Bible Readings Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper in the Evening

April 9 2009 Holy Thursday Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Click Here for Holy Thursday Chrism Mass

About the sources used. The readings on this site are from the Haydock Bible according to the daily Lectionary readings for the American Roman Catholic Church. The Haydock Bible contains traditional Catholic commentary and is free from copyright. Due to verse numbering differences and pastoral deletions in the actual Lectionary, these readings may at times vary from the actual readings.

Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/040909.shtml

Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
Douay-Rheims Challoner

And the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt:

This month shall be to you the beginning of months; it shall be the first in the months of the year. Speak ye to the whole assembly of the children of Israel, and say to them: On the tenth day of this month let every man take a lamb by their families and houses. But if the number be less than may suffice to eat the lamb, he shall take unto him his neighbour that joineth to his house, according to the number of souls which may be enough to eat the lamb.

And it shall be a lamb without blemish, a male, of one year; according to which rite also you shall take a kid. And you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month; and the whole multitude of the children of Israel shall sacrifice it in the evening. And they shall take of the blood thereof, and put it upon both the side posts, and on the upper door posts of the houses, wherein they shall eat it. And they shall eat the flesh that night roasted at the fire, and unleavened bread with wild lettuce. And thus you shall eat it: you shall gird your reins, and you shall have shoes on your feet, holding staves in your hands, and you shall eat in haste; for it is the Phase (that is the Passage) of the Lord.

And I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and will kill every firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast: and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments; I am the Lord. And the blood shall be unto you for a sign in the houses where you shall be; and I shall see the blood, and shall pass over you; and the plague shall not be upon you to destroy you, when I shall strike the land of Egypt. And this day shall be for a memorial to you; and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord in your generations, with an everlasting observance.

Responsorial Psalm 115:3-9 (Ps 116 NAB)
DR Challoner Text Only

What shall I render to the Lord,
for all the things that he hath rendered to me?
I will take the chalice of salvation;
and I will call upon the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord before all his people:
Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints.
O Lord, for I am thy servant:
I am thy servant, and the son of thy handmaid.
Thou hast broken my bonds:
I will sacrifice to thee the sacrifice of praise,
and I will call upon the name of the Lord.
I will pay my vows to the Lord in the sight of all his people:

1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Haydock New Testament

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus, the night in which he was betrayed, took bread, And giving thanks, broke, and said:

Take ye, and eat: this is my body, which shall be delivered for you: do this for the commemoration of me.

In like manner also the chalice, after he had supped, saying:

This chalice is the new testament in my blood: this do ye, as often as you shall drink it for the commemoration of me. For as often as you shall eat this bread, and drink the chalice, you shall shew the death of the Lord until he come.

The Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ According to Saint John 13:1-15
Haydock New Testament

BEFORE the festival of the Pasch, Jesus knowing that his hour was come, that he should pass out of this world to the Father: having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. And when supper was done, the devil having now put into the heart of Judas, the son of Simon, the Iscariot, to betray him: Knowing that the Father had given him all things into his hands, and that he came from God, and goeth to God; He riseth from supper, and layeth aside his garments: and having taken a towel, he girded himself. After that, he poureth water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of the disciples, and to wipe them with the towel, wherewith he was girded. He cometh, therefore, to Simon Peter. And Peter saith to him:

Lord, dost thou wash my feet?

Jesus answered, and said to him:

What I do, thou knowest not now, but thou shalt know hereafter.

Peter saith to him:

Thou shalt never wash my feet.

Jesus answered him:

If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me.

Simon Peter saith to him:

Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head.

Jesus saith to him:

He that is washed, needeth not but to wash his feet, but is clean wholly. And you are clean, but not all.

For he knew who he was that would betray him: therefore he said;

You are not all clean.

Then after he had washed their feet, and taken his garments, having sat down again, he said to them:

Know you what I have done to you? You call me, Master, and Lord: and you say well, for so I am. If I then, being Lord and Master, have washed your feet: you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that as I have done to you, so you do also.

