Maundy Thursday

I was all set for the Maundy Thursday evening Communion service and the Stripping of the Altar, but it was not to be. Early afternoon Kathy called and suggested we should drive over the mountains to Eastern Washington where a friend of ours needed some help, support, prayers -- and a simple website for his business. The last meant I needed information and pictures.

I was being singularly ineffective and unproductive at work today, and besides, an opportunity for the camera should never be passed up. So we went. But we didn't get back into the area until well after the service was over. Having missed the noon ante-Communion services Monday through Wednesday due to teleconferences, my batting average this week is quite low. Tomorrow is a company holiday so that should change.

In the meantime, Fr. Davis sent the Parish an e-mail which in part explained Maundy Thursday:

The first part of the Triduum, which in Latin means "Three Days," begins with Maundy Thursday, recalling the events of the evening that Jesus was betrayed. The word "Maundy" derives from the Latin phrase mandatum novum, meaning "new commandment" and refers to the words of our Lord as recorded in St. John 13:34-35:

A new commandment I give unto you, That ye love one another; as I have loved you, that ye also love one another. By this shall all men know that ye are my disciples, if ye have love one to another.

It has become increasingly popular in recent years to re-enact the foot-washing ritual on this evening, but more than anything, Maundy Thursday is about the celebration of Holy Communion; it is, in fact, the very anniversary of the very first Supper of our Lord.