Bishop Aloysius washes Feet of 12 Lay Persons on Maundy Thursday
Mangaluru: Christians across all parishes of the diocese thronged to their respective churches to observe Maundy Thursday with great devotion on April 13.
The Holy Mass depicts the scene year after year symbolizing love and humility. It was also on this night that Jesus was betrayed with a kiss by his apostle Judas in the garden of Gethsemane.
Bishop of Mangaluru Dr Aloysius P D’Souza celebrated the solemn Liturgy and washed the feet of twelve members of the parish to commemorate the washing of the disciples’ feet by Jesus.
Dr Aloysius, in his homily, said that Jesus in his last supper, offered himself as a Passover victim and every priest presents his sacrifice till this day. He also highlighted the pious practices of Lenten season and called the faithful to do penance in order to attain peace.
Bishop further said, “Jesus washed the feet of his disciples. He said to love one another and also forgive others. We need to live the teachings of Jesus. We need to inculcate the service and sacrifice of Jesus in our life. Jesus sacrificed himself to save us from our sins. We need to love our enemies. If anyone goes against us we should forgive him/her. Love means forgiveness and serving others. Everyone does not have the gift of forgiveness Whoever loves God they have the gift of forgiveness.”
Further, Dr Alyosius said that Jesus came into this world for us, to give us life and save us from sin. “He transformed his flesh and blood into bread and wine. We have to learn the meaning of Easter. As Catholics, we have to remember the celebration of the feast, sacrament, service and sacrifice besides which, we should be service minded,” he said.
The Bishop washed the feet of 12 ward gurkars. To mark the day in all the churches, the Parish Priest of the respective church normally washes the feet of the twelve lay people, thus imitating Jesus’s lesson in humility. The service concludes with a procession taking the Blessed Sacrament to the place of reposition. The altar is later stripped bare, as are all other altars in the church except the Altar of Repose. The stripping of the Altar is the sign of preparation for Good Friday.
The Liturgy of Holy Thursday marks the end of the Lenten season and the beginning of the sacred Triduum of Holy Week.