Introduction – Easter Triduum
Holy Thursday is the first day of the solemn Easter Triduum, the three-day period of solemn observance leading up to Easter Sunday.
The Triduum (from a Latin root meaning “three days”) is its own liturgical season, distinct from both Lent and Easter. While the forty days of Lent evoke the pilgrim nature of the Church and the fifty days of Easter offer a foretaste of the promised glory awaiting us, the Triduum is specifically dedicated to celebrating the heart of the paschal mystery itself. It does this with an intense commemoration of Christ’s last hours, his crucifixion, his burial, and his resurrection.
The Triduum begins with the evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Holy Thursday, continues with the liturgical commemoration of Jesus’ crucifixion on Good Friday, and culminates in the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, celebrating Jesus’ resurrection.
Introduction – Mass of the Lord’s Supper
The Triduum opens by memorializing Jesus’ Last Supper with his disciples the night before he died. At this gathering, Jesus instituted both the Eucharist and the priesthood; he also gave the new commandment of love.
The readings for this Mass offer profound insights into the mystery of the Eucharist, the call to service and love, and the imminent passion and death of Jesus Christ.
In celebrating this Mass, we are invited to enter deeply into the paschal mystery, reflecting on the profound significance of the Last Supper and Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on the cross for the salvation of humanity.
1st 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.”
Our first reading recounts the institution of the Passover in the Old Testament, when the Israelites were instructed by God to sacrifice a lamb and mark their doorposts with its blood to be spared from the coming plague.
This is the historical context within which the Last Supper attains its full significance. It also foreshadows the sacrificial nature of Jesus’ death, who becomes the true Paschal Lamb whose blood saves humanity from sin and death.
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.
“This month” is the month of Nisan, which corresponds to March-April in the Gregorian calendar. This event is so important that it will be their cornerstone for measuring time — it is the most critical moment in the history of Israel.
Note how the message and the details of the rite were all decreed by God himself. God takes the initiative.
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 celebration takes the form of a communal family meal, at the center of which is a lamb.
The lamb must be a year-old male and without blemish. You may take it from either the sheep or the goats.
Because of the significance of this ceremony, the selection, slaughter, and consumption of this lamb are carefully determined by ritual ordinance.
A one-year-old lamb is in its prime, and therefore seen as a symbol of purity, vitality, and wholeness. It is a sacrificial offering to Yahweh and, as such, it is to be the finest that is available: not old, deformed, diseased, or infirm.
The Passover is sacrificial from the very start.
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.
The communal aspect of the observance is again emphasized: all members of the community gather to fulfill the requirements of the ritual.
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.
As with all covenants, this covenant with God has a sign – the blood marking the doorposts and lintel (the horizontal beam which forms the top of the doorway). Exodus 12:22 tells us that the blood is to be applied with a branch of hyssop.
This is an essential part of the rite — it serves as a sign of protection and deliverance from the plague that will strike Egypt.
That same night they shall eat its roasted flesh
The meal is also a necessary component of the rite. Eating the sacrifice is a mark of family unity and forges the covenant. This is later reflected in the communion (peace) offerings of Leviticus 3; 7:11-21.
with unleavened bread and bitter herbs.
The instructions for how the Passover lamb is to be prepared and consumed are very specific. All of these prescriptions demonstrate the urgency of this meal that were imposed by circumstances of that fateful night.
First, no other food is eaten with the lamb, except for the unleavened bread and bitter herbs. The unleavened bread is to show that the meal has been prepared in haste; there is not time to allow the dough to rise. The bitter herbs are symbolic of extreme poverty; including this in the meal reminds the people of the bitterness they endured as slaves.
“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.
Even their posture and manner of dress are prescribed: they must be clad like those in flight. The people are on a journey.
“Loins girt” means that their tunics are pulled tight, with the ends tucked into the belt, to prevent any loose clothing from tripping them or otherwise hindering their movement.
For on this same night I will go through Egypt, striking down every first-born of the land, both man and beast,
By declaring that he will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn, both human and animal, God asserts his absolute sovereignty and authority.
and executing judgment on all the gods of Egypt – I, the LORD!
In many ancient cultures, including ancient Egypt, gods were often believed to have authority limited to specific territories or spheres of influence (such as fertility, war, agriculture, or the sun). The fact that the God of Israel executes judgment on all the gods of Egypt shows that his authority transcends geographic boundaries and encompasses all creation.
This carries profound theological significance; among other things, it dismantles the prevailing polytheistic belief systems of the time.
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 is the origin of the name Passover: when God sees the blood on the doorposts and lintels, he will “pass over” those houses, sparing them.
“This day shall be a memorial feast for you, which all your generations shall celebrate with pilgrimage to the LORD, as a perpetual institution.”
