Maundy Thursday

Introit But it behooves us to glory in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ:  in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection: by whom we are saved and delivered.  May God have mercy on us, and bless us: may He cause His countenance to shine upon us; and may He have mercy on us.

Collect Christ became obedient for us unto death, even to the death of the cross.  For which cause God also hath exalted Him and hath given Him a name which is above all names.

Offertory The right hand of the Lord hath wrought strength:  the right hand of the Lord hath exalted me.  I shall not die, but live: and shall declare the works of the Lord.

After the Mass is sung the Pange Lingua, from which the "Tantum Ergo" is taken; following which the altars are stripped to the recitation of Psalm 21, "Deus, Deus meus":   My God, my God, look upon me:  why has thou forsaken me?  The voice of mine offenses keepeth Thy deliverance far from me. 

i wish i could reprint the whole Maundy Thursday liturgy, but i shall spare you.  i love how long the old liturgy is--even with my ADD.  paying attention for anyone is hard--an extremely difficult skill to acquire, because it demands that we give of ourselves:  our interior lives.  it requires that we truly leave behind every distraction, every preoccupation, and give our thoughts to God, in addition to our time.  every celebration in the "new order" has been sometimes drastically truncated, and it seems to me that we miss not just the richness of the form and content, but also the chance to sacrifice in a way that is not often required of us, especially now.

please don't mistake me:  we are attending most of the Triduum in the novus ordo.  tonight's liturgy will be very beautiful and very reverent and very valid, and i expect that it will be very powerful, as well.  but it will not be quite the same.