Maunday Thursday « If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you too must wash each others ’ feet. » Ex.12, 1

• 8.11
• 14 Ps .115 1 Co 11,23
• 26 Jn.13,1
• 15 « Before t he festival of the Passover,Jesus, knowing th at his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father, having loved those who were his in the world, loved them to the end. They were at supper, and t he d evil had already put it into the mind of Judas of Isacriot son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had put everything onto his hands, and that he ha d come from G od and was returning to God, and he got up fromt able, removed h is outer garments and , taking a towel, wrapped it aro und his waist he then po ur ed water into a basin and began to wash the disciples ’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing. » So we enter into the first day of t he ‘ Easter Tridium ’ . Jesus is washing his disciples ’ feet, and th is is how they enter into t he great virtue of humility. He takes off his outer clothing, it is an announcement in advance of the moment he will be strip ped of his clothing at the Crucifixion, and al so of when he will leave his body of flesh to be glorified in his Body at his Ressurection. Jesus is ann o uncing the complete gift of his Person f or the S alvation of humanity and for the G l ory of his Father. If this gesture was normal at the time of Jesus, this task would come back to a servant of the house. Jesus manifest s love and humility which are the two wings permitting us to move for ward towards the E ternal Kingdom of God our Father with him. Jesus d oesn ’ t hesitate
• his whole life is orientated in this sense. He prepares us, like his disciples, for the gift of the Eucharist which will be given to us,so that we may have the courage to enter in his Passion. He gives his Body and Blood to share , premices of the act of supreme love of his crucifixion.

« He came to S imon P eter who said to him, ‘ Lord, are you going to wash my fe et ? ‘ Jesus answered, ‘ At the moment you don ’ t know what I am doing, but later you will understand . ’ ‘ N e ver ! ’ said Peter. ’ You shall never wash my feet ! ’ Jesus replied ’ If I d o not wash you, you can have no share with me. ’ Simon Peter said ‘ Well, then Lord ! Not o nly my feet, but my hands and my head as well ! ’ Jesus said ‘ No one who has had a bath needs washing, such a person is clean all over. You too are clean, though not all of you are. » Peter is surprised , Jesus has become servant, by th is ungrateful and humiliating, he lowers down, and washes his dust feet and wip es them. Peter refuses this gesture of Jesus, but e nds up accepting it when Jesu s wil l tell him clearly that he will not have a part o f him. Jesus gets his disciples to enter the virtue of humility, thanks through which they will enter into Kingdom of God. We want to be strip p ed of our comple xes to joyfully accept to serve other people or to be served by them in an act reciprocal humility. When he washes their feet,he bouleverse our conceptions of service to transform us from the bottom. Jesus reveals to us by this ac t of washing his disciples ’ feet, with the greate humility consist s of us emptying ourselves so as to tou ch the ineffable grace of God. During the l ast meal, Jesus gratifies his disciples of his presence by the mystery of the Euch arist. « He knew who w as going to betray him , an d that was why he said ‘ th ough not all of you are. ’ When he had washed their feet and put on his o uter gar ments again he went back to the table. ‘ Do you understand ’ he said ‘ what I have done to you ? ’ You call me Master and Lord, and rightly ; so I am. If I, t he, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you m u st was h each ot he rs ’ feet. I have given you an example so that you do the same to others. ’ Jesus did not do this gesture after the meal but during it. He shows us how important this l as t supper is. By washing the disciples ’ feet, including those of

Jesus,Jesus wants them to enter into this Lo v e of the Father which he wanted to reveal to us. The ges ture of the washing of the feet gets the disciples to enter into the mystery of the Cross which is dr awing near, and s o giv es meaning to it. We enter in to the New Covenant with Jesus in an o pening up to a Love , One which is quite u nbelievable. P rolonging the washing of the feet, Jesus will take some bread, day the Blessing and say : ‘ Take this, all of you and eat, this is my Body, given up for you. ‘ Jesus will s ave us by his Passion , death and Ressurection, by the v ictory of his Infinite love over all types of violence. The Lord Jesus will rise in his Glorious Body , in his Body woven by Mary ’ s body. He invites us to allow o urselv es to have our feet washed by him, to listen to him, look at him, let ourselves be served on. It is he who acts in our lives, we contemplate him on the Cross, where his Love goes right to the end. We ask for the gr ace to understand the Love in the He ar t of Jesus, and to be close to ou r sisters and broth ers.

MAUNDAY THURSDAY, year ’B’

“Before the festival of the Passover, Jesus, knowing that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father, having loved those who were His in the world, loved them to the end. They were at supper and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going to God, and he got up from table, removed his outer garments and taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist ; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing.”

We enter into the Paschal Triduum. Love and humility are the two wings allowing us to take our flight into the Kingdom. Jesus makes the total gift of Himself for the Salvation of mankind and for the Glory of His Father. He shares with his disciples His Body and Blood, premises of the supreme act of Love at his Crucifixion. He will also wash his disciples’ feet, manifesting in an exemplary manner this great virtue of humility. Before the Crucifixion, Jesus leaves his clothes; He will rise again in a Glorious Body. Having loved his own, He will love them right to the end with an unbelievable Love. Love can only be measured with Love. Jesus prepares us, as with his disciples, to receive the gift of the Eucharist. This will be given to us so that we can be courageous enough to enter into His Passion. In washing his disciples’ feet, Jesus prepares us for this new experience of washing each others’ feet and in doing so to dwell in Love.

"Jesus came to Simon Peter who said to him, ’ Lord, are you going to wash my feet?’ Jesus answered, ’At the moment you do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand. ’Never! ’said Peter. ’You shall never wash my feet!’ Jesus replied, ’If I do not wash your feet, you can have no share with me.’ Simon Peter said, ’Well then, Lord, not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!’ Jesus said, ’No-one who has had a bath needs washing, such a person is clean all over.

You too are clean, though not all of you are.’ He knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said, ’though not all of you.’ “Like each one of us, Peter does not understand that, in order to bear the Passion and have the strength to follow Jesus, we need to dwell in humility and gentleness. In an ecstasy of Love, going out of himself and entering into the Bread of Life, Jesus enters into a completely new phase of his Mission. We enter into the New Covenant with Jesus in an astounding passivity of Love. Isaiah had said, ’Through his wounds, we are healed.’ It is the continuation of the washing of the feet that Jesus takes the bread, pronounces the Blessing, and says, ’Take this, all of you, and eat; this is my Body, given up for you.’ Jesus will save us by his Passion, Death and Resurrection, by the victory of His Infinite Love over all violence. Taking the cup, Jesus will say, ’Take this all of you and drink, this is my Blood”. In order to save us, Jesus gives his own life.

“When Jesus had washed their feet and put on his outer garments again, he went back to the table. ’Do you understand, ’he said, ’what I have done to you? You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am. If I, then, the Lord and master, have washed your feet, you must wash each others’ feet. I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done for you.’”

God truly is the friend of the poor; God is his one and only true Friend. We try to get rid of all inferior or superior complexes so as to accept to joyfully serve others and to be served by them in an act of reciprocal humility. A New Love has been given to us, a New Life is given to us, and we have the experience of loving each other in Truth. Thus, Jesus prepares us to receive his Body and Blood so that we can wash each others’ feet. And so all the barriers that had gone up in our hearts begin to disappear in the Service of our lives. By washing the feet of one another, we enter into the sacrifice of our own life, we prepare ourselves to receive the Body and Blood of Jesus.

“I have given you an example, so that you may copy what I have done to you.”