Catholic Activity: Maundy Thursday: Do Unto Others

Holy Thursday is also called Maundy Thursday because of Christ's mandatum to his disciples to do as He did at the Last Supper. We can do acts of charity for others on this day. The author gives suggestions on how to do this.

DIRECTIONS

The last king in this country who performed the office of washing the feet of the poor, in imitation of Christ, was James II. In the Catholic Church the custom has never died out and the Mandatum may be seen in many churches on Maundy Thursday. When Christ said to the apostles: "I have been setting you an example, which will teach you in your turn to do what I have done for you," he spoke to all Christians. Maundy Thursday therefore could be a special day when all Catholics deliberately set out to give their services to someone who needs help, and to do it in the spirit of Christ's self-forgetfulness. Such service should include the seeking out of someone who needs help. It might be looking after a child so that the mother could have a free evening, undertaking some mending or darning, humble, unostentatious things like that. What is more, such service might very well begin at close quarters, for in every home or school or club there must be someone who needs help, and such people, just because they are so close to us, can easily be overlooked.

Activity Source: Candle is Lighted, A by P. Stewart Craig, The Grail, Field End House, Eastcote, Middlesex, 1945