Holy Thursday – also called Maundy Thursday, referring to the Latin word mandatum, commandment, quoted in the verse before the Gospel. Today the only Mass celebrated at our parish is the Mass of the Last Supper at 7:00 p.m. upstairs in the main church. We will collect food and money donations for our local food shelf in lieu of a regular collection. We honor and adore the Blessed Sacrament, instituted at that Passover feast by Christ Himself. The feet of twelve faithful may be washed, replicating Christ’s humble service to His apostles at the Last Supper. We hear the Gloria and bells, which then cease until the Easter Vigil. The Mass does not end but closes in silence without a final blessing. The altar is stripped. The Blessed Sacrament is transferred solemnly to an altar of repose where we may keep vigil, as Our Lord did in the garden of Gethsemane, in the first agony of His passion.