“Do this in remembrance of me.” – Luke 22:19 Holy Thursday is first and foremost the day when Jesus, gathering his disciples to celebrate the Passover, institutes the Eucharist. This foundational gesture is more than a rite: it is the act of a God who gives himself fully and desires the unity of those who follow him. Jesus creates a Eucharistic community, united in love and nourished by his real presence. In the spirituality of the Assumption, this community is embodied in the spirit of family, so dear to Saint Marie Eugénie. The Eucharist is not experienced only as a sacrament, but as the center of community life, where each person learns to receive from others and to give in return. “You are the body of Christ; you must love one another, so that you depend on Jesus Christ.” – Saint Marie Eugénie quoting Saint Augustine, August 20, 1886. In educational communities, this is lived through fraternity, shared prayer, listening and collaboration, creating an atmosphere where love becomes a source of unity.
“You ought to wash one another’s feet.” – John 13:14 The washing of the feet is a striking gesture. Jesus reverses social roles, disarms power dynamics. He, the Son of God, kneels before his own. This is not optional: it is a commandment of the heart, an invitation to live service as a way of total self-giving. Saint Marie Eugénie deeply integrated this vision into her pedagogy: “To rise on the wings of adoration to the throne of God, then come down toward our neighbor through zeal, to bring them holiness and light, and help them glorify God in turn—that, my sisters, is the fruit of Holy Communion.” – Saint Marie Eugénie, June 5, 1885. In religious life, humble service becomes a school of personal transformation: it calls us to go beyond ourselves, to love in concrete ways—through hidden tasks, shared responsibilities, and attention to each person's needs. In the school of Jesus, and in the spirit of the Assumption, to serve is to educate with the heart, forgetting oneself so that the other may grow.
“This is my body, given for you.” – Luke 22:19 Holy Thursday reveals the depth of Jesus’ love: a love that goes to the end, to the extreme of self-giving. By instituting the Eucharist, he anticipates the Cross, he gives himself entirely. This gift is not symbolic—it is real, total, permanent. This mystery lies at the heart of the spirituality of the Assumption. The Eucharist is not an isolated rite but a call to become living eucharists ourselves, giving ourselves day by day to our brothers and sisters. “What heart, when understanding that Jesus Christ suffered for them, would not wish to give him all the generosity they are capable of? So then, my sisters, what must be done? One must give oneself. Truly, the whole question of religious life lies there: to give oneself, to give oneself again without ceasing.” – Saint Marie Eugénie, March 25, 1881. To love to the end is to forgive tirelessly, to give without counting, to persevere in faithfulness. It is in the Eucharist that the religious, the teacher, the parent, or the young person finds the strength to love in truth.
“The greatest among you will be your servant.” – Matthew 23:11 In the act of washing the feet, we discover Jesus’ active humility. He does not merely preach love: he lives it in the simplest gestures. He touches the dusty feet of his friends, enters into their humanity. It is a lesson in vocation: we are called to closeness, to listening, to gentleness. Saint Marie Eugénie urges her daughters never to place themselves above others, but to descend toward the smallest, the poorest, the most forgotten. “Jesus Christ took for himself the hardest part, the most bitter cup, the deepest abandonment. However he calls you to follow him, spend your life leaving behind the earthly, loving God, and loving your neighbor.” – Saint Marie Eugénie, April 21, 1878. Where the world seeks greatness, the Christian seeks the truth of a humble heart. In our relationships, our commitments, our responsibilities, we are called to become servants in the likeness of Christ.
“Stay awake and pray with me.” – Matthew 26:38 The night of Gethsemane is one of solitude, fear, and bloody sweat. Jesus experiences the anguish of the suffering to come. Yet in that darkness, he prays, he perseveres, he surrenders. In our lives, too, there are Gethsemanes: failures, misunderstandings, grief, exhaustion. It is in these moments that prayer becomes refuge and strength. “Why do you not want to go through this painful and dark night that Jesus Christ went through first? He will be near you to act and fight with you.” – Saint Marie Eugénie, March 12, 1876. That night is not sterile—it prepares the Resurrection. Gethsemane teaches us not to flee from the cross, but to carry it with trust. In education, community life, social or personal struggles, prayer becomes an act of love and resistance.
Holy Thursday teaches us that Christ does not want us merely to celebrate his love—he wants us to live it. He calls us to:
Live unity in our communities, as at the Last Supper
Serve with love, as in the washing of the feet
Give ourselves to the end, as in the Eucharist
Pray faithfully in trials, as in Gethsemane
In the spirituality of the Assumption, this means making our whole life a Eucharistic “yes”, a joyful and faithful offering. “Give yourself again and again. Offer yourself in the Mass, in Communion, in union with Jesus Christ who gives himself to you.” – Saint Marie Eugénie, March 25, 1881.
Sister Yvonne Marie Faustine Nyirabazirorera Province of Rwanda-Chad