Maundy Thursday Service

Mandatum novum do vobis, the first words of an anthem sung in earliest times in Roman Catholic churches, means "A new commandment I give to you." The word "maundy" comes from the Latin mandatum, “to mandate or command.”

It was on this Thursday night that Christ and the disciples observed Passover and ate together for the last time. It was also then that Christ washed the feet of the disciples and gave them a new commandment — to love one another as he had loved them. To take part in a communion service on the Thursday before Easter is to remember Christ's last supper with his disciples and that new mandate, "By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you have love for one another" (John 13:35).