The Passover is not merely a one-time occurrence. This formal directive establishes it as a perpetual institution to be passed down from one generation to the next.
As a memorial feast (anámnēsis), the Passover has very specific requirements. It is a “ritual of remembering” that is enjoined upon the community and observed regularly (annually, in this case).
not merely as the act of recalling past events but as a profound participation in the original event itself.
Anámnēsis is not merely the recalling of past events, but profound participation in the original event itself through a memorial sacrifice. Among the Hebrews, Passover was the memorial sacrifice par excellence. The annual celebration allows Jews to make themselves present at the original Passover event in Egypt, uniting them with the participants of that historic occasion and fostering a sense of collective identity, solidarity, and gratitude for God’s faithfulness.
2nd 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.
Paul’s letter to the Corinthians was written about eight years before the first gospel account, making this reading the oldest written account of the institution of the Eucharist.
There is a profound connection between this passage and our first reading because it was within the context of a Passover celebration that Jesus chose to institute the Eucharist:
“By celebrating the Last Supper with his apostles in the course of the Passover meal, Jesus gave the Jewish Passover its definitive meaning. Jesus’ passing over to his father by his death and Resurrection, the new Passover, is anticipated in the Supper and celebrated in the Eucharist, which fulfills the Jewish Passover and anticipates the final Passover of the Church in the glory of the kingdom” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1340).
The ancient Israelites were spared from the plague by participating in the Passover rite. In the New Covenant, we are spared from the ultimate plague: spiritual death and eternal separation from God.
In placing these readings together, the Chuch invites us to consider the profound continuity between the foreshadowings in the Old Testament and their fulfillment in Jesus Christ, who became the true Passover Lamb and inaugurated the New Covenant through his sacrificial death and resurrection.
Brothers and sisters: I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you,
The language used here by Saint Paul is technical and formulaic: what he received he now hands down.
Remember, Paul was a convert; he was not among The Twelve at the Last Supper. He received this tradition in the usual way a religious heritage is transmitted: by word of mouth.
This would have been well understood by Paul’s audience since this kind of teaching was customary in both the Greek schools and the Jewish synagogue.
that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was handed over,
“The night he was handed over” was Holy Thursday, the night before Jesus’ crucifixion. Although the institution of the Eucharist is what is being highlighted here, this was also the night Jesus washed his disciples’ feet, experienced his agony in the garden, and was arrested.
took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said,
The Greek word for “give thanks” is eucharistéō.
Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is depicted as offering blessings before meals and other occasions (e.g., Matthew 14:19, 15:36, Luke 24:30). These blessings likely followed the patterns of Jewish blessing traditions.
While the specific blessing Jesus gives isn’t detailed, it’s probable that it was the Hamotzi, a customary Jewish blessing recited any time that bread is consumed, thanking God for enabling bread to come forth from the earth. It was a fundamental aspect of Jewish table etiquette in the time of Christ.
The full text of the Hamotzi: Blessed are You, Lord our God, King of the universe, who brings forth bread from the earth.
“This is my body that is for you.
Recall that a year before the Last Supper, Jesus had said “I am the living bread that comes down from heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever. This bread is my flesh, which I give for the life of the world” (John 6:51).
Do this in remembrance of me.”
The Church sees these poignant words of Jesus as instruction for the continual celebration of the liturgical reenactment. The fact that they are the words of Jesus gives divine legitimation to the anámnēsis (ritual of remembering) that is enjoined upon the community of believers.
Recall from our first reading that anámnēsis is simply a remembrance, but a memorial sacrifice which makes the person present at the original event.
Paul is conveying that the celebration of the Eucharist is a memorial sacrifice by which we bless and thank God for his life, death, and resurrection. It is the covenant renewal ceremony for Christians, which is to last forever.
In the same way also the cup, after supper,
When the supper was over, Jesus took the cup and pronounced words over it as well. This would have been the third cup of the Passover meal, the cup of thanksgiving.
saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood.
The cup is identified with the new covenant and with the blood of the Lord, which, like sacrificial blood, ratifies the covenant. This takes the new covenant theme from Jeremiah 31:31 and the blood ratification from the Jewish sacrificial system, incorporates them, reinterprets them, and fulfills the prophecy of Jeremiah 31:31.
The institution of the Eucharist is the only time in the New Testament when Jesus uses the term “covenant.” We’ve heard the words of the Eucharist so often that we can easily take them for granted; imagine the amazement, if not the incredulity, of the Apostles when they heard them for the first time.
Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”
This verse ends as did the previous verse, with a charge to repeat the memorial.
We must keep in mind that Jesus is God, and whatever God speaks, happens (Isaiah 55:10-11). During creation, when he said “Let there be light,” darkness disappeared. Therefore, when Jesus said “This is my body… This is my blood,” the bread and wine became his Precious Body and Precious Blood. Not symbols, but literally his body and blood.
