Holy Thursday

Click the links below to access these at home liturgies that you and your family can work through during Holy Week.
 

Palm Sunday  |  Holy Thursday  |  Good Friday  |  Easter Vigil

What you’ll need to help this celebration go smoothly:

• A dining room or kitchen table, preferably covered by a tablecloth and adorned with candles and a cross or crucifix
• A pitcher of water
• Some kind of basin into which you can pour the water
• A towel to dry household members’ feet
• A Leader for the celebration
• Two additional readers, Reader One and Reader Two (recommended but not necessary)
• Free Spotify account to listen to musical parts of celebration (optional)
• Printed copies for all who will be reading during the celebration or a phone/tablet/other device with a digital version for all readers
• Phone/Tablet/Other device to watch Bishop Bill’s meditation

Bishop Wack washing feet at last year's Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper

Leader: In the name of the Father and the Son and Holy Spirit.

All: Amen.

Leader: The Lord be with you.

All: And with your spirit.

Leader: Brothers and sisters, let us acknowledge our sins, and ask for God’s mercy.

All: I confess to almighty God and to you, my brothers and sisters, that I have greatly sinned, in my thoughts and in my words, in what I have done and in what I have failed to do through my fault, through my fault, through my most grievous fault; therefore I ask blessed Mary ever-Virgin, all the Angels and Saints, and you, my brothers and sisters, to pray for me to the Lord our God.

All: Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace to people of good will. We praise you, we bless you, we adore you, we glorify you, we give you thanks for your great glory, Lord God, heavenly King, O God, almighty Father. Lord Jesus Christ, Only Begotten Son, Lord God, Lamb of God, Son of the Father, you take away the sins of the world, have mercy on us; you take away the sins of the world, receive our prayer; you are seated at the right hand of the Father, have mercy on us. For you alone are the Holy One, you alone are the Lord, you alone are the Most High, Jesus Christ, with the Holy Spirit, in the glory of God the Father. Amen.

Leader: Let us pray. O God, tonight we commemorate your most sacred Supper, in which your Only Begotten Son, when about to hand himself over to death, entrusted to the Church a sacrifice new for all eternity, the banquet of his love, grant, we pray, that we may draw from so great a mystery, the fullness of charity and of live, Through our Lord Jesus Christ your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.

All: Amen

All sit down

Reader One: A Reading from the Book of Exodus

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.”

The word of the Lord.

All: Thanks be to God

Reader One: Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.

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

Reader One: 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.

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

Reader One: 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.

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

Reader One: 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.

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

Reader Two: A reading from the first Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians
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.

The word of the Lord.

All: Thanks be to God

All stand together for the Gospel

Leader: Glory and praise to you, O Lord Jesus Christ

All: Glory and praise to you, O Lord Jesus Christ

Reader One: I give you a new commandment, says the Lord:
love one another as I have loved you.

All: Glory and praise to you, O Lord Jesus Christ

Leader: A reading from the Holy Gospel according to St. John

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 of the Lord.

All: Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ

We invite you to watch Bishop Wack’s video message for Holy Thursday below.
 

As a household, discuss the following questions:

Question One: Tonight we commemorate the Lord’s Last Supper where He gave us His Body and Blood. During these difficult times of not being able to physically receive the Eucharist, how has God called you to a closer relationship with Him?

Question Two: As Jesus washes the disciples’ feet we witness the meaning of humility and service. Since we are presented with the opportunity to spend much more time within our home as a result of COVID-19, how are you being called to humility and service within your household?

Question Three: We also celebrate the great gift of the ministerial priesthood tonight. Share stories of priests you’ve encountered in your lives who have brought Christ to you in memorable ways.

General Intercessions

Reader One: For Pope Francis and all bishops, that they may be good shepherds who follow the humble example of the Lord Jesus washing the feet of the disciples. Let us pray to the Lord.

All: Lord hear our prayer.

Reader Two: For all priests, that their ministry would be strengthened and their devotion to the Eucharist increase. Let us pray to the Lord.

All: Lord hear our prayer.

Reader One: For civil leaders, that the Holy Spirit impart wisdom upon them in all decisions they make for the health and safety of all. Let us pray to the Lord.

All: Lord hear our prayer.

Reader Two: For all healthcare workers that the healing power of Christ assist them in their efforts to cure and comfort those in need. Let us pray to the Lord.

All: Lord hear our prayer.

Reader One: For the sick, that their sufferings may be united to Christ’s suffering during these holy days and that they make receive healing. Let us pray to the Lord.

All: Lord hear our prayer.

Reader Two: For all who have died, that they would receive the glorious promise of eternal life won by Christ in the Paschal Mystery. Let us pray to the Lord.

All: Lord hear our prayer.

Household Washing of the Feet
The members of the household who will have their feet washed sit down on chairs and remove socks and shoes. The Leader of the household takes a pitcher of water and pours water over their feet into a household item that can function as a basin. The Leader then dries the person’s foot with a towel. The following antiphons can be recited by household members after the Leader has finished drying an individual’s foot.

Reader One: After the Lord had risen from supper,
he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the feet of his disciples:
he left them this example.

Reader Two: The Lord Jesus, after eating supper with his disciples,
washed their feet and said to them:
Do you know what I, your Lord and Master, have done for you?
I have given you an example, that you should do likewise.

All: Lord, are you to wash my feet? Jesus said to him in answer:
If I do not wash your feet, you will have no share with me.

Reader One: If I, your Lord and Master, have washed your feet,
how much more should you wash each other’s feet?

Reader Two: This is how all will know that you are my disciples:
if you have love for one another.

All: I give you a new commandment,
that you love one another
as I have loved you, says the Lord.

Reader One: Let faith, hope and charity, these three, remain among you,
but the greatest of these is charity.

Once all household members have had their feet washed the Leader puts the pitcher and basin aside and all recite the Our Father together.

All: Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name…

Act of Spiritual Communion and Prayers of Devotion to the Eucharist
Following the Eucharistic Prayers and Communion, the Holy Thursday Liturgy normally concludes with the transfer of the Blessed Sacrament to a place of repose. In place of this we encourage every member of the household to make an Act of Spiritual Communion. Below that are versions of three traditional chants that would be sung before the Blessed Sacrament in the place of repose.

Act of Spiritual Communion

All: My Jesus, I believe that You are present in the Most Holy Sacrament. I love You above all things, 
and I desire to receive You into my soul. Since I cannot at this moment receive You sacramentally, 
come at least spiritually into my heart. I embrace You as if You were already there and unite myself wholly to You. Never permit me to be separated from You. Amen.
 

Leader: May the Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and bring us to everlasting life.

All: Amen.