Haydock Commentary Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 1. Said, some time before. Moses mentions all the plagues together. M.
• Ver. 2. Year, sacred or ecclesiastical, which is most commonly used in Scripture. The civil year commenced with Tisri, in September, and regulated the jubilee, contracts, &c. Lapide — January was the first month to determine the age of trees, and August to decide when cattle became liable to be tithed. C. xxii. 29. Levit. xix. 23. C. — Before the captivity, the months were not styled Nisan, &c. but abib, (C. xiii. 4,) the first…Bul the 11th, (1 K. vi.), &c. Sa.
• Ver. 3. Children; a word which has been dropped in the printed Heb. and in the Chaldee, which has been assimilated to it, though found still in some MSS. and in the Sam. Sept. Syr. and Arab. versions. Ken. — Day. This regarded only the present occasion. Jonathan. — The Jews no longer eat the paschal lamb, as they are banished from Chanaan. C. — Man, who has a family sufficient to eat a lamb; Heb. se, which means also a kid, (as either was lawful, v. 13,) and perhaps also a calf. Deut. xvi. 2.
• Ver. 4. Less. Moses does not specify the number. But in never comprised fewer than ten, nor more than twenty, in which number Menoch does not think women or children are comprised. The Jews satisfied the inquiry of Cestius, concerning the multitude which might be assembled at the paschal solemnity, by allowing ten for every victim; and finding that 250,600 victims had been sacrificed in the space of two hours, they concluded 2,700,000 people were collected at Jerusalem. Josep. Bel. vii. 16.
• Ver. 5. Lamb. Heb. se, which denotes the young of either sheep or goats. Kimchi. He who had not a lamb, was to sacrifice a kid. Theodoret. — A kid. The Phase might be performed, either with a lamb or with a kid; and all the same rites and ceremonies were to be used with the one as with the other. Ch. — Many have asserted, that both were to be sacrificed. But custom decides against them. All was to be perfect, Momim, as even the pagans required; (Grotius) and God (Lev. xxii. 22,) orders the victims in general must have no fault. The Egyptians rejected them, if they were even spotted, or twins. — A male, as all holocausts were to be. Pagans gave the preference to females. C. — One year, not older, though it would do if above eight days old. M. — The paschal lamb prefigured Jesus Christ, who has redeemed us by his death, being holy, set apart, and condescending to feed us with his sacred person, in the blessed Eucharist. Here we eat the lamb without breaking a bone, though we take the whole victim. Jo. xix. 36. 1 Cor. v. 7. C. — To fulfil this figure, Christ substituted his own body, and, making his apostles priests, ordered them to continue this sacrifice for ever. He came to Jerusalem on the 10th day of Nisan, on Sunday. He gave himself to his disciples on the evening of the 14th, and died at noon on the 15th. The unleavened bread, and the cup, (Lu. xxii. 17,) clearly denoted the blessed Sacrament, which was ordered to be eaten in the house or church of God. S. Cyp. Unit. See S. Greg. hom. 22. in Evang. Tert. c. Marc. iv. “The bread he made his own body.” If, therefore, the truth must surpass the figure, surely the blessed Sacrament must be more than bread and wine; otherwise it would yield in excellence and signification to the paschal lamb. W.
• Ver. 6. Sacrifice, not simply kill, as the Protestants would have it. W. — Evening. Heb. “between the two evenings,” or “suns,” according to the Chaldee, alluding to the sun when it declines and when it sets, including about the space of two hours. This time belonged to the evening of the 14th, at which time the lamb was to be sacrificed, though it was to be eaten in the night, which pertained to the 15th. M. — The Jews began the day at sun-set, and some began the first evening soon after mid-day. Matt. xiv. 15. and seq. C.
• Ver. 7. Houses. Those who joined their neighbours to eat the paschal lamb, were therefore to continue with them that night, if they would escape destruction, v. 23. M.
• Ver. 8. Unleavened, in testimony of innocence, 1 Cor. v. 7. The priests of Jupiter did the like. Servius. — Lettuce, or some “bitter herbs.” Heb. and Sept. The Jews allow of five sorts.

