Maundy Thursday: 2024

"Maundy" is an Anglo-French word derived from the Latin "mandatum," meaning "commandment." On this day , also known as Holy Thursday, Christians remember the Last Supper - likely a Passover meal - and the institution of Holy Communion, Jesus's command to his disciples to love one another as He loved them, His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane, and His betrayal by Judas Iscariot.

Detail, The Sacrament of the Last Supper Salvador Dali, 1953

A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another.

                                                                           John 13:34 NIV

Go to dark Gethsemane,

Ye that feel the tempter's power;

Your Redeemer's conflict see;

Watch with him one bitter hour;

Turn not from his griefs away;

Learn of Jesus Christ to pray.

See him at the judgment hall,

Beaten, bound, reviled, arraigned;

See him meekly bearing all;

Love of man His soul sustained!

Shun not suffering, shame, or loss;

Learn of Christ to bear the cross.

In mainstream churches, as a symbol of Christ, the altar is stripped in remembrance of his abandonment by the disciples in Gathsemane, a garden at the foot of the Mount of Olives. This action prepares the congregation and chancel for Good Friday and the celebration of the day the world changed forever.

If you are interested in learning more about Salvador Dali's surreal Sacrament of the Last Supper, go here.




Sources

Photos and Illustrations: Dali painting, National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.