Significance Of Holy Thursday

As the Holy Week in the Christian calendar continues, a priest in the Catholic Archdiocese of Lagos, Rev. Father Cornelius Ofoegbu, has urged Christians to be devout, prayerful and repentant.

Ofoegbu, a former resident Parish Priest of Saint Patrick’s Catholic Church, Ojo-Alaba, Lagos, said that the Holy Week,  heralding the suffering and death of Jesus Christ, should be a time for sober reflection by Christians.

The priest expressed the viewpoint in an interview with the News Agency of Nigeria (NAN) in Lagos.

“The Holy Week begins with the Passion Sunday or Palm Sunday; it is so called because of the nature of the events that took place then, when Jesus went through his passion, suffering, death and resurrection,” he said.

He noted that the significant days of the Holy Week included Palm Sunday, Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Tridium involving the Holy Saturday and Easter Sunday.

“Holy Thursday begins with the Chrism Mass, where Catholic priests renew their loyalty to the unity of the church; it is followed later by a proper celebration of the Easter Tridium.

“Holy Thursday is the celebration of the Lord’s Supper, which is the night Jesus Christ instituted the sacrament of the holy eucharist, washed the feet of his disciples and then gave them bread and wine, to drink in memory of Him.

“The reason Jesus Christ did both simultaneously is to tell his apostles that by the eucharist, he is giving his body and blood as a sacrifice for their salvation, and by washing their feet, he is serving them,” he said.

He said that Christians should remember that the Lord’s supper and the washing of His feet meant  that they should be humble.

According to him, Good Friday is in commemoration of the passion, suffering and death of Jesus Christ.

“Good Friday is the day we do not celebrate mass in the Catholic Church, and we begin with the station of the Cross; we get ourselves deep into the passion and crucifixion of Jesus, followed by the kissing of the Cross,” he said.

The priest described Good Friday as a time of prayer, fasting, abstinence and silence, following the death and burial of Jesus Christ.

He said that celebration of mass with a candle in the night of Holy Saturday by Catholics signified that the Light of Christ rose to destroy darkness, fear and death.

Ofoegbu urged Christians to confess their sins, show genuine repentance and have sober reflection during the Holy Week.

He said that the week should not be for entertainment.