Coastal Christians mark solemn Maundy Thursday, prepare for Good Friday

Mangalore Today News Network

Mangaluru/Udupi, Mar 30, 2018: Maundy Thursday, March 29, was a day of solemn remembrance for  Christians in the coastal districts of Dakshina Kannada and Udupi, to commemorate the institution of the Holy Eucharist and priesthood by Jesus Christ  at the last supper in the upper room with His deciples.

 

The church services in the evening had a special significance of Christian brotherly love when he main celebrant washed the feet of 12 men and women.

Bishop of Udupi Diocese, Rev Dr Gerald Isaac Lobo performed this ritual at the Milages Cathedral at Kallianpur, Mangalore Bishop Rev Dr Aloysius Paul D’Souza performed the rituals at Rosario Cathedral in Mangaluru.

The homilies of the day, emphasised the significance of the Maundy Thursday. Thereafter, they washed the feet of lay persons in respective cathedrals reminding the washing of the feet of 12 Apostles by Jesus Christ - and the chief tenet of Christianity to love and serve one another.

Two years ago, Pope Francis included women and girls to the dozen people whose feet are ceremoniously washed in each church on Holy Thursday. The same gesture was followed in this area too.  Following the end of the mass, the Holy Eucharist was taken ceremoniously to the floral decorated Altar of Repose while the main altar was stripped of the white covering and flowers removed and it was left bare.  The reverential transfer of the Holy Eucharist to the Altar of Repose was followed by adoration, which will continue till 5 pm when the Good Friday observances will follow.

Good Friday & Salvation of Man.

Good Friday is one day when all Christians will go down on their knees and mourn the self sacrificial crucifixion of Jesus Christ on a cross. Unconditional obedience of the Son of God to His Father’s will - remains the core of Good Friday with the fact that Jesus Christ, who was as much human as He was divine, bowed in obedience to do the will of His Father, God Almighty, for the atonement of the sins of all men.  So, on the first Good Friday, when Jesus took the sins of men upon a cross and climbed up Mount Calvary to meet his violent death, He was fulfilling God’s plan of saving humankind from the backlash of sins.  So, it is called ’Good’ Friday.

However, there were moments, when Jesus, who was wholly human despite being wholly divine, was as vulnerable as any man and was tempted to run away from the suffering and death that lay before Him on Mount Calvary. Yet in complete obedience to His Father’s will, He prayed thus, before facing His executioners: “Father, if you are willing, take this cup from me; yet not my will, but yours be done” (Luke 22:41). His deep obedience gave Him the courage to endure the most brutal death any human has ever faced.

Good Friday, though filled with the brutality of Jesus’ suffering and death, is referred to as good. The day indeed brought plentiful goodness to all humanity through the obedience of Jesus Christ to the will of God.  The scriptures record, Jesus’ obedience stands as an inspiration to all to accept and endure God’s will in the daily sufferings of life. This is the key to a satisfying and fruitful human life too.