Haydock Commentary 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

• Ver. 23. I have received from the Lord. That is, by revelation from Christ, as well as from others, who were present with him, that which also I delivered to you by word of mouth, &c. Here he speaks of the holy sacrament itself, of the words of consecration, as the evangelists had done, and of the real presence of Christ’s body and blood. — Which shall be delivered for you. In the common Greek copies, which is broken for you, to wit, on the cross. — You shall shew the death of the Lord. As often as you receive, it shall be with a devout and grateful remembrance of his sufferings and death for your sake. He puts every one in mind, that whosoever shall eat this bread, (v. 27.) so called from the outward appearances, or drink the chalice of the Lord unworthily, shall, by such a sacrilege, be guilty of the body and of the blood of the Lord. And (v. 29.) that he eateth, and drinketh judgment, or condemnation to himself, not discerning the difference betwixt celestial food and other meats, and not considering it to be truly the body of the Lord. See S. Chrys. hom. xxvii. If the words of our Saviour, this is my body, &c. were to be understood in a metaphorical and figurative sense only, is it probable that S. Paul, writing twenty-four years afterwards, to the new converted Gentiles at Corinth, would have used words, which full as clearly express a true and real presence of Christ’s body in the eucharist, without one word to signify that this was to be understood in a figurative sense only? Wi.
• Ver. 24. Juvenius, a native of Spain, and a priest, who flourished under Constantine the Great, about the year 329, has left us the life of Christ in hexameter verse, where speaking of the institution of the eucharist, he says, “Christ taught his disciples, that he delivered to them his own body;” and when he gave them the chalice, “he taught them that he had distributed to them his blood: and said, this blood remits the sins of the people: drink this, it is mine.” Bibl. Max. P. P. T. iv. p. 74.
• Discipulos docuit proprium se tradere corpus,
• Edocuitque suum se divisisse cruorem.
• Atque ait: Hic sanguis populi delicta remittit:
• Hunc potate meum.

