Daily Reflection for Thursday, April 14, 2022
Peace and Blessings, Friends and Parishioners,
We encourage you to reflect on Holy Thursday’s readings at this link:
Holy Thursday Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Holy Thursday | USCCB
If you prefer to use your own Bible, the readings are:
First Reading: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
Responsorial: Psalm 116:12-13, 15-16bc, 17-18
Second Reading: 1Corinthians 11:23-26
Gospel: John 13:1-15
Our reflection on Holy Thursday’s readings:
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. John 13: 14-15
When is the last time you really yearned for something? What was it? Was it a tangible material good? Was it financial or status motivated? Did you yearn for something health related or perhaps for something other-focused?
The rich symbolism and succinct distillation of Holy Thursday and the Triduum’s climax of the Lord’s ministry deserves an explanation more enriching and more focused than any I could attempt. Should you be interested, a beautifully thought-provoking sermon (from the 10:25 min mark to about the 25:25 min mark) by Bishop Robert Barron is included below which powerfully outlines the dynamics and initiation into the Kingdom of God that today’s celebration honors. It will inspire you and open today’s scriptures for you.
As we begin the Triduum, let us yearn for what matters most which is to have a deeper hunger and a deeper appreciation of the almost unfathomably liberating gift of our Lord’s body and blood. May we yearn for His kingdom’s blueprint to be burned into our being as we continuously seek to better pattern our lives around his example of selfless gift offered up and poured out for others.
Rafael Rosario
Holy Thursday Mass with Word on Fire (4/9/2020) - YouTube