Holy Thursday 2026

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 Tonight we enter the upper room.

On the night before He died, Jesus gathers with His disciples for a meal. They expect something familiar—a Passover meal, prayers, tradition.

Instead, Jesus does something unexpected.

He gets up from the table…
takes off His outer garment…
kneels down…
and begins to wash their feet.

This is not just a kind gesture. It is shocking.

The Teacher becomes the servant.
The Master takes the place of the lowest slave.

And then He says:

“I have given you a model to follow.”

That action—more than anything else—explains everything that happens this night.

Because on this same night, Jesus also gives us the Eucharist.

He takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them, saying:
“This is my Body, given up for you.”

The hands that wash feet…
are the same hands that break the bread.

The love that kneels before the disciples…
is the same love that gives itself in the Eucharist.

The Eucharist is not just something we receive.
It is the very life of Christ—poured out in humble, self-giving love.

And tonight we also remember the institution of the priesthood.

The priest exists to make Christ present—especially in the Eucharist.
But the priest is also called to live what he celebrates.

Not power.
Not status.
But service.

So I ask you to pray for your priests—that we may always reflect the love of Christ we are called to share.

In just a few moments, we will reenact this Gospel in the washing of the feet.

This is not a performance.

It is a reminder.

A reminder of who Christ is.
And a reminder of who we are called to be.

Throughout this Lent, we have reflected on our theme:
“We are ambassadors for Christ.”

Tonight we see what that means.

Ambassadors do not just speak a message.
They embody it.

And the message of Christ is this:

A love that kneels.
A love that serves.
A love that gives itself away.

Every time we come forward to receive the Eucharist, we receive that love.

And then we are sent to live it.

Not in grand or dramatic ways,
but in the ordinary moments of daily life:

in patience,
in forgiveness,
in service,
in love that costs something.

Tonight we receive the Body of Christ…

so that we can become the Body of Christ for others.

And the same Jesus who kneels before us tonight
will send us out to kneel before others.

Location: Morrisonville, NY, USA

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