Haydock Commentary John 13:1-15

• Ver. 1. Before the festival day, or feast of the Pasch. see the note on this word Pasch, Matt. xxvi. v. 2. Here when S. John says, before the festival day, he means in the evening, or latter evening after sunset, on the 14th day of the month of Nisan, when the great feast of Azyms or unleavened bread was begun, (for the Jews began their feasts from sunset on the foregoing day) so that the hours from sunset, at least, on the 14th day of the month of Nisan (at which time the paschal lamb was to be eaten with unleavened bread belonged to the first, and great day of Azyms, which lasted till sunset on the 15th day of the month of Nisan. S. John therefore says, the day before, meaning after sunset on the 14th day of the month; but yet it was part of the same great feast, which was kept on the 15th day. See also the note Matt. xxvi. v. 17. Wi.
• Ver. 2. And when supper was done. By this we must not understand, that the supper was over; for we afterwards find the Jesus again sat down, and gave bread to the traitor. But these words only mean, that all had partook of refreshment, and might be therefore said to have supped. S. Aug. tract. 55. in Joan. — He knew that he went out from God, and would return to God; but at the same time, he did not leave God, when he went out from him, nor us, when he returns to him. S. Aug. as above. — And though he went out from God, and returns to him, yet here he condescends to perform the office, not of the Lord God of the universe, but of a man and a slave; (S. Aug.) and this, says S. Chrys. (hom. lxix. in Joan.) that he might tread all pride under foot: doing every thing himself on this occasion, to teach us with what eagerness we ought to perform the duties of humility.
• Ver. 4. He riseth from supper; that is, after supper was done, or ended, as it is here said, (v. 2. and 1 Cor. xi. 25.) girded himself like a servant, to wash and wipe the feet of his apostles. Wi. — If we compare the text of the four evangelists, it will appear that the washing of the feet preceded the institution of the blessed Eucharist, of which S. John is silent. V.
• Ver. 5. S. Ambrose and S. Bernard shew that this washing was mysterious, and significative of the very great purity expected of those that receive the blessed Eucharist.
• Ver. 6. Lord, dost thou wash my feet? My master, my Lord, the true Son of the living God, wilt thou wash the feet of me, thy servant, thy disciple, a poor vile sinner? this must not be. Wi.
• Ver. 8. If I wash thee not, thou shalt have no part with me. At this, Peter, as one thunderstruck, replied: Lord, not my feet only, but my head; whatever my Lord pleaseth. Wi.
• Ver. 10. He that is washed, &c. The feet are always apt to contract some dust or dirt; and in the mystical sense, he that is washed by the sacraments of baptism, or penance, from greater sins, must still endeavour to cleanse, and purify his affections from lesser failings of human frailty. And you, my apostles, are clean from greater offences, but not all of you, meaning the traitor Judas. Wi. — It is impossible that the extremities of the soul (if we may be allowed the expression) should not, as long as we tread upon this earth, receive some stain or other; although in the opinion of men, the soul appear just. Many indeed after baptism, are covered with the dust of sin, even to the head, but those who are disciples indeed, need only to wash their feet. Origen, tract. 32. in Joan. — The foulness of the feet, when the rest is clean, signifies the earthly affections, and remains of former sins remitted, which are to be cleansed by devout acts of charity and humility. S. Amb. l. iii. de Sacram. c. 1. S. Ber. de cæn. Dom. ser. 1. — Though his disciples were clean, still he washed their feet, comformably to that of the Apocalypse, c. xxii. “He that is clean, let him be cleansed still.” Origen, tract. 32. in Joan.
• Ver. 14. You also ought to wash one another’s feet. Not that he made this a standing precept according to the letter; but designed it as a lesson in humility. We find this custom literally observed in several churches, as it is now down every year by diverse prelates, and by Christian kings and princes. Wi. — He gives us an example of a more elevated act of virtue, that we may at least learn to practise the lower degrees of it. For he indeed was their Lord, but when we perform this office, we can but do it to our fellow-servants. S. Chrys. hom. lxx. in Joan. — That it is, blessed Peter, which you were ignorant of, but which he promises to explain afterwards. S. Aug. tract. 58. in Joan.

Bible Readings Holy Thursday Chrism Mass April 9 2009

April 9 2009 Holy Thursday Chrism Mass
Click Here for Holy Thursday Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper

About the sources used. The readings on this site are from the Haydock Bible according to the daily Lectionary readings for the American Roman Catholic Church. The Haydock Bible contains traditional Catholic commentary and is free from copyright. Due to verse numbering differences and pastoral deletions in the actual Lectionary, these readings may at times vary from the actual readings.

Official Readings of the Liturgy at – http://www.usccb.org/nab/readings/040909.shtml

Isaiah 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9
Douay-Rheims Challoner

The spirit of the Lord is upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me: he hath sent me to preach to the meek, to heal the contrite of heart, and to preach a release to the captives, and deliverance to them that are shut up. To proclaim the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of vengeance of our God: to comfort all that mourn: To appoint to the mourners of Sion, and to give them a crown for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, a garment of praise for the spirit of grief: But you shall be called the priests of the Lord: to you it shall be said: Ye ministers of our God: I will make their work in truth, and I will make a perpetual covenant with them. And they shall know their seed among the Gentiles, and their offspring in the midst of peoples: all that shall see them, shall know them, that these are the seed which the Lord hath blessed.

Responsorial Psalm 88:21-22, 25 and 27 Latin/LXX (Ps 89 Hebrew)
DR Challoner Text Only

I have found David my servant:
with my holy oil I have anointed him.
For my hand shall help him:
and my arm shall strengthen him.
And my truth and my mercy shall be with him:
and in my name shall his horn be exalted.
He shall cry out to me: Thou art my father:
my God, and the support of my salvation.

