Bishop Broderick Pabillo urged Catholics on Maundy Thursday, April 1, to physically attend Mass once possible, as he said an online Mass “is a poor substitute” to an in-person liturgy that includes holy communion.”

“Our online Mass is a poor substitute of the real physical participation in the Mass. At the moment we are constrained to watch the online Masses, but please do not lose the fire, the desire to be physically present when it is possible, and to really receive the body of Christ into our body,” Pabillo said.

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Karen Monroy of GCF South Metro shares her reflection in this episode of The Power of the Cross Daily Prayer and Devotion.

The following is the reflection of the Maundy Thursday Gospel reading by Fr Ariel Macatangay of the Salesians of Don Bosco.

LEARNING THE WORD (Holy Thursday – Jn 13:1-15)
On Holy Thursday, we remember Jesus instituting the Eucharist during the Last Supper. While the other evangelists put this last meal on the night of Passover, that is, a Friday, only St John situates his narrative “before the feast of Passover,” that is, on a Thursday evening. Moreover, instead of recounting how Jesus offers His Body and Blood to His apostles in the forms of bread and wine, St John prefers to use the exquisite narrative of the washing of the feet. This humble gesture, which the lowest Jewish slave was not required to do, is laden with meanings. It is a dramatization of servanthood, a model of the crucifixion, a symbol of cleansing from sin by sacrificial death. In all these meanings, the main motive and manner is no less than the perfect love of the Son and Servant of the Father. This love, which is “to the end,” is the essence of the Eucharist, of the washing of the feet, of the priesthood, and of the new commandment, which we all remember on this Holy Thursday evening.

I LEARN that Love, freely, humbly and generously shared makes the Eucharist the Church’s abiding and most precious treasure, the source and summit of Christian life. I hope that, by the power of the Body and Blood of Christ, His Soul and Divinity, I may undergo the transformation from the mentality of duty to that of devotion, from the heart of a leader to that of a servant, from the spirit of self-referentiality to that of self-oblation.

I PRAY. O Lord Jesus Christ, Lamb of God, “the mute lamb, the slain lamb, the lamb born of Mary, the fair ewe,” I thank and glorify You for offering Your Life for us, poor sinners, with gracious love “to the end.” I humbly beg You to look down with tender mercy upon our human family, suffering under the devastating blows of COVID-19. Many are not able to work, to eat enough, to get hospital space, to mourn for their departed relatives, to celebrate the sacred liturgies on these most solemn of holy days. As You have washed Your apostles’ feet on this day, wash us from our sins, our guilt, our selfishness and weaknesses, our fears and anxieties, our confusions and desperations. Feed Your hungry and thirsty people with the relief and aid of Your generous servants. Heal the sick of body, mind and heart with Your abiding Eucharistic presence within the mystical Body of Christ. Grant us firm faith, undying hope and generous love that will see us through this crisis until the Easter of transformed lives in our families, societies, nations and planet, until we reach Your Kingdom of eternal happiness and communion. Amen.