Liturgical Readings for : Thursday, 28th March, 2024
Holy Thursday Morning : The Chrism Mass
FIRST READING
A reading from the prophet Isaiah 61:1-3. 6. 8-9
The Lord has anointed me and has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to give them the oil of gladness.
The spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for the Lord has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up hearts that are broken;
to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to those in prison;
to proclaim a year of favour from the Lord, a day of vengeance for our God; to comfort all those who mourn and to give them for ashes a garland; for mourning robe the oil of gladness,
for despondency, praise.
But you, you will be named ‘priests of the Lord‘, they will call you ‘ministers of our God.’
I reward them faithfully and make an everlasting covenant with them.
Their race will be famous throughout the nations, their descendants throughout the peoples.
All who see them will admit, that they are a race whom the Lord has blessed.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 88:21-22. 25. 27.
Response I will sing for ever of your love, O Lord.
1. I have found David my servant and with my holy oil anointed him.
My hand shall always be with him and my arm shall make him strong. Response
2. My truth and my love shall be with him; by my name his might shall be exalted.
He will say to me: ‘You are my father, my God, the rock who saves me.’ Response
Second Reading Apocalypse 1:5-8
He made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father.
Grace and peace to you from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness,
the First-born from the dead, the Ruler of the kings of the earth.
He loves us and has washed away our sins with his blood, and made us a line of kings, priests to serve his God and Father; to him, then, be glory and power for ever and ever. Amen. It is he who is coming on the clouds; everyone will see him, even those who pierced him, and all the races of the earth will mourn over him. This is the truth. Amen.
‘I am the Alpha and the Omega‘ says the Lord God, who is, who was, and who is to come, the Almighty.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Gospel Acclamation Is 61: 1 (Lk 4: 18)
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!
The spirit of the Lord has been given to me; he has sent me to bring the good news to the poor.
Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory.
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to Luke 4:16-21 Glory to you, O Lord
The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me.
Jesus came to Nazara, where he had been brought up, and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day as he usually did. He stood up to read, and they handed him the scroll of the prophet Isaiah. Unrolling the scroll he found the place where it is written:
The Spirit of the Lord has been given to me, for he has anointed me.
He has sent me to bring the good news to the poor,
to proclaim liberty to captives and to the blind new sight,
to set the downtrodden free, to proclaim the Lord’s year of favour.
He then rolled up the scroll, gave it back to the assistant and sat down.
And all eyes in the synagogue were fixed on him. Then he began to speak to them,
‘This text is being fulfilled today even as you listen.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
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EASTER TRIDUUM
Holy Thursday Evening – Mass of the Lord’s Supper
The Scriptures this evening direct our minds to the opening of the great paschal celebration .We are entering
into this mystery in such a way that when we break bread and share cup we once more proclaim the death of the Lord.
FIRST READING
A reading from the book of Exodus 12:1-8. 11-14
Instructions concerning the Passover meal.
The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,
‘This month is the first of all the others for you, the first month of your year. Speak to the whole community of Israel and say,
“On the tenth day of this month each man must take an animal from the flock, one for each family: one animal for each household. If the household is too small to eat the animal, a man must join with his neighbour, the nearest to his house, as the number of persons requires.
You must take into account what each can eat in deciding the number for the animal. It must be an animal without blemish, a male one year old; you may take it from either sheep or goats. You must keep it till the fourteenth day of the month when the whole assembly of the community of Israel shall slaughter it between the two evenings.
Some of the blood must then be taken and put on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses where it is eaten. That night, the flesh is to be eaten, roasted over the fire; it must be eaten with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. You shall eat it like this: with a girdle round your waist, sandals on your feet, a staff in your hand. You shall eat it hastily: it is a passover in honour of the Lord.”
‘That night, I will go through the land of Egypt and strike down all the first-born in the land of Egypt, man and beast alike, and I shall deal out punishment to all the gods of Egypt, Iam the Lord!
‘The blood shall serve to mark the houses that you live in. When I see the blood I will pass over you and you shall escape the destroying plague when I strike the land of Egypt.
‘This day is to be a day of remembrance for you, and you must celebrate it as a feast in the Lord’s honour.
For all generations you are to declare it a day of festival, for ever.’
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Responsorial Psalm Ps 115
Response The blessing-cup that we bless is a communion with the blood of Christ.
1. How can I repay the Lord for his goodness to me?
The cup of salvation I will raise; I will call on the Lord’s name. Response
2. O precious in the eyes of the Lord is the death of his faithful.
Your servant, Lord, your servant am I; you have loosened my bonds. Response
3. A thanksgiving sacrifice I make: I will call on the Lord’s name.
My vows to the Lord I will fulfil before all his people. Response
SECOND READING
A reading from the first letter of St Paul to the Corinthians 11:23-26
Every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.
This is what I received from the Lord, and in turn passed on to you: that on the same night that he was betrayed, the Lord Jesus took some bread, and thanked God for it and broke it, and he said,
‘This is my body, which is for you; do this as a memorial of me’.
In the same way he took the cup after supper, and said,
‘This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Whenever you drink it, do this as a memorial of me.’
Until the Lord comes, therefore, every time you eat this bread and drink this cup, you are proclaiming his death.
The Word of the Lord. Thanks be to God
Gospel Acclamation
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
I give you a new commandment: love one another just as I loved you, says the Lord.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the Gospel according to John 13:1-15 Glory to you, O Lord
Now he showed how perfect his love was.
It was before the festival of the Passover, and Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to pass from this world to the Father.
He had always loved those who were his in the world, but now he showed how perfect his love was.
They were at supper, and the devil had already put it into the mind of Judas Iscariot son of Simon, to betray him. Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into his hands, and that he had come from God and was returning to God, and he got up from table, removed his outer garment and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
‘Lord, are you going to wash my feet?‘
Jesus answered,
‘At the moment you do not know what I am doing, but later you will understand.’
‘Never!’ said Peter ‘You shall never wash my feet.’
Jesus replied,
‘If I do not wash you, you can have nothing in common with me.’
‘Then, Lord,‘ said Simon Peter ‘not only my feet, but my hands and my head as well!’
Jesus said, ‘No one who has taken a bath needs washing, he is clean all over.
You too are clean, though not all of you are.’
He knew who was going to betray him, that was why he said, ‘though not all of you are.’
When he had washed their feet and put on his clothes again he went back to the table.
‘Do you understand’ he said ‘what I have done to you?
You call me Master and Lord, and rightly; so I am.
If I, then, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you should wash each other’s feet.
I have given you an example so that you may copy what I have done to you.’
The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ
Taken from THE JERUSALEM BIBLE, published and copyright 1966, by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd
