In anticipation of the holiest week of the Church year, we will send out each day a brief description of each of the Holy Week services for next week.  Try to find time in next week to experience each of these very moving services and make this the best Easter for you.

The Catholic Church has a half million priests who, on a daily basis, carry out Jesus' command. It is during this Mass that the bishop and priests recommit themselves to the priestly duties and vocation as the continuation of Christ's sacramental mission.

During the Holy Thursday liturgy, the celebrant will wash the feet of 12 parishioners in imitation of Christ's actions at his final ritual meal with His followers. While eating the last supper, Jesus humbled himself before the apostles by washing their feet as an example of the humility and service He wished them to share with others. In an era when open sandals were the most common footwear, hospitality norms in the East dictated that a host should provide water for guests to wash their feet. Often, the host would provide servants to do the washing as referenced in the Hebrew Scriptures.

The Mass of the Lord's Supper on Holy Thursday concludes with a procession of the Blessed Sacrament to the "altar of repose," a place where the consecrated Host is kept, away from the main altar where Mass is normally celebrated.

Many parishes will create space for people to stay and pray with the reposed Eucharist at this altar of repose later into the night, remembering Jesus' request in the Garden of Gethsemane for someone to "watch and pray" with Him.