“For not as common bread nor common drink do we receive these; but since Jesus Christ our savior was made incarnate by the word of God and had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so too, as we have been taught, the food which has been made into the Eucharist by the Eucharistic prayer set down by Him, and by the change of which our blood and flesh is nourished, is both the flesh and the blood of that incarnated Jesus.” [Saint Justin the Martyr (150 AD), First Apology 66]
“Do you wish to know how it is consecrated with heavenly words? Accept that the words are. The priest speaks. He says: Perform for us this oblation written, reasonable, acceptable, which is a figure of the body and blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. … Before it is consecrated, it is bread; but when the words of Christ come in, it is the Body of Christ. Finally, hear Him saying: ‘All of you take and eat of this; for this is My Body (Luke 22:19).’ And before the words of Christ the chalice is full of wine and water; but where the words of Christ have been operative it is made the Blood of Christ which redeems the people.” [Saint Ambrose of Milan (390 AD), The Sacraments 4,5, 21-23]
For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes.
Jesus’ sharing of the blessed bread and cup was a prophetic action that anticipated his death. The ritual reenactment of this supper would be a participation in his death and a sharing in the benefits that would accrue from it. In it, the risen exalted Lord continually gives what the dying Jesus gave, once and for all. In the memorial celebration, the past, present, and future are brought together: the past is the commemoration of his death; the present is the ritual of remembrance itself; the future is his parousía, his coming again.
This is a renewal of the covenant, which is not a one-time thing. The reason for repeating Jesus’ actions and words is that they reenact and signify his salvific death. Believers live an essentially eschatological existence, anticipating the future as they reenact the past. Paul’s word for “proclaim” (katangellete) means “to celebrate in a living way, to bring to the present and make effective here and now.” In other words, when we proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes, we’re bringing Christ’s death to the present and making it effective in ourselves.
The Eucharist is not only to be a memory, but a living contact with Jesus.
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.”
The gospel reading for today is the foot-washing episode from John’s gospel. The passage contains two parts: Jesus washing of the disciples’ feet (13:2-11) and Jesus’ instruction for the disciples to do the same to one another (13:12-15). Saint John finds symbolism in Jesus’ words and deeds and strives to relate them as practically as possible to the life of the Christian in the world.
This story is unique to John, although there are hints of similar actions in Luke 22:27.
Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father.
The scene is set with the identification of the time of year (Passover), a note about Jesus’ relationship with God, and Jesus’ foreknowledge of his own death.
John goes out of his way to point out that the events to follow — the Last Supper, the passion, the crucifixion — take place at Passover. Unlike the other three gospel writers, John twice specifies that Jesus’ crucifixion took place in the afternoon of the Preparation Day when thousands of Passover lambs were being immolated at the temple in Jerusalem. In so doing, John signifies that Jesus is the true Passover sacrifice: Just as the blood of the lambs of the original Passover marked the wood of the doorposts, Jesus, the Lamb of God, through his blood shed on the wood of the cross takes away the sins of the world.
He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.
Passing from this world means dying, and Jesus accomplishes this dying by “loving his own to the end.” To illustrate this, John proceeds to recount Jesus’ action of washing his disciples’ feet.
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,
Note the repeated emphasis on Jesus’ awareness of his relationship to the Father and awareness of his impending passion. Saint John is showing that what Jesus is about to do has deep meaning.
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.
At the time of Jesus, washing a guest’s feet was a mark of hospitality. However, it was usually performed by the household servants or slaves, and it was done upon arrival at the house, not after everyone had reclined at table. Here it was done by the Son of God himself, the Lord and teacher of those at table.
This calls to mind Philippians 2:6-7: “Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave…”
What looks like self-abasement by Jesus is really an expression of his love. By washing their feet, Jesus showed the extent of the love he had for his disciples. Because of his love, he was willing to empty himself of all divine prerogatives and to assume the role of the menial household slave. Because of his love, he was willing to empty himself of his very life in order to win salvation for all. The love he had for his disciples is the model of the love they were to have for one another. In other words, they were to be willing to empty themselves for the sake of one another.
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.”
This symbolic action is misunderstood by Saint Peter. Although he understands particularly well how thoroughly our Lord has humbled himself, he does not perceive its real meaning.
Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”
Peter protests in the same manner as he did on other occasions when he did not want to hear of Christ suffering (Matthew 8:32).
Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”
Jesus would not let Peter refuse the gesture without dire consequences. To reject the symbolic action was to reject its profound theological significance. If Peter would not participate in Jesus’ self-emptying, he could not enjoy the blessings it would guarantee.
It is likely that Saint John intends to remind the Christians in his audience about the function of baptism.
Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.”
