March 28, 2024, Holy Thursday of the Sacred Triduum, Holy Rosary (Luminous Mysteries)

We celebrate this evening The Mass of the Lord’s Supper, which commemorates the institution of the Eucharist and the Priesthood, and the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass. This Mass is joyful, and priests wear white vestments.

This Mass celebrates the last meal Jesus shared with his Twelve Apostles and disciples before his death.

After the homily on Holy Thursday, we imitate Our Lord in the washing of feet. This ritual reminds us that our baptismal commitment is meant to be servants of one another.

The evening’s celebration concludes with a “stripping of the altar”: all decorations are removed and the Blessed Sacrament is taken from the tabernacle on the main altar and processed to an altar of repose outside the main body of the church.

The sanctuary candle, or paschal candle, is extinguished or darkened, and not relit until the Easter Vigil.

Eucharistic Adoration is common after the Holy Thursday Mass by visiting churches and it continues until midnight. It is reminiscent of waiting with Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane.

Images of saints are either kept or veiled until the Easter Vigil. Votive lights before these images are not lit. Crucifixes that are movable are hidden, while those that are not movable are veiled until the Easter Vigil.

By meditating on the Gospels (cf. Matt 26:1 ff.; Mark 14:1 ff.; Luke 22:1 ff.; John 13:1 ff.), we can recall to mind Jesus’ actions of that day. Father Bernard Strasser summarized all the events of that first Holy Thursday:

(1) the eating of the Easter lamb or the paschal meal; (2) the washing of the disciple’s feet; (3) the institution of the Most Holy Eucharist (the first Mass at which Jesus Christ, the eternal high priest, is the celebrant; the first Communion of the apostles; the first conferring of Holy Orders); (4) the foretelling of Judas’ betrayal and Peter’s denials; (5) the farewell discourse and priestly prayer of Jesus; (6) the agony and capture of Jesus in the Garden of Olives.

A day of fasting and abstinence, commemorating the crucifixion when Jesus died for the sins of the world.

On this day, Christians ritually recall the Passion and crucifixion of Jesus. Mass is not celebrated on this day, however, Holy Communion (reserved in the tabernacle on the altar of repose from the previous evening) is distributed at the Celebration of the Lord’s Passion.

The celebration traditionally occurs at 3 pm and consists of three parts: liturgy of the Word, veneration of the cross, and Holy Communion.

The first part, the Liturgy of the Word, consists of the reading or chanting of Isaiah 52:13-53:12, Hebrews 4:14-16, 5:7-9, and the Passion account from the Gospel of John.

The second part of the Good Friday liturgy is the Veneration of the Cross: a cross is solemnly displayed to the congregation and then venerated by them, individually if possible.

The third and last part is Holy Communion. The Eucharist, consecrated at the Mass of Holy Thursday is distributed at this service.

At the conclusion, the priest and people depart in silence, and the altar cloth is removed, leaving the altar bare.

Following Good Friday, Holy Saturday is a commemoration of the day that Jesus lay in his tomb. In the Roman Catholic Church, daytime Masses are never offered. It is a time of waiting.

In the evening, we celebrate the Easter Vigil.

On Holy Saturday after sunset, or before dawn on Easter Day, in anticipation of the celebration of the resurrection of Jesus, Easter Vigil is celebrated.

The Easter Vigil consists of four parts:

• The Service of Light
• The Liturgy of the Word
• Christian Initiation and the Renewal of Baptismal Vows
• Holy Eucharist