Thursday, March 29, 2018


Holy Thursday


Baruch, Chapter 6, Verse 22
Know, therefore, that they are not gods; do not fear them.

Heed the words of Saint John Paul the Great in confronting the gods of this age: money, love, self, happiness, equality and celebrity.
 Evil is never defeated by evil; once that road is taken, rather than defeating evil, one will instead be defeated by evil.
Peace is the outcome of a long and demanding battle which is only won when evil is defeated by good. Flee what is evil and hold fast to what is good. Peace is a good to be promoted with good: it is a good for individuals, for families, for nations and for all humanity; yet it is one which needs to be maintained and fostered by decisions and actions inspired by good. "Repay no one evil for evil" (Rom 12:17). The one way out of the vicious circle of requiting evil for evil is "Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good" (Rom 12:21). At its deepest level, evil is a tragic rejection of the demands of love. Moral good, on the other hand, is born of love, shows itself as love and is directed towards love. All this is particularly evident to Christians, who know that their membership in the one mystical Body of Christ sets them in a particular relationship not only with the Lord but also with their brothers and sisters. The inner logic of Christian love, which in the Gospel is the living source of moral goodness, leads even to the love of one's enemies: "If your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink" (Rom 12:20).[1]

Aids in Battle [2] The Power of the Holy Spirit

In the Holy Spirit we have from God a mighty Ally and Protector, a great Teacher of the Church, a mighty Champion on our behalf. We must not be afraid of the demons, nor of the Devil himself; for more powerful than those is the One who fights for us. But we must open our doors to Him, for He goes about seeking those who are worthy and searching for those on whom He may bestow His gifts. ST. CYRIL OF JERUSALEM
Tutelage of the Holy Spirit[3]

Being baptized in Christ is the only requirement for receiving the Holy Spirit, but to grow in the Spirit there are certain things that are necessary and these are a few of them.

§  A genuine desire to be holy I always use the word 'holy' to mean living a life pleasing to God in every possible way, not just in those matters you consider expedient; and obeying his commandments to the fullest extent that you are capable of. Holiness has to be your goal and you must be prepared to do whatever it takes to attain it, which includes a total, unwavering commitment. The course is gruelling and if you aren't committed, you will crash out in no time.
§  Heartfelt repentance: You have to be genuinely sorry for your sins. It doesn't matter that you might be constrained by sin at this point — part of the Holy Spirit's role is to take away the constraints and free you of sin, which will happen in time — but what is important at this stage is that you be truly sorry for the offences that you have committed against God and be determined never to sin against him anymore.
§  Honesty and courage: Another requirement is honesty, more with ourselves than with anybody else, and the courage to face up to who we really are. Most of us put up facades for public display and have been doing it for so long we have ended up even fooling ourselves. The Holy Spirit is going to rip the masks apart, albeit gently, and reveal things about you that you will not like to see. If you aren't willing to face up to the truth of who you are and be ready to remedy yourself without justification, you aren't going to make much progress.
§  Love for God: A vital requirement is a genuine love for God, translatable into action. Love for God is something that will grow as you grow in him, but what you need is a basic element of it to begin with, because it is only love for God that will help you make a lot of the tough decisions that you will be called to make as you progress through this school. The more love for God that you have, the more you will be prepared to do for him, which will, consequently, make it that much easier for you.

Holy Thursday[4]

Holy Thursday is also known as Maundy Thursday and is a celebration of the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood. There were originally three separate Masses for Maundy Thursday. The first, no longer in use, is the Mass of Remission, whereby the public penitents who had been doing special penance during Lent were received back into the Church. The second is the Chrism Mass, when the bishop blesses the holy oils to be used for the year. The third is the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper, in which the Church celebrates the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood. The special ceremonies for this exultant Mass (the Gloria returns and white vestments are used) include the priest's washing the feet of twelve men, the removal of the Eucharist to the Altar of Repose, and the stripping of the altars. After the Blessed Sacrament is "laid to rest" in a special tabernacle on the Altar of Repose, it is customary for the church to stay open all night and for private devotion to take place. A variation of this custom is to visit seven such shrines during the night in imitation of the Sette Chiese of the Roman Stations (see Stations). This custom was quite popular in American cities like Boston until the late 1960s.

"Clean" Thursday Customs

Because it was the day that penitents and catechumens were cleansed of their sins (and allowed to bathe again), Maundy Thursday is known in some parts of the world as "Clean" Thursday. The idea of cleanliness also extended to the rest of the faithful. In a time when bathing did not happen every day, Clean Thursday became the occasion for thoroughly cleansing the body in preparation for Easter. There is also a charming legend that after the bells are rung for the Gloria during the Mass of the Last Supper, "they fly to Rome" where -- depending on who is telling the story -- they either are blessed by the Pope and sleep on the roof of St. Peter's Holy Saturday night, or are given Easter eggs to return with them on Sunday morning.

The Mass[5]

The Mass was the center of life for the disciples of Jesus, and so it has ever been. The first Christians were Jews, living in a Jewish culture, steeped in Jewish forms of worship. The liturgy of the new covenant had been foreshadowed in the rituals of the old. The Mass is explicitly connected with the Passover meal. There are also parallels between the thank-offering or todah and the Mass.

A todah sacrifice would be offered by someone whose life had been delivered from great peril, such as disease or the sword. The redeemed person would show his gratitude to God by gathering his closest friends and family for a todah sacrificial meal. The lamb would be sacrificed in the Temple and the bread for the meal would be consecrated the moment the lamb was sacrificed. The bread and meat, along with wine, would constitute the elements of the sacred todah meal, which would be accompanied by prayers and songs of thanksgiving, such as Psalm 116.[6]

The Talmud records the ancient rabbis’ teaching that, when the Messiah has come, “All sacrifices will cease except the todah.” In fact Greek scriptures rendered the word todah as eucharistia, the word from which we get “Eucharist.”

Tonight If possible visit Him in the Bless Sacrament chapel between 9 P.M. and midnight for it was on Holy Thursday between these hours that our Lord was in so much agony over us that He sweat blood and he was most alone. Spend time with Him.

Daily Devotions
·         Drops of Christ’s Blood
·         Nineveh 90 Day 88
·         Manhood of the Master-Day 5 week 9
·         Lenten Calendar Day 44
·         Do 60 min. in front of the Blessed Sacrament.
·         Please pray for me and this ministry



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