Saint Peter continues to speak at the superficial level, still not understanding the deeper significance. He seems to have thought that the more he washed the more he would be cleansed; he does not grasp that this foot-washing is a spiritual cleansing.
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,
In trying to explain the meaning of his action, Jesus plays on the ideas of clean and unclean.
“You are already clean because of the word that I have spoken to you. That is: You are clean only to that extent. You have already received the Light; you have already got rid of the Jewish error. The Prophet asserted: ‘Wash yourselves; make yourselves clean; remove the evil from your souls’ (Isaiah 1:16). … Therefore, since they had rooted out all evil from their souls and were following Him with complete sincerity, He declared, in accordance with the Prophet’s words: ‘He who has bathed is clean all over’” (Saint John Chrysostom, Homily on Saint John, 70, 3).
By his choice of Greek words, Saint John again suggests baptism to the Christian reader. Louō (“bathe”) was a word used for religious washings, and in 1 Corinthians 6:11; Ephesians 5:26; Titus 3:5; and Hebrews 10:22 various forms of this word are used to signify baptism.
but not all.” For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”
Jesus knew that Judas had turned traitor and so was not clean, despite the fact that he too has been washed. Not even the sacraments can purify a person when the innermost dispositions are not pure.
So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again,
The washing of his disciples’ feet serves as an enacted parable of Jesus loving his own to the end. The words used to describe Jesus taking off his outer garment (verse 4) and then here putting it on again are the same words spoken by the Good Shepherd who lays down his life for the sheep, only to take it up again (John 10:17).
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.
The meaning of the action is now explained to the apostles. Never did Jesus deny the dignity that was his as God, but he did not use it to safeguard his own comfort or well-being. Instead, it became the measure of his own self-giving and the example of the extent of self-giving his disciples should be willing to offer to others.
I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”
After giving himself completely to those present, Jesus charges them to give themselves completely as well.
As a result, foot-washing becomes for Christians an enacted parable of the new commandment in John 15:12: “Love one another (i.e., be self-giving toward one another, symbolized by washing each other’s feet) as I have loved you (i.e., to the end, as I have signified by washing your feet).”
Unlike the synoptic gospels, John’s gospel does not recount the actual eating of the Last Supper and the institution of the Eucharist. Since John’s gospel was written so much later than the others, that event would have been well known to John’s audience. By replacing the narrative of Jesus’ blessing over the bread the cup with the episode of Jesus washing his disciples’ feet, John suggests that the meaning of the Eucharist is lived in service to others.
Self-giving, therefore, is the way Jesus and those who follow him journey from this world to the Father.
Connections and Themes
God’s Passover. Here at the beginning of our meditation of the Passover, we see that it is God who passes over, saving us, nourishing us, serving us. The initiative is God’s; the magnanimity is God’s; the self-emptying is God’s. We have nothing to contribute to these amazing happenings. We have only to open ourselves to receive the wondrous gifts that have been won for us.
God passes over us as a protective angel, preserving us from harm, leading us out of bondage into freedom. All we have to do is accept the salvation offered us through this spectacular act of love. God also passes through mere human companionship and becomes the covenantal meal that sustains us. Along with this heavenly bread comes the guarantee of eternal life. It is ours only if we accept it. Finally, Jesus passes beyond being Lord and master and kneels before us as our humble servant. If we are to belong to him we must allow him to wash our feet. In each instance, the saving action is God’s. For no other reason but love, God offers us salvation, nourishment, and service.
Our response. “How shall I make a return to the Lord?” On this day of Eucharist, our only response is thanksgiving. When we give thanks we are merely opening ourselves to the graciousness of God. We are giving God the opportunity to overwhelm us with blessings. We participate in God’s many passovers by accepting God’s magnanimity. Our sacrifice of thanksgiving is really our openness to receive the sacrifice of God — the sacrifice of the lamb, whose blood on the doorpost liberated our future; the sacrifice of Christ’s Body and Blood, which became our food and drink; the sacrifice of Jesus’ self-emptying service, which stands as a model for our own service of others.
The wonder of it all. Who could have imagined that any of this would happen? A motley group of runaway laborers escapes from the clutches of their super-powerful overlords; bread and wine are changed into the Body and Blood of a man who is being hunted down; the Son who was sent by God into the world washes the feet of his disciples. This is all incredible; it is no wonder Peter initially resisted. Is it so difficult for the self-possessed, self-directed human beings to relinquish control of their lives and to stand ready to receive the gift of God? We do not question whether God could do such marvels, but we stand in awe that God would. God’s love for us is beyond comprehension.
Finally, on the first night of this holy Triduum, we are left with a directive: “As I have done, so you must do.” The graciousness of God towards us prompts us to pass over from being served to serving others. Our thanksgiving is expressed in our own self-emptying service of others. Having received the gifts of God, we give them away; they flow from God through us to others.
Sunday Readings 