Maundy Thursday
Gospel: John 13:1–15On Maundy Thursday, the Gospel reveals the deepest Christological mystery: the identity of Jesus is inseparable from His self-emptying love. Knowing that He comes from the Father and returns to the Father, He manifests divine glory not through power, but through abasement. In kneeling to wash the feet of His disciples, Christ unveils the very being of God, He is the One who gives Himself entirely. The Incarnate Word, in whom all authority resides, expresses His divine sonship through obedience and service. This gesture is not merely moral; it is revelatory. It anticipates the Cross and is intrinsically linked to the Eucharist, where the same Christ offers His Body and Blood as the definitive covenant. In Him, love becomes sacrament: visible, tangible, and total. The same hands that will break the bread now wash the feet; the same love that will be poured out on the Cross is already being lived in humble service. To enter into this mystery is to encounter Christ not only as Lord, but as the One who defines lordship through self-gift, inviting us into communion with His own divine life expressed in sacrificial love. Let’s reflect: Do I truly recognize and enter into the mystery of Christ, who reveals His divine identity through total self-giving love, and allow my life to be conformed to His?
Don Giorgio