Holy Week Chants from the Abbey of Jouques - Maundy Thursday 2020

The sacrifice announced the previous days is fulfilled today. We attend the Last Supper of Jesus in the company of his closest friends, the apostles. During the supper, they will receive the greatest sign of humility and charity from their Master: the washing of their feet. The divine is exercised again in an act of total surrender: the God-Man, not only stoops to wash the feet of his Disciples but even annihilates Himself to become the species of bread and wine, the establishment of the Eucharist, supreme incarnation of charity. “Ubi caritas est vera, Deus ibi est” - where true charity is, there God is.
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In these moments of seclusion and self-isolation, the Benedictines of Jouques open the doors of their cloister and invite us to reconnect with our essence, in communion with each other in prayer through the Gregorian Chants.

Gregorian is a monodic sung prayer originating in the 8th century and sung by the Sisters exactly as it has been uninterruptedly for centuries. These chants awaken us to the most intimate, profound parts of our being. We wish for you to find peace, consolation, hope, and a sense of communion even while the current circumstances prevent us from gathering.