Holy Thursday or “Maundy” Thursday
Novus OrdoHoly Thursday — Mar 25, 2027, Apr 13, 2028
Sacratissimam, Deus, frequentantibus Cenam, in qua Unigenitus tuus, morti se traditurus, novum in saecula sacrificium dilectionibus [2002MR dilectionisque] suae convivium Ecclesiae commendavit, da nobis, quaesumus, ut ex tanto mysterio plenitudinem caritatis hauriamus et vitae.O God, we beg, grant to us attending the most holy Supper in which Your Only-begotten, about to hand Himself over to death, commended to Church a new sacrifice unto the ages and a banquet of His love, that we may from so great a mystery drink deeply the fullness of charity and life. The word haurio gives us the image of Christ’s bitter struggle on Thursday in the garden when faced with the chalice from which He would need to drink. His bitter draught was our drink of new life. This was the consequence of Christ’s sacrificial love, His perfect charity.
The term “Maunday” or “Maundy” Thursday refers to Christ’s mandate (mandatum) in John 13:34 to His apostles in the service of the Church. It is also called sometimes “Shere” Thursday, perhaps from “shere” indicating “tolerance” and “remedy”, in the sense of “wiggle room”. This “shere” was, according to the OED the difference or error permissible in a measure of something,…