Revelation 1:5-8
DR Challoner

And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth: who hath loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood, and hath made us a kingdom, and priests to God and his Father: to him be glory and empire, for ever and ever. Amen. Behold, he cometh with the clouds, and every eye shall see him, and they that pierced him. And all the tribes of the earth shall bewail themselves because of him: Even so: Amen.

I am the Alpha, and Omega, the beginning and the end, saith the Lord God, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.

The Gospel According to Saint Luke 4:16-21
Haydock New Testament

And he came to Nazareth, where he was brought up, and he went into the synagogues, according to his custom, on the sabbath day, and he rose up to read. And the book of Isaias, the prophet, was delivered unto him. And as he unfolded the book, he found the place where it was written:

The Spirit of the Lord is upon me: wherefore he hath anointed me, to preach the gospel to the poor he hath sent me, to heal the contrite of heart, To preach deliverance to the captives, and sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised, to preach the acceptable year of the Lord, and the day of reward.

And when he had folded the book, he restored it to the minister, and sat down. And the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on him. And he began to say to them:

This day is fulfilled this Scripture in your ears.

Haydock Commentary Isaiah 61:1-3. 6. 8-9
Notes Copied From Haydock Commentary Site

• Ver. 1. Lord. Hebrew adds, “God.” Adonai seems to have been inserted to prevent the pronunciation of Jehovah, (Kennicott) which alone occurs in the Septuagint, Arabic, and in St. Luke, iv. 18. (Haydock) — Thus Elohim may have been substituted for Jehovah, Genesis xxii. 8., as [in] [Genesis xxii.] ver. 14, “Abraham called the name of that place Jehovah jireh, because he had said that day on the mount: Jehovah will provide” a victim, even Jesus Christ in the same place. Perhaps no part of the Bible is “so absurdly translated” as this, (Kennicott) by Protestants. (Haydock) — St. Luke follows the Septuagint in his quotation, only instead of to preach a, &c., he has an explanation, to set at liberty them that are bruised. Isaias may here speak of himself, (Chaldean) yet only as a figure of Christ. The Jews admit that the Messias is meant. Christ had received the Holy Spirit at the Jordan, John i. 32. He performed these works, (Luke vii. 22.) particularly addressing his discourse to the meek and poor, Sophonias iii. 12., and Zacharias xi. 7., and 1 Corinthians i. 26. (Calmet) — He was not anointed with oil, like Aaron, but with the Holy Ghost; so that of his fullness others must receive, Acts x. 39., &c. (Worthington)
• Ver. 2. Year of Jubilee, (Jeremias xxv. 11.) when the Jews should be delivered, as a figure of Christ’s redemption. — Vengeance, when the Chaldeans, &c., should perish, (Calmet) and all obstinate sinners, at the day of judgment. (Haydock)
• Ver. 3. Glorify. The rulers shall act with justice, chap. lx. 17, 21.
• Ver. 6. Priests. They were greatly honoured, (Exodus xix. 6.) so that the sons of David had the appellation. The Jews had still to labour as before. Christians become heirs to these promises, and are styled a royal priesthood, 1 Peter ii. 9., and Apocalypse i. 6. They have received the Scriptures from the Jews, and employ human sciences for the advancement of religion. The wisest pagans yield to the force of truth.
• Ver. 8. Holocaust. The pagans saw such things were improper victims. (Eusebius, præp. iv. 14.) — Septuagint, “hate unjust plunder.” (Haydock) — Therefore will I subject the strangers to you, ver. 5. — Truth. I will grant a sure reward. — Covenant. These of Nehemias and the Machabees were soon forgotten: but Christ’s covenant shall abide for ever.
• Ver. 9. Blessed. The Jews are visibly the reverse. The Church flourishes in spite of domestic and foreign enemies.

