The name for this day comes from the Latin word “mandatum,” meaning “