We should glory in the cross

"We should glory in the cross
of our Lord Jesus Christ,
for he is our salvation,
our life and our resurrection;
through him we are saved and made free."
(Galatians 6:14)

These words--the text of the introit or introduction of the Holy Thursday mass—start off these wonderful Three Days of prayer that we call the Easter Triduum. Lent ends sometime today without any fanfare. By the time we gather this evening for the Mass of the Lord’s Supper, Lent has ended. At the same time, Easter has not yet begun. It is as if we are standing in a threshold between rooms—we are in neither and both at the same time.

As the Triduum begins on Holy Thursday we savor the sweetness of the Eucharist in its fullest sense. We explore both the treasure and the cost. We eat and drink with “loins girt” as the Old Testament reading says—celebrating our Passover. We listen once again to Saint John's account of the Last Supper in which Jesus washed the feet of his disciples saying, "As I have done, you should also do."

On Holy Thursday we are reminded that Eucharist is both verb and noun…something received and given. It is something that we enter into. It is something that transforms our lives.

Below is a recording of the Benedictine monks of the Abbey of Santo Domingo de Silos singing the introit for the day (the text is from Galatians, quoted above).