A Reflection for Holy Thursday, Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper
Find today’s readings here.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
“Master, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“What I am doing, you do not understand now,
but you will understand later.”
Every Holy Thursday for the last 12 years, save perhaps for this one, Pope Francis has done something dramatic to capture our attention. In our “attention economy,” this is no small matter. Pope Francis is one of the few people in the world who can get everyone talking.
And think about where he has directed our attention on Holy Thursday. Not to himself, or to the trappings of the Vatican, but to people who are normally outside of our field of vision.
Last year he visited a women’s prison and washed the feet of 12 women—the first time a pope has ever done so. In 2023 he visited a prison for minors. In 2021 he celebrated a surprise Holy Thursday Mass for Cardinal Angelo Becciu, who he had just fired for financial mismanagement.
These are all people who, for one reason or another, were on the outskirts of society—people who, under normal circumstances, do not merit our attention. But Francis redirected our gaze. Look, he said, to those who are suffering in our midst.
“What I am doing, you do not understand now,
but you will understand later.”
Do we understand what happens on Holy Thursday? Do we know what Jesus is trying to tell us?
I would like to think that, with 2,000 years of hindsight, the answer would be yes. But I am not so sure. I, for one, always need reminding. My attention must be redirected, away from myself and toward other people.
Tonight our attention is once again fixed on Jesus and the last lesson he offered to us. It’s an unforgettable moment that somehow I keep forgetting. But on the eve of his death, I am riveted, ready for conversion.
