HOLY THURSDAY

Mass of the Lord’s Supper

Themes

eucharist, glory, salvation, service, humility, love

Entrance Antiphon

We should glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ,
in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection,
through whom we are saved and delivered.

Communion Antiphon

This is the Body that will be given up for you;
this is the Chalice of the new covenant in my Blood, says the Lord;
do this, whenever you receive it, in memory of me.

Readings

Click to view the readings for this liturgy.

  Years A, B, C

First Reading Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14

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.”

Responsorial Psalm cf. 1 Cor 10:16; Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18

℟. Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.

How shall I make a return to the LORD
  for all the good he has done for me?
The cup of salvation I will take up,
  and I will call upon the name of the LORD. ℟.

Precious in the eyes of the LORD
  is the death of his faithful ones.
I am your servant, the son of your handmaid;
  you have loosed my bonds. ℟.

To you will I offer sacrifice of thanksgiving,
  and I will call upon the name of the LORD.
My vows to the LORD I will pay
  in the presence of all his people. ℟.

Second Reading 1 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 Acclamation John 13:34

℟. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, king of endless glory.
I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:
love one another as I have loved you. ℟.

Gospel John 13:1-15

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.”

✠   ✠   ✠

Music Selections

  Year A

2026 \(\bullet\) 2029 \(\bullet\) 2032 \(\bullet\) 2035 \(\bullet\) 2038 \(\bullet\) 2041 \(\bullet\) 2044 \(\bullet\) 2047 \(\bullet\) 2050

Processional BB Gather the People
Psalm RA Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
Washing of Feet BB Ubi Caritas (Hurd)
Offertory BB Lord, Who at Your First Eucharist
Communion BB Take and Eat
Meditation BB O Sacrament Most Holy
Transfer of the Blessed Sacrament BB Pange, Lingua, Gloriosi / Tantum Ergo

  Year B

2024 \(\bullet\) 2027 \(\bullet\) 2030 \(\bullet\) 2033 \(\bullet\) 2036 \(\bullet\) 2039 \(\bullet\) 2042 \(\bullet\) 2045 \(\bullet\) 2048

Processional BB Table of Plenty
Psalm RA Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
Washing of Feet BB Jesu, Jesu
Offertory BB Lord, Who at Your First Eucharist
Communion BB Pan De Vida (English verses)
Meditation BB Panis Angelicus (sacris solemniis)
Transfer of the Blessed Sacrament BB Pange, Lingua, Gloriosi / Tantum Ergo

  Year C

2025 \(\bullet\) 2028 \(\bullet\) 2031 \(\bullet\) 2034 \(\bullet\) 2037 \(\bullet\) 2040 \(\bullet\) 2043 \(\bullet\) 2046 \(\bullet\) 2049

Processional BB Come to the Feast
Psalm RA Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.
Washing of Feet BB What Wondrous Love
Offertory BB Lord, Who at Your First Eucharist
Communion BB The Supper of the Lord
Meditation BB Jesus, My Lord, My God, My All
Transfer of the Blessed Sacrament BB Pange, Lingua, Gloriosi / Tantum Ergo

Choral Anthems

Choral anthems could be sung before Mass, in place of an offertory hymn, in place of a Communion hymn (if appropriate), or after Communion for meditation.
Year A Ave Verum Corpus (Mozart)
Year C Panis Angelicus (Franck)

Notes