Edited by Gerald Boerner
Commentary:
As we enter the fifth day of Holy Week, Maundy Thursday or Holy Thursday, let us continue to focus our attention on the Christ that is the center of this celebration. On Palm Sunday, we commemorated the entry of Christ into Jerusalem. Today’s focus in upon the Last Supper and the events surrounding it. It is a time to continue our focus upon the meaning of this period of time.
Maundy Thursday, also known as Holy Thursday, Covenant Thursday, Great and Holy Thursday, and Thursday of Mysteries, is the Christian feast or holy day falling on the Thursday before Easter that commemorates the Last Supper of Jesus Christ with the Apostles. It is the fifth day of Holy Week, and is preceded by Holy Wednesday and followed by Good Friday. The date is always between 19 March and 22 April inclusive. These dates in the Julian calendar, on which Eastern churches in general base their calculations of the date of Easter, correspond throughout the twenty-first century to 1 April and 5 May in the more commonly used Gregorian calendar. In 2011 it falls on 21 April.
The Mass of the Lord’s Supper initiates the Easter Triduum, the three days of Friday, Saturday and Sunday that commemorate the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus. It is normally celebrated in the evening, when according to Jewish tradition Friday begins.
Well, we will proceed with our exploration of this important day in our Christian experience… GLB
These Introductory Comments are copyrighted:
Copyright©2011 — Gerald Boerner — All Rights Reserved[ 1929 Words ]
Quotations Related to EASTER:
“Christ appeared alive on several occasions after the cataclysmic events of that first Easter.”
— Josh McDowell
“Do not abandon yourselves to despair. We are the Easter people and hallelujah is our song.”
— Pope John Paul II
“Most people outside of America won’t get it. It’s the Easter bunny. It’s another lie and I don’t understand why we had to invent this character.”
— Todd Rundgren