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Reflections from Liturgical Suggestions for Weekdays and Sundays
Laudato Si Official English translation
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