Through my eyes as a Deacon, at but one parish in the Archdiocese of New Orleans, I can tell you what I witnessed tonight. Maybe it was similar for you, or much different. Perhaps you were not able tonight to be part of the Mass of the Lord's Supper. It is such a rich liturgical celebration.
I had so hoped to see part of the Pope's Mass from the juvenile detention center in Rome today; I just got a glimpse at some pictures. I was able to hear the first part of the Mass from St. Patrick's in New York thanks to satelitte radio. But my witness would be tonight, as Deacon of the Gospel at the Mass of the Lord's Supper at MHT Parish, Covington, LA.
Ours was a beautifully celebrated liturgy. We had a full choir, we had a pretty full church to(thanks be to God) and we had three Deacons join the Pastor for the Liturgy. Five altar servers helped us as we used incense; the bells & smells of good Catholic liturgy. We heard the singing of the Gloria, not sung during Lent and not sung again until the Saturday evening vigil. Beautiful readings are proclaimed; the night of the Passover from Exodus; the institution of the Eucharist as St. Paul relays it to the people of Corinth, the Gospel of the washing of feet from John. We sung the hauntingly beautiful 116th Psalm. I was happy to preach tonight; a homily I decided to center around "remembering"and how we are called to wash other's feet. We indeed had the washing of feet, followed by the liturgy of the Eucharist and the beautiful procession to the altar of repose. Everyone was left in the church to decide how long they would spend in front of the Eucharistic Jesus, prior to Him leaving the Church all together at midnight.
Was your experience the same? Is Holy Thursday well attended? Tonight, are you reflecting on all that Holy Thursday means to us today?
What did you witness tonight?
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