Gospel (Jn 13,1-15) - Before the feast of Easter, Jesus, knowing that the time had come to pass from this world to the Father, having loved those of him who were in the world, loved them to the end. During dinner, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given everything into his hands and that he had come from God and was returning to God, got up from the table, he put aside his clothes, took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured some water into the basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and dry them with the towel he had wrapped himself with. He therefore came to Simon Peter and he said to him: «Lord, do you wash my feet?». Jesus replied: «What I do, you do not understand now; you'll understand later." Peter said to him: «You will not wash my feet forever!». Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you will have no part with me." Simon Peter said to him: «Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and my head!». Jesus added: «He who has bathed does not need to wash except his feet and is completely clean; and you are pure, but not all of you." In fact, he knew who was betraying him; for this reason he said: «Not all of you are pure». When he had washed their feet, he took back his clothes, sat down again and said to them: «Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me the Master and the Lord, and you are right, because I am. If therefore I, the Lord and Master, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. In fact, I have given you an example, so that you too should do as I did to you."

The commentary on the Gospel by Monsignor Vincenzo Paglia

«I have longed to eat this Passover with you, before my passion» (Lk 22,15), Jesus says to his disciples at the beginning of his last supper, before dying. In truth, for Jesus, it is an everlasting desire; and that evening too she wants to be with his parents; those of yesterday and those of today, including us. He sat down at the table with the Twelve, took bread and distributed it to them, saying: "This is my body, broken for you." He did the same thing with the cup of wine: "This is my blood, shed for you." These are the same words that we will repeat shortly on the altar, and it will be the Lord himself who invites each of us to nourish ourselves with the consecrated bread and wine. He becomes food for us, to become flesh of our flesh. That bread and that wine are the nourishment that came down from heaven for us, pilgrims on the paths of this world. They make us more similar to Jesus, they help us to live as he lived, they give rise to feelings of goodness, service, tenderness, love and forgiveness in us. The same feelings that lead him to wash the disciples' feet, like a servant.
At dinner, Jesus gets up from the table, takes off his clothes and wraps a towel around his waist, then with some water, he kneels in front of the disciples and washes their feet. Even with Judas who is about to betray him; Jesus knows this well, but he kneels before him anyway and washes his feet. As soon as Peter sees Jesus coming next to him he immediately reacts: "Lord, are you washing my feet?". Dignity for Jesus is not in remaining standing, but in loving the disciples to the end, in kneeling down to their feet. It is his last great lesson while alive: «If I, the Lord and the Master, have washed your feet, you also must wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, so that you too should do as I have done to you" (Jn 13:12-15). The world teaches us to stand upright and urges everyone to stay there, perhaps making others bend before us. The Gospel of Holy Thursday exhorts the disciples to bend down and wash one another's feet. It is a new command and it is a great gift that we receive this evening. In this evening's holy liturgy the washing of the feet is only a sign, an indication of the way to follow: wash each other's feet, starting from the weakest, the poorest, the most defenseless.
Holy Thursday teaches us how to live and where to start living: real life is not about standing still in your pride; life according to the Gospel is bending towards our brothers and sisters, starting with the weakest. It is a way that comes from heaven, yet it is the most human way. In fact, we all need friendship, affection, understanding, acceptance and help. We all need someone to lean towards us, just as we also need to lean towards our brothers and sisters. Holy Thursday is truly a human day: the day of Jesus' love that descends to the feet of his friends. And everyone is his friend, even those who are about to betray him. On Jesus' part, no one is an enemy, everything for him is love. Washing your feet is not a gesture, it is a way of life.
Once dinner is over, Jesus sets off towards the Garden of Olives. Here he kneels again, or rather he lies on the ground and sweats blood, due to pain and anguish. Let us let ourselves be involved at least a little by this man who loves us with a love never seen on earth. And as we stop in front of the tomb, let's tell him our friendship. Today, more than us, it is the Lord who needs company. Let us listen to his plea: «My soul is sad until death; stay here and watch with me" (Mt 26,38). Let us bend over to him and not let him miss the consolation of our closeness. Lord, at this hour, we will not give you the kiss of Judas; but like poor sinners we bow to your feet and, imitating Magdalene, we continue to kiss them with affection.