Kindness That Serves, Even When It Hurts: Holy Thursday / Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper

Last Supper, photographed at the Convento da Graça, Lisbon

This is such a moving image. Raw and textured, like it’s been worn by time and love. The faces at the table feel both ancient and alive, with Jesus at the center, calm and luminous despite the wear. It captures something essential about Holy Thursday: the sacredness of the moment and the vulnerability that surrounds it.

High above the city of Lisbon, in the quiet stillness of stone and sky, this image holds the weight of Holy Thursday and the love that serves, the presence that remains, the kindness that kneels even as the night falls.

I give you a new commandment, says the Lord: love one another as I have loved you. John 13:34

The table is set.
Bread is broken.
Feet are washed.
And Jesus knows.
He knows what is coming, knows who will run, who will deny, who will betray.
And still, he stays.

He doesn't hold back his kindness. He kneels, He blesses, He gives.

This is what love looks like at its most complete. It is not grand gestures, but small, tender acts done in full knowledge of pain.
A basin and a towel.
A shared meal.
A new commandment:
“Love one another as I have loved you.”

He does not protect himself. He gives himself.

This is the kindness we are called to. It is the kind that washes feet, that feeds others, that does not flinch when love costs something. It is a kindness that serves even when the heart is breaking. It is a kindness that endures even when goodbye is near.

On Holy Thursday, the Church remembers this love in action. And we are invited to sit at the table too. To receive it. To offer it.

Pray

Jesus, tonight you gave us the Eucharist, the washing of feet, the command to love. Let me never forget what love truly looks like. Give me the courage to serve with tenderness, to stay present when things get hard, and to love like You — not just in word, but in quiet acts of kindness. Amen.

Remember

"Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end." John 13:1

Photo: Karen Curjel, Lisbon, Portugal