On Maundy Thursday we meet to commemorate the institution of the Holy Eucharist at the Last Supper Jesus held with his chosen disciples. The Mass includes the ceremony of Foot Washing, as members of the congregation come forward to have their feet washed. Christian charity must first manifest itself within the community of the Church which is the Body of Christ, and as if that were not difficult enough, it must overflow in service to a world which ‘God so loved.’ Maundy Thursday is dominated by the Lord’s Supper, which gives the Mass a joyous and festive character, even in the midst of Holy Week and the beginning of the Triduum.
This is the mystery of our faith. At the end of the Mass, the Altar is stripped and the sanctuary laid bare. We remember the abandonment of Our Lord. We leave in silence, keeping vigil privately.