Maundy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper 2026

When we place ourselves at the table with Jesus and the Apostles on the night before his arrest, we can almost feel Peter’s confusion and unease. The Lord of heaven kneels with a bowl of water and asks to wash our dusty, ordinary feet. It is a love so humble, so unexpected, that it is unsettling. Like Peter, we would gladly kneel before Jesus, yet hesitate to let Jesus kneel before us. We would feel unworthy, embarrassed, even overwhelmed. No wonder Peter struggled. So would we.

Yet Jesus speaks with a tenderness that is also firm: unless Peter receives this act of love, he cannot share fully in his life. Imagine Jesus saying that to us. It would take our breath away. And still, it reveals something beautiful and freeing; that to belong to Christ means first to let ourselves be loved by him, not on our own terms, but on his. Only when we have received his generous, self-giving love can we begin to offer that same love to others.

Yet, there is something even more astonishing in the washing of the feet. As Jesus lays aside his garments and bends low to serve, he points towards the moment when he will give everything on the Cross. The same love that kneels before us with a towel is the love that stretches out its arms for the salvation of the world.

Each time we participate in the Eucharist, we are drawn into that same love: a love that honours us, heals us, and sends us out. Serving others is not a burden but a blessing, not a duty but a privilege. Christ gives himself so generously to us that we cannot help but share that generosity with the world.

By Fr. Thomas O'Brien a.a.