Non-Italic Text taken from The Saint Andrew Daily Missal
for Maundy Thursday
Pictures and Italic text taken from Wikipedia (the free encyclopaedia) (unless otherwise accredited)
Station at Saint John Lateran
Plenary Indulgence
Double of the First Class
White Vestments at Mass
Basilica of Saint John Lateran, Cathedral of the Bishop of Rome
(From Wikimedia Commons
Photo taken, September 2005, by Stefan Bauer,
The Station was formerly held at Saint John Lateran, which was originally called the Basilica of Saint Saviour.
The Liturgy of Maundy Thursday is full of memories of the Redemption. It formerly provided for the celebration of three Masses: The first Mass for the reconciliation of public penitents; The second Mass for the consecration of the Holy Oils; The third Mass for a special commemoration of the institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper. This last Mass is the only one that has been preserved, and, at it, the Bishop, attended by twelve Priests, seven Deacons and seven Sub-Deacons, blesses the Holy Oils in his Cathedral Church.
Side Chapel in Saint John Lateran
(From Wikimedia Commons.
Photo taken by Maros M r a z (Maros), October 2008)
Sinners, who had undergone a course of penance, were granted on this day “the abundant remission of their sins”, “which were washed away in the blood of Jesus”. Dying with Christ, they were “cleansed of all their sins, and clad in the nuptial robe they were admitted once more to the banquet of the Most Holy Supper”.
The Blessing of the Holy Oils
This blessing took place with a view to the baptism and confirmation of the Catechumens during Easter night. The Bishop exorcised the oil, praying God “to instil into it the power of the Holy Ghost”, so that “the Divine Gifts might descend on those who were about to be anointed”.
Before the prayer, Per quem haec omnia, there used to be a form of blessing of the good things of the Earth, with mention of their different kinds (fruits, milk, honey, oil, etc), of which we still find examples in the Leonine Sacramentary. Of this form, there remains nothing in the Canon of the Mass, except the conclusion, which, on Holy Thursday, retains its natural meaning, since it immediately follows the blessing of the Holy Oils.
Side Chapel in Saint John Lateran
(Taken from Wikimedia Commons.
and originally posted to Flickr
The Holy Chrism, which is the matter of the Sacrament of Confirmation, is the noblest of the Holy Oils, and the blessing of it takes place with greater pomp, after the clergy have communicated. It is used for the consecration of Bishops, in the rite of Baptism, in the consecration of Churches, altars and chalices, and in the baptism or blessing of bells.
The apse in Saint John Lateran
(From Wikimedia Commons.
Photo taken, September 2005, by Stefan Bauer, http://www.ferras.at)
The third Holy Oil, which is blessed immediately after, is that of the Catechumens. It is used to anoint the breast and between the shoulders of the person to be baptised, for the blessing of baptismal fonts on Holy Saturday and on the Vigil of Pentecost, at the Ordination of Priests, at the consecration of altars, and for the coronation of Kings and Queens.
“Oil”, says Saint Augustine, “signifies something great.” Through the ages, and in many a land, it has always played a mystical and religious part. Soothing and restoring by its very nature, it symbolises the healing wrought by the Holy Ghost (Extreme Unction); a source of light, it denotes the graces of the Holy Ghost, which enlighten the heart; flowing and penetrating, it represents the infusion of the Holy Spirit into Souls (Baptism, Confirmation); softening in its effects, it shows forth the action of the Holy Ghost, who bends our rebellious wills and arms us against the enemies of our salvation.
The Holy Ghost is especially represented by the olive oil, according to the Blessings of Oil and of Palms, because the dove, a symbol of the Holy Ghost, carried an olive branch in her beak; because the Holy Ghost came down upon Christ, the Anointed One; and because the olive branches, cast by the Jews in Our Lord’s path, foreshadowed the outpouring of the Holy Spirit, which was to be given to the Apostles at Pentecost. The balm, which is added to the oil to make the sacred Chrism, signifies, by its sweet perfume, the good odour of all Christian virtues. Also, it preserves from corruption - another respect in which it is a symbol of supernatural grace that protects us from the contagion of sin (Catechism of the Council of Trent).
The nave of Saint John Lateran. At 400ft long,
the Basilica ranks 15th among the largest Churches in the world.
(From Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken, September 2010, by Tango7174)
Mass for Maundy Thursday
The Church, which commemorates throughout the year in the Holy Eucharist all the mysteries of Our Lord’s life, today lays special stress on the institution of that Sacrament and of the Priesthood. This Mass carries out more, than any other, the command of Christ to His Priests to renew the Last Supper, during which He instituted His immortal presence among us at the very moment His death was being plotted. The Church, setting aside her mourning today, celebrates the Holy Sacrifice with joy. The Crucifix is covered with a white veil, her Ministers are vested in white, and the bells are rung at the Gloria in excelsis. They are not rung again until Holy Saturday.
Saint Paul tells us, in the Epistle, that the Mass is a “memorial of the death of Christ”. The Sacrifice of the Altar is necessary if we are to partake in the Victim of Calvary and share in His merits. And the Eucharist, which derives all its virtue from the Sacrifice of the Cross, makes it universal as regards time and space in a sense unknown so far. To love the Blessed Sacrament is “to glory in the Cross of Our Lord Jesus Christ” (Introit).
The Tomb of Pope Leo XIII in the Basilica of Saint John Lateran
(From Wikimedia Commons. Photo taken, May 2007, by Berthold Werner)
Christ takes on Himself to perform the ablutions prescribed by the Jews during the supper (Gospel), to show forth the purity and charity that God requires of those who desire to communicate for, as in the case of Juda (Collect), “whosover eats this bread unworthily is guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord” (Epistle).
After the Mass, the altar is stripped, in order to show that the Holy Sacrifice is interrupted and will not be offered again to God until Holy Saturday. The Priest, therefore, has consecrated two hosts, for, on Good Friday, the Church refrains from renewing on the altar the Sacrifice of Calvary.
On this Holy Thursday, when the Epistle and Gospel describe for us the details of the institution of the Priesthood and the Eucharistic Sacrifice, let us receive from the Priest’s hands that Holy Victim who offers Himself upon the altar, and in this holy manner fulfil our Easter duty.
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