Maundy Thursday

Did you know what "Maundy" meant?

As I cruised around this afternoon I came across this definition:

The Holy Thursday liturgy, celebrated in the evening because Passover began at sundown, shows both the worth God ascribes to the humility of service, and the need for cleansing with water (a symbol of baptism) in the Mandatum, or washing in Jesus' washing the feet of His disciples, and in the priest's stripping and washing of the altar.

Cleansing, in fact, gave this day of Holy Week the name Maundy Thursday.

Deep within us all is the desire to be cleansed, to be washed and restored.
To be made new.
This is a major theme of the action on the cross - Jesus, as the saying goes, "Washes us whiter than snow" (Or as "white as the inside of a coconut" - but that's a long story...).

I need these three days to be cleansed, to be washed, to experience, through the power of liturgy, word and sacrament, the power of Jesus in the mystery of his death, and resurrection.

God Bless you.

Have you downloaded a Holy Week Background yet from the Jerusalem Communities?
Go on - You know you should!!