PROSPECT HEIGHTS — Entering into the most holy time of the liturgical season, Bishop Robert Brennan celebrated Holy Thursday Mass at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph on March 28. The Mass included the bishop washing the feet of 12 people to emulate Jesus washing his disciples’ feet. 

The evening Mass marked the beginning of the year’s Easter triduum, the period from Holy Thursday to Easter Sunday. Though it is three days on the calendar, the Easter triduum is liturgically one day, beginning with the sign of the cross at the start of the Mass of the Lord’s Supper. 

“In a sense, it’s like one long moment of prayer that we keep vigilant with Christ. These are very powerful days,” Bishop Brennan said.

The symbolism of the Last Supper is explicit as the bishop kneels before 12 people in seats placed before the altar. The bishop goes to each individual, taking their foot and placing it into a white basin, running water over it and patting it dry. All the while, he smiles upward at them.

Among those 12 people was Joel Avendano, an 11-year-old parishioner at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph. It was “a weird sensation” for him, he admitted, to be part of the symbolic experience, but powerful nonetheless.

“My heart was beating fast, and I was shaking for some reason,” he said. “I think it was really kind of [Jesus] to do that for the apostles.”

The Mass of the Lord’s Supper is also a memorial to the institution of the Eucharist and the priesthood, according to the U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops. 

A focal point of Bishop Brennan’s Lenten and Easter reflection has been about fostering a friendship with Jesus. Following the Last Supper, Jesus spoke with his disciples about their relationship and friendship with him.

“The whole point of the Church is to strengthen the unity among people and communion, our unity, with God. Christ gives us the standard of friendship. It’s his friendship, his self-sacrificing love,” Bishop Brennan said.

Andre Johannes, a parishioner at Queen of All Saints Catholic Church in Fort Greene-Clinton Hill, came to the Mass to worship alongside the bishop. Moved by the opportunity to receive the blood of Christ alongside the body in the Eucharist as well as the bishop’s words, Johannes said he would likely attend Good Friday at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph.

During his homily, Bishop Brennan spoke of the disciple Peter’s reluctance, and initial refusal, to allow Jesus to wash his feet. Peter had to forgo his righteousness and become humble in allowing himself to be vulnerable before God, a sentiment that resonated with Johannes.

“I think we are supposed to [be humble]. Most don’t do that, but I think the more humble you are, the closer you can get to God,” Johannes said. “Until you get humble, you can’t get close to God.”

The Mass of the Lord’s Supper concluded with a procession of the Blessed Sacrament to an altar of repose. There, to the left of the main altar, the congregation was able to stay as late as 11 p.m. for Eucharistic adoration. As a parishioner of the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph for 53 years, Lida Wickham is always moved by Holy Thursday.

“This day means a lot to me. In preparation for the crucifixion and death of Jesus, this is his Last Supper that we have. Coming here for all those years, Holy Thursday is a great night,” she said.