06.04.2023
Renewal of Commitment to Ministry: Chrism Eucharist in Christ Church Cathedral
Clergy and lay ministers from across Dublin & Glendalough gathered with the Archbishop in Christ Church Cathedral, Dublin, this morning (April 6) for the traditional Chrism Eucharist for Maundy Thursday. The service was sung by the Cathedral Choir and during it lay ministers, deacons, priests and the Archbishop renewed their commitment to ministry.
With the focus of the service on Maundy Thursday on service, Archbishop Michael Jackson washed the feet of a number of clergy and in turn had his feet washed. Oils were also consecrated.
In his sermon the focus on service continued as Archbishop Jackson talked of the Footwashing and how it contributed to our understanding of the last days and hours of Jesus Christ as he concentrated the minds of the disciples on what lay ahead of them.
In reading St John 13, the Archbishop identified what he termed “the deliberate singling out of” the towel: Jesus got up from the table, took off his outer robe, and tied a towel around himself. Jesus began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel that was tied around him.
He said: “On Maundy Thursday, God invites us to be clothed in the towel of service, the towel of righteousness and the towel of generosity. While it may indeed be a step too far for some of us, and understandably, others of us may like to give it a try it is the first step of these Three Days leading to Easter Day.”
You can read the Archbishop’s sermon here.
