We hear at today’s Mass, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet” (Jn 13:12-14).
Holy Thursday marks the beginning of the Triduum, the three most sacred days in the Church’s year.
For many Catholics, Christmas feels more memorable, more nostalgic — marked by beloved carols and warm and cozy traditions. But the Triduum? It’s different. It’s more solemn. Less wrapped in cultural comfort, which is precisely why it’s so powerful. Without distractions, we’re drawn deeper into the liturgy, into Christ’s life and love.
I think back to my days as an altar server, where I first encountered the richness of these sacred days. The rehearsals, the anticipation, the complexity of the liturgies — these left an impression on my heart that has never faded. And in more recent years, I’ve come to love the tradition of the Seven Church Walk on Holy Thursday night, especially around our Dominican neighborhood in Washington, D.C. It’s a sort of sanctified Halloween — friends walking together, singing hymns, pausing to pray at chapels lit by candlelight. It’s a night of beauty, of presence, of remaining with the Lord.
Keeping watch with Christ
That, I think, is the heart of Holy Thursday: remaining. The liturgy leads us from the washing of feet to the institution of the Eucharist and finally into silence — into Gethsemane. Just as Jesus asked His disciples, “Could you not watch with me one hour?” So, too, we are invited to keep watch with him.
The foot washing is a gesture of service, yes, but it’s also a sign of something deeper — the priesthood. On this night, Jesus gave us both the Eucharist and the priesthood, two mysteries intimately bound together. As a priest, I find it moving to reflect on how Jesus handed on his mission of love and sacrifice to his apostles that very evening.
And so, friends, I invite you to enter into this night not just as a remembrance but as an encounter. Go to the altar of repose. Sit with the Lord. Pray with Him. This Holy Thursday, remain.
