Maundy Thursday receives its name from the Latin “mandatum” or the “new commandment” given by our Lord. At the Last Supper, Jesus washed his disciples’ feet and commanded them to love and serve one another as he had done. This service begins with a festal character as we remember the joy of the love and service which Jesus lived and taught and the institution of the Holy Eucharist. The service closes with solemnity as we turn our attention toward the agony in the garden of Gethsemane, and the betrayal leading Jesus to the journey to the cross and crucifixion. The altar, symbolic of Christ, is stripped of its vesture and left bare for the solemnity of Good Friday.