Mandatum 2021
Each Holy Thursday, we gather together in our Chapter Hall to commemorate the Mandatum, which means literally, “Commandment” - the new commandment which Jesus gave at the Last Supper, exemplified by his washing of the disciples feet and consummated in his complete self-gift in his Passion and Death.
The Mandatum begins with a prayer, followed by a sermon given by the prioress. When the sermon is concluded, the prioress follows the Lord’s commandment literally by washing the sisters’ feet. It is a beautiful moment of humility when the prioress, to whom we have vowed obedience as God’s representative to us, kneels down and washes each sister’s bare feet and kisses them. It can also be a moment of humility for each sister to allow this to be done for her, for we are often no different than those disciples who said “Lord, you will never wash my feet!”
The following is the sermon which Sr. Mary Martin gave:
My dear Sisters,
Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. (Jn. 13, 1-2) …the Lord Jesus…took bread, and, after he had given thanks, broke it and said, “This is my body that is for you.” (I Cor. 11, 24)
Jesus loved his own to the end, and so he washed the disciples’ feet. But that was only the beginning of his loving actions, as it was only the beginning of his Passover to the Father. Next, he sacramentally gave them his Body and Blood, as a beginning and a continuation throughout time of the actual breaking of his body and pouring out of his blood the following day. Then he explained everything to them, as one who holds nothing back from the friends whom he loves. You are my friends because I have told you everything I have heard from my Father. (Jn. 15, 15)
I often used to wonder how St. Paul and the other New Testament writers knew the real meaning of Jesus’ actions and of the terrible sufferings he endured that Friday on Golgotha, apart, of course from the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. Then one day at Mass, as I listened for the umpteenth time to the words of consecration, I realized: this is where Jesus himself gave meaning, once and for all, to everything he did and suffered. “This is my body that is for you. This is the new covenant in my blood. Do this in memory of me.” Every time thereafter, until the end of time itself, the followers of Jesus say and hear these words, greater light is shed on his subsequent passion, on the love that drove him on so that his very body and blood were for us, so that his every act from the Incarnation on was an act of love from and for the Father and for us, ordained to the forgiveness of our sins and our reconciliation with the Father. All theology begins, in a manner of speaking, with these words of Jesus at the Last Supper and moves backward and forward in time and eternity to all the conclusions that can possibly be drawn from them. Such unimaginable love that someone would give his own body and blood for others! Such ineffable love that God would send his own Son to do this! Such warm, tender love that he would tell us everything that he knew of his Father, withholding nothing! As Isaac Watts expressed it:
Before the mournful scene began, He took the bread and blessed and broke; What love through all His actions ran, What wondrous words of love He spoke.
What can possibly be our response to such love? We have, in fact, already made the most vital response: we have said Yes! to Jesus’ call to give our lives to him. By that very act we are returning love for love. His love also calls for adoration, for thanksgiving, for continual remembrance and pondering. This is what the Eucharistic liturgy is all about, as well as the Liturgy of the Hours. We need to carry these attitudes with us in a spirit of awareness throughout the day.
Jesus also wants us to ask for things in a spirit of trust. He wants us to ask the Father in his name. What person who loves wouldn’t be hurt if the loved one was afraid to ask them for things, even small, trivial things, like a child asks its parents for a toy or a snack. These things are not necessary in themselves, but the trust and confidence with which we ask are so necessary!
But what Jesus wants from us most of all is that we love one another as he has loved us, with total self-giving generosity, with warmth and tenderness, and especially with humble service. I have given you an example, that so you also should do. So we have come full circle, to the washing of feet. Such lowly acts of service to one another every day are the perfect way of returning love for love, of showing Jesus the depths of our gratitude and appreciation for everything that he has done for us. Let us now go forth in peace, proclaiming the Gospel with our lives!
