Washing of Feet part of Maundy Thursday

Holy Thursday is the Thursday before Easter. The Church will commemorate the holyday with the Mass of the Lord’s Supper that is celebrated in the evening. A special feature of that Mass is that the officiating priest will wash the feet of 12 people to commemorate Jesus‚ washing the feet of his disciples. It is also on Thursday that the supply of anointing oil to be used in ceremonies during the year is consecrated. Holy Thursday is also called Maundy Thursday. The word "Maundy" is from the first word of the antiphon for that day being Mandatum novum de vobis ("a new commandment I give to you.")

There are two very popular folk practices during Holy Thursday. One is the folk re-enactment of the Last Supper. The other is the Visita Iglesia, or the practice of visiting nine churches to commemorate Holy Thursday. It is interesting to watch the common folk re-enact the Last Supper because the "Apostles" eat their Last Supper with their hands or enjoy halo-halo and fast food during their last meal with the Savior. The visita iglesia is a form of novena with nine churches taking the place of nine days of prayer. It is a venerable custom and we cannot think of a better for any individual to familiarize himself with churches other than that of his own parish. The best way to observe this custom is by not only visiting nine churches, but by making the nine totally different churches every year. And for those who are just starting, they could begin with San Agustin and the Manila Cathedral in Intramuros.

On Holy Thursday, the ringing of church bells ceases, the altar is stripped after vespers and the night office is celebrated under the name Tenebrae. Churches remain open all night so the faithful can pray at the repose. This is also to accommodate the people from afar who are making their visita de iglesia. Holy Thursday is also the day when Judas betrayed Christ in the Garden of Gethsemane. So some people explode figures of Judas in church plazas with firecrackers.

Tomorrow will be Good Friday. It is undoubtedly a sad occasion so much so that when people are unhappy they are said to "look like Good Friday." People literally mourn the death of Christ.

The beauty of our Holy Week traditions is that they have not changed much since Spanish times. Christmas and Holy Week are our two longest holydays. But Christmas is not what it used to be. The focal point has shifted from the Nativity to Santa Claus. The original gift-givers were the Three Kings and gifts were exchanged during the Epiphany. Now, the Church has made the Epiphany a movable feast and has officially admitted that the Bible never made mention of three kings. Wise men from the East who presented the new-born Jesus with three gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh, yes. But Three Kings named Melchor, Gaspar and Balthasar, never!

So it is Holy Week, not Christmas, which truly brings us back to our Christian past.