Holy Week: Bishop Deeley Celebrates Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord’s Supper in Portland

"Tonight, Holy Thursday, we remember the extraordinary gift the Lord Jesus has given us:
Himself in love. Treasure that gift. Be amazed by God's generosity.
Share what you have received. How blessed we are this holy night."

PORTLAND---Marking the start of the Easter Triduum, Bishop Robert Deeley celebrated Holy Thursday Mass of the Lord's Supper at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception in Portland on Thursday night, April 14 (many additional pictures below).

Holy Thursday commemorates the Last Supper that Jesus shared with his disciples and is a celebration of Christ's gift of the Eucharist, his true body and blood, and the gift of the Mass to the Church.

"Every time we gather for Eucharist, it is a remembrance, a memorial of the supper Jesus shared with his disciples. But this evening, we actually gather on the day before he 'was given up to death, a death he freely accepted' and 'the day before he suffered to save us and all men.' We do not celebrate this Mass as an anniversary, but simply mindful that we do it on that same night that the apostles gathered with Jesus for the first Mass," the bishop told the large assembly. "In the Eucharist, Jesus Christ gives himself completely and unreservedly to each one of us. He comes into our lives! And when we receive him, we commit our lives to him."

The Eucharist and the Mass are not only to be celebrated on Holy Thursday but lay inside the heart of Christianity itself.

"The risen Jesus, who lives beyond space and time, reaches across those dimensions to each of us now and every time we encounter him in the Eucharist and says to each of us, personally and individually, 'this is my body given for you today.'"

Those in the Upper Room were made the first priests of Jesus so that they could gather the community for the Eucharist going forward and given a commandment to exercise the charity they witnessed in Jesus' life, a clear reality that shows how much Jesus loves us, his desire for us to love him, and his desire for us to love others in kind. A message further conveyed in the Gospel on Holy Thursday (Jn 13:1-15) in which Jesus humbly washes the feet of the disciples as a model to follow: "…as I have done for you, you should also do."

To highlight the mandate of loving service in the Lord's name, Bishop Deeley washed the feet of eight people during Mass.

"With our feet washed, as recounted in this evening's Gospel, and our hearts full of the love we know in Jesus, we are prepared to wash the feet of those we are called to serve," said Bishop Deeley during his homily. "We will see our Christian life, then, not as something I should do, but as something I do because I want to pass along what I have known: God's love in Jesus Christ."

The Mass of the Lord's Supper is the last Mass that will be celebrated before the Easter Vigil on Holy Saturday, April 16. During the Mass on Thursday evening, additional hosts were consecrated for use during Good Friday services.

After communion, the bishop incensed the Blessed Sacrament on the altar and then carried the hosts in a solemn procession through the cathedral and into the adjoining chapel, where the bishop, priests, and parishioners knelt in adoration and prayer.

The main tabernacle in the cathedral will remain empty until the Easter Vigil. The altar in the cathedral was also stripped and left bare.

"Tonight, Holy Thursday, we remember the extraordinary gift the Lord Jesus has given us: Himself in love. Treasure that gift. Be amazed by God's generosity. Share what you have received," said the bishop. "How blessed we are this holy night."

Bishop Deeley will preside at the Celebration of Our Lord's Passion on Good Friday (7 p.m.), the Easter Vigil Mass on Saturday (8 p.m.), and the celebration of the Mass of the Resurrection of the Lord on Easter Sunday (10 a.m.). The bishop will also participate in the Office of Readings and Morning Prayer on Good Friday and Holy Saturday at 7:30 a.m. All of the Masses and services will be held at the Cathedral of the Immaculate Conception, and all are welcome to participate in any of the gatherings. The Masses and services will also be livestreamed.

A special Holy Week section is available on the Diocese of Portland website that includes Mass and service times at all Maine parishes, listings of special parish events, daily prayers and reflections, and many other resources.

In addition, stories from many Masses and services, messages, and other resources throughout Holy Week will be posted on the diocesan website, the diocesan Facebook page, the diocesan Twitter page, the diocesan Instagram page, myParish App, and on Bishop Deeley's personal social media pages on Twitter and Instagram.

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