Haydock Commentary Rev 1:5-8

• Ver. 4-6. John to the seven churches,[1] afterwards named; and by them, to be understood of all churches, bishops, and people in the like dispositions. — From him, who is, who was, and who is to come. As these words are only applied, and applicable to him, who is truly God and eternal, Alcazar (p. 176) applies them to God the Father. Others think them to be spoken of God, as the word God agrees to all the three divine Persons, who are one and the same God. See Ribera. — And from the seven spirits. Alcazar understands them of seven of God’s attributes, or perfections, but, by the common exposition, are meant seven of the chief created spirits, who in a special manner assist at the throne of God, employed to execute God’s commands, as Raphael saith. (Tobit. xii. 15.) I am one of the seven who stand before God. (Witham) — Spirits, &c. Some understand this of the Holy Ghost, on account of his seven gifts; but the most literal interpretation is of the principal Angles, who always surround the throne of God, and are his ministering spirits. (Calmet) — And from Jesus Christ,[2] made man, and the Redeemer of mankind, whom St. John here names after the seven spirits, because he continues his discourse about Christ, who is the faithful witness; testified and approved of God by so many miracles, prophecies, &c. He is the chief of the martyrs or witnesses, as the Greek word signifies. — The first begotten of the dead, both first in dignity, and first that rose to an immortal life. — The prince of the kings of the earth, whose power is infinetely greater than all theirs; and this to put the suffering Christians in mind, that they needed not to fear the persecuting emperors, who have no power after this life. — And Christ hath made us a kingdom, inasmuch as by his grace he has made us members of his true Church, called the kingdom of God, and promised us to reign with him in his glorious kingdom in heaven. — And hath made us priests to God, and his Father, to offer up spiritual sacrifices. See 1 Peter ii. 9. — To him be, or is due, glory and empire, for ever and ever. Amen. That is, to Jesus Christ. (Witham)
• Ver. 7. Behold, he cometh, or is to come at the day of judgment. (Witham)
• Ver. 8. I am Alpha, and Omega. These, the first and last letters of the Greek alphabet, signify the same as what follows, the beginning, and the end, the first cause and last end of all intelligent beings, who is, and who was, and who is to come, the Almighty: These words agree only to him, who is the true God, and here are applied to our blessed Redeemer, who is to come and judge all. (Witham)

Haydock Commentary Luke 4:16-21

• Ver. 17. As he unfolded the book: and again, (ver. 20) when he had folded the book. Books at that time where not like our now-a-days, but were skins or parchments, rolled or folded up. (Witham) — Some are of opinion that the Jews of Nazareth, having heard of the miracles and fame of Jesus, and that he was accustomed to teach in the synagogues, though he had never been instructed in any learning, when he rose to speak, purposely gave him the book of Isaias, which was esteemed the most difficult to be explained, in order to try his learning; though it is probable that it was done by the all-directing interposition of Divine Providence. (Maldonatus)
• Ver. 18. By the poor are to be understood the Gentiles; who might truly be called poor, since they possessed neither the knowledge of the true God, nor of the law, nor of the prophets. (Origen) — Isaias in this place speaks of himself, as a figure of the Messias. The captivity of Babylon, which is the literal object of this prophecy, was a figure of the then state of mankind; the return from this captivity announced by the prophet, and effected by Cyrus, represented the redemption of man, effected by Jesus Christ. (Bible de Vence)
• Ver. 19. To set at liberty them that are bruised, or oppressed. These words are not in the prophet; but are added by St. Luke, to explain the others. — To preach the acceptable year, as it were the jubilee year, when slaves used to be set at liberty. (Witham)
• Ver. 20. To observe and admire a person that had never learned letters, and who stood up amongst them an experienced teacher. (Menochius) See John vii. 15. and Maldonatus.
• Ver. 21. By this Christ wished to shew that he was the Messias foretold by the prophet Isaias, whom they so anxiously expected: he declares himself to be the person pointed out by the prophet. There seems also to be a secret reprehension in these words of Christ; as if he were to say: Why are you so desirous to behold the Messias, whom, when he is before your eyes, you will not receive? Why do you seek him in the prophets, when you neither understand the prophets, nor perceive the truth of their predictions, when they are fulfilled before you eyes? (Maldonatus)