Maundy Thursday - April 1

Scriptures and Hymns • April 1

Maundy Thursday

Processional Hymn 218

1. Alleluia! Praise our Master!
    His the scepter, his the throne.
   Alleluia, His the glory,
    His, the victory alone.
   Lo! the song His church is singing
    Thunders like a mighty sea;
   By the splendor of his triumph
    Christ our Lord hath made us free.
2. Alleluia! Not as orphans
    Are we left in sorrow now.
   Alleluia, ever present
    In Thy sacrament art Thou.
   Though the cloud from sight received Thee
    When the forty days were o’er,
   Shall our hearts forget Thy promise,
    “I am with you evermore”?
3. Alleluia! Bread of angels,
    Thou on earth our Food, our stay.
   Alleluia, here Thy people
    Live by Thee from day to day.
   Ruler of those hosts of angels,
    When we rest from earthly strife,
   Grant us even closer union
    In that higher fuller life.
4. Alleluia! King eternal,
    Thee the Lord of Lords we own.
   Alleluia, born of Mary,
    Earth Thy foot stool, heaven Thy throne.
   Thou within the veil hast entered,
    Robed in light, our great High Priest;
   Still on earth both Priest and Victim,
    In the Eucharistic Feast.
5. Alleluia! Praise our Master!
    His the scepter, his the throne.
   Alleluia, His the glory,
    His, the victory alone.
   Lo! the song His church is singing
    Thunders like a mighty sea;
   By the splendor of his triumph
    Christ our Lord hath made us free. Amen.

The Collect

O GOD, who in this wonderful sacrament hast left us a perpetual memorial of thy love; may we, by the inspiration of thy Holy Spirit, so reverence the sacred mysteries of thy Body and Blood, that we may the more worthily receive this thy most glorious gift and blessing; through Christ our Lord. Amen.

The Epistle

The epistle is taken from the eleventh chapter of the First Epistle of St Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians, beginning at the twenty-third verse.

For I have received of the Lord that which also I delivered unto you, that the Lord Jesus, the same night in which he was betrayed, took bread and when he had given thanks, he brake it and said: Take, eat; this is my Body, which is broken for you; this do in remembrance of me. After the same manner also he took the cup, when he had supped, saying: This cup is the new testament in my Blood; this do ye, as oft as ye drink it, in remembrance of me. For as often as ye eat this bread and drink this cup, ye do show the Lord's death till he come.

The Gospel

The holy gospel is taken from the sixth chapter of the Gospel according to St John, beginning a the forty-seventh verse.

AMEN, Amen, I say unto you, he that believeth on me hath everlasting life. I am that bread of life. This is the bread which cometh down from heaven, that a man may eat thereof and not die. I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world. The Jews therefore strove among themselves, saying, How can this man give us his flesh to eat? Then Jesus said unto them, Amen, amen, I say unto you, except ye eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, ye have no life in you; whoso eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, hath eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is meat indeed, and my blood is drink indeed. He that eateth my flesh and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him. As the living Father hath sent me and I live by the Father; so he that eateth me even he shall live by me. This is that bread which came down from heaven; not as your fathers did eat manna and are dead; he that eateth of this bread shall live for ever.

Offertory Hymn 68

1. O LOVE, that wilt not let me go,
    I rest my weary soul in Thee;
   I give Thee back the life I owe,
   That in Thine ocean depths its flow
    May richer, fuller be.
2. O Light, that followest all my way,
    I yield my flickering torch to Thee;
   My heart restores its borrowed ray,
   That, in Thy sunshine’s blaze, its day
    May brighter, fairer be.
3. O Joy, that seekest me through pain,
    I cannot close my heart to Thee;
   I trace the rainbow through the rain,
   And feel the promise is not vain
    That morn shall tearless be.
4. O Cross, that liftest up my head,
    I will not ask to fly from Thee;
   I lay in dust life’s glory dead,
   And from the ground there blossoms red
    Life that shall endless be. Amen.

Recessional Hymn 32

1. ETERNAL King of Glory,
    Most dear and Holy Lord,
   Our song of adoration
    We raise in glad accord.
   Thou art the God Who made us,
    Our life is all from Thee;
   Thy sacrifice supernal
    has caused the world to be.
2. Thou hast not left us helpless,
    For to Thy mystic Bride,
   The Church which Thou hast founded,
    Our Mother true and tried,
   Thou pourest out Thy blessing,
    Effulgent as the sea,
   A boundless benediction
    On all who follow Thee.
3. Thy love is all around us;
    Its rays are thousandfold;
   It meets us in our Baptism
    Our weakness to uphold.
   Brightest of all it floweth
    When on Thine Altar-shrine
   Thy very self Though givest
    In form of Bread and Wine.
4. O Eucharist Most Holy,
    Sweet Sacrament Divine!
   O Christ, both Priest and Victim,
    How glorious dost Thou shine!
   We hail Thee, praise Thee, bless Thee,
    We worship and adore;
   O grant us power and wisdom
    To love Thee more and more! Amen.