PROSPECT HEIGHTS — More than 100 parishioners gathered at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph for Holy Thursday Mass on April 17, with Bishop Robert Brennan reminding them all at the start of the gift of the Eucharist.
“Tonight, we recall the Last Supper, the time Jesus spent with his disciples. More than anything else the night before he died, Jesus wanted to be with his friends,” Bishop Brennan said. “He gave them the gift of the Eucharist so he could be with them always and that gift continues in the Church even today, and so we commemorate that night because we have the gift of Jesus in the Eucharist all year long.”
Holy Thursday is the start of the Easter Triduum – the three-day period of liturgical observance that ends with evening prayer on Easter.
Bishop Brennan celebrated the Holy Thursday Mass at the co-cathedral. Father Christopher Heanue, rector of the co-cathedral, gave the homily, expressing gratitude to the parish for the four years he served as rector and shared news of his new assignment as pastor of St. Joan of Arc Church in Jackson Heights.
The Mass was marked by the washing of the feet, in which Bishop Brennan knelt before 12 individuals — a mixture of catechumens and longtime parishioners — pouring water over each of their feet and gently drying them with a towel, just as Jesus did for the Twelve Apostles.
Jason Kim, a member of the RIte of Christian Initiation of Adults (RCIA) program in the diocese, and one of the 12 people chosen to get their feet washed, learned about the significance of the feet washing in one of the RCIA classes.
He recalls Deacon Manuel Quintana, who serves at the Co-Cathedral of St. Joseph, asking the class if anyone would like to participate. Kim volunteered, viewing it as an opportunity to deepen his faith.
“Going into it I wasn’t that nervous, but going up there, feeling the gravity of the moment — it was more moving than I thought it would be,” Kim said.
Bishop Brennan acknowledged the moment as “awkward” but said it was meant to be — much like the experience of the apostles when Jesus began washing their feet.
“It was awkward more so for the people getting their feet washed,” Bishop Brennan said. “Imagine the disciples watching Jesus kneel down in front of them, but that encounter is a time to remember Jesus’ commandment to serve one another humbly.”
Following the feet washing, The Mass continued with the celebration of the Eucharist. As parishioners sat in silent adoration, Bishop Brennan processed around the church carrying the Blessed Sacrament. Leading the way, an altar server sounded the crotalus (wooden clackers) – a tone symbolizing the somber day leading up to Jesus’ death.
Once Bishop Brennan brought the Blessed Sacrament to the altar of repose, parishioners prayed at the altar, staying as late as 11 p.m. for Eucharistic adoration.
Parishioner Viviana Vargas said she was grateful for the Mass, but couldn’t help but reflect on the Passion of Christ — the arrest, trial, and humiliation Jesus endured on his way to Calvary — visibly crying while praying at the altar.
“It was an emotional moment for me because I imagined what Jesus felt when they were hitting him and I remember that Jesus died for me, for my sins,” Vargas said.
