On Holy Thursday evening we begin with a community meal served by our Prioress and Sub-Prioress. It is a leisurely meal where we can savor the food and one another's company. After the meal and the dishes are done, we move upstairs to prepare for the Mass of the Lord's Supper. This is one of my favorite liturgies of the year. I love the footwashing where we are reminded to bend to wash others' feet just as Christ did. The Mass ends with the procession of the Eucharist to the Blessed Sacrament chapel. This begins the silence in the monastery that will continue until the Holy Saturday Vigil.
The silence in the monastery gives us the opportunity to ponder, reflect on Christ's life, death and resurrection and our desire to die and rise with Christ. We have silence at meals with table reading that helps us to continue reflecting on the power of this holy time.
Of course there is lots to be done during this time - chapel needs to be decorated, the Easter meal prepared - so there is activity in the monastery. The gift is that we try to do it all in a spirit of silence that lends to a deepening of our inner life.
Know that as we enter more deeply into the Triduum, we hold you in the heart of our prayer.
