Catholic Mass Readings and Reflection April 02, 2026

02th April 2026 (Thursday)

Psalter: Week 2

Readings of the Day

First Reading: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14

In those days: The Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt, “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers’ houses, a lamb for a household. And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbour shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats, and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight. “Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it. In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the Lord’s Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the Lord. The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the Lord; throughout your generations, as a statute for ever, you shall keep it as a feast.

Psalm 116:12-13, 15 and 16bc, 17-18 (R. see 1 Corinthians 10:16)

R/. The cup of blessing is a participation in the blood of Christ.

Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26

Brethren: I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread, and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, “This is my body, which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way also he took the chalice, after supper, saying, “This chalice is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the chalice, you proclaim the Lord’s death until he comes.

Gospel Acclamation

V/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ

R/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ

V/. A new commandment I give to you, says the Lord, that you love one another: just as I have loved you.

R/. Glory and praise to you, O Christ

Gospel: John 13:1-15

Before the Feast of the Passover when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon’s son, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God, rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it round his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped round him. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, do you wash my feet?” Jesus answered him, “What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterwards you will understand.” Peter said to him, “You shall never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!” Jesus said to him, “The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you.” For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, “Not all of you are clean.” When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, “Do you understand what I have done to you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another’s feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.

Daily Gospel Reflection

Thursday – Holy Thursday

Main Point: It is tempting to think of love as a simple warm feeling. But tonight, Jesus teaches us that authentic love involves dirty hands and a ripped-up lump of bread. He didn’t just tell friends he loved them; he got down on the floor and showed it.

1. In the first reading, the Israelites are trapped in slavery. God instructs them to eat a hurried meal of lamb and unleavened bread. It was food for desperate people preparing to make a sprint for freedom.

2. Looking at the second reading. Jesus is at a table eating that very Passover meal with his friends. But he changes everything. He breaks the bread and says, “This is my body, which is for you.”

3. Here is the thing. Jesus knew he was about to be betrayed & murdered. But rather than thinking about his own fear, his main concern was that we wouldn’t be left on our own. He gave us himself.

4. Then we get to the gospel, and it gets really weird. Jesus doesn’t just feed them. He removes his robe, wraps a towel around his waist and begins to wash the feet of his disciples.

5. Let’s be real, washing feet is a dirty job. In those days, if you walked the dusty dirt roads in sandals, your feet got dirty. That was a job reserved for the lowest servant in the house.

6. Peter was horrified, and I completely understand. The person I respected most knelt down suddenly to scrub the dirt off my toes, and I’d feel so awkward. It just feels entirely backward.

7. But that is precisely what Jesus wanted to reveal to them. We normally look for a strong ruler who will solve our problems from afar. God gives us a king who takes up a dirty towel and basin of water.

8. It’s so easy to show up at Mass, receive Communion and feel kind of good about ourselves. Walking out the doors and serving people we live and work with is exponentially more difficult. I know I deal with this all the time, to be honest.

9. You don’t have to bring out a bucket of water and wash feet today. It means not arguing when we want to argue. It means pitching in around the house without being asked — or just sitting and listening to someone who is suffering.

10. Jesus makes it simple. The towel and the bread are a duo. You really can’t come to the worship altar and take the bread, and then go home and refuse to pick up a towel.

My Practice: Do I see the Eucharist as my own private prize, or does it drive me to assist those around me? Who is a person in my life today that is difficult to love? What is one practical thing I can do to ‘wash their feet’ this week?