Each year, the Church celebrates the most solemn of all Her liturgical observances – the Easter Triduum. These are the three holy days commemorating the Paschal Mystery of Jesus Christ: His excruciating passion, horrible death, and glorious resurrection from the dead. Easter Triduum begins on the Mass of the Lord’s Supper on Maundy Thursday.
We might be wondering why it is called “Maundy Thursday”. Maundy was derived from the Latin mandatum, which means commandment. This is because it was on a Thursday evening, the night before He was arrested, condemned, and crucified, that Jesus gave His disciples a new commandment: love one another as He has loved us (cf. John 13:34). It was on this sacred night that Jesus gave us the Sacrament of His Body and Blood in the Eucharist, and the holy priesthood was instituted.
This prayer will help us reiterate our vocation to love as Jesus loves. Let us reflect on the unsurpassable love that Christ had for all of us – a love that knows no limit. May we sincerely thank God for the love He showed us and humbly ask for forgiveness for our failure to love one another and the grace to continue loving others.
Holy Thursday Prayer
Loving Father, You have created us because of Your boundless and overflowing love. You have created us in Your image and likeness and have shared Your divine life with us. But sin has broken that loving relationship we had with You. We have estranged ourselves from Your love and life.
But You, the most compassionate God, did not abandon humanity in the darkness of sin. You promised a redeemer who will save us from sin and death. In the fullness of time, You sent Your Son, our Lord Jesus Christ, to deliver us all. His death was the perfect sacrifice and atonement for our sins. But above all, His sacrifice is the epitome of love and forgiveness.
Our Savior, Jesus Christ, on this night before He suffered and died for us all, gathered with His apostles to eat His farewell meal with them. This same night, He has given us the commandment of love – to love one another as He has loved us. I confess my sin and weaknesses before You. For the many times I have failed to love as Jesus loves, I am deeply and regretfully sorry. For the moments I refused to love my neighbor, I ask for Your pardon. For the times I became indifferent to the suffering and needs of my neighbor, forgive me.
O God, this day we remember the night before Christ laid down His life for us, His friends. Calling me His friend sends utter shame to me. I am a sinner, yet He calls me His friend! True to His word, He was the best friend I could ever have – a friend who is more than willing to lay down His life for me.
Father, hear me as I call for Your help. Make my heart love as Jesus loves. Through the Holy Spirit, may I be enkindled with the fire of Your divine and unfathomable love. May I be willing to lay down my life for others.
Through Jesus Christ, Your Son and our Lord. Amen.
Short prayer for Maundy Thursday
God, our Father, You have manifested Your boundless love to us through Jesus Christ, our Savior. Bestow on me the grace and willingness to love as Jesus loves. May my heart love after the example of Your Son. May I become a manifestation of Your love to others. Through Jesus Christ, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, God, forever and ever. Amen.
The Word of God
I give you a new commandment, that you love one another. Just as I have loved you, you also should love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another.
John 13:34-35 NRSVUE
Prayer to the Blessed Virgin on Holy Thursday
O loving Mother of Christ, on the cross, Jesus gave you to us to be our mother. The love of the Father’s heart was crucified, and you were there to witness it all. You were there to share in Your Son’s suffering. You were there reflecting the love of God that is limitless and unfathomable.
We were commanded by Christ, your Son, to love one another as He has loved us. Teach us to bring comfort and consolation to the many “Jesuses” – our neighbors in desperate need – we encounter every day. Grant us the grace to suffer with our brethren. Grant us a heart like yours, a compassionate heart that is capable of sympathizing and sharing with the grief of others.
Most loving Mother, pray for me that God may grant me His heavenly courage and fortitude to accept His will while I confront the crosses in my own life. You have a lot of affection for me, and it is great in every aspect. Help me to recognize this love, to accept it, and to let it permeate my life.
May my life be a life of love and sacrifice. It is in loving and sacrificing that I can imitate Christ, my Lord, and Redeemer. Be my constant succor in fulfilling my vocation to love so that in my final moment, I would happily die in the hope of rising again.
Most Blessed Virgin Mary, our loving mother, pray for us. Amen.
Further reflection
The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ is the summit of salvation history. It is the epitome of what love truly means. It is a love that knows no end. It is a love that transcends weakness and sin. It is a love that conquers all and embraces all.
On the night before He gave up His life for our redemption, the Lord Jesus Christ gave His disciples the commandment to love one another as He has loved us. This mandate extends to us – we are commanded to love one another as Christ loved us. It is not optional. It is not a suggestion. It is a commandment, and as followers of Christ, we ought to obey His commands.
There are times when it is difficult to love our neighbor. But these are also the moments when our commitment to Christ is truly tested. Christ’s love is impartial and genuine. This should be the love we have for all. The love we have for one another is our own little share in the love of the crucified Christ.
