REFLECTIONS TODAY
Today is Maundy Thursday
The word Maundy, from Latin mandatum, means “commandment.” As we enter the Paschal Triduum, we reflect on Jesus’ act of washing the feet of his disciples.
We may reflect on the virtue of humility. Jesus is the master who washes the feet of his disciples. But there is more to this loving act of Jesus. Jesus’ act is profoundly connected with the laying down of his life.
Jesus’ putting off and putting on of his garment symbolize the giving up and taking up of Jesus’ life. No one can take the life of Jesus from him.
Jesus himself gives it up. Jesus has made a decision. He has decided to lay down his life for you and me because of his great love for us. Jesus has shown us an example to emulate. Jesus himself loved his own to the end.
The mandate is that we love one another (Jn 13:34). Are we prepared to enter the Paschal Triduum? Are we ready to do Jesus’ mandate: to love one another? In what way can we emulate Jesus’ example of laying down his life for others?
First Reading •
Is 61:1-3a, 6a, 8-9
The Spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has anointed me; he has sent me to bring glad tidings to the lowly, to heal the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and release to the prisoners, to announce a year of favor from the Lord and a day of vindication by our God, to comfort all who mourn; to place on those who mourn in Zion a diadem instead of ashes, to give them oil of gladness in place of mourning, a glorious mantle instead of a listless spirit.
You yourselves shall be named priests of the Lord, ministers of our God shall you be called. I will give them their recompense faithfully, a lasting covenant I will make with them.
Their descendants shall be renowned among the nations, and their offspring among the peoples; all who see them shall acknowledge them as a race the Lord has blessed.
Gospel • Luke 4:16-21
Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had grown up, and went according to his custom into the synagogue on the sabbath day. He stood up to read and was handed a scroll of the prophet Isaiah. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written:
The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to bring glad tidings to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to let the oppressed go free, and to proclaim a year acceptable to the Lord.
Rolling up the scroll, he handed it back to the attendant and sat down, and the eyes of all in the synagogue looked intently at him. He said to them, “Today this Scripture passage is fulfilled in your hearing.”
Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2025,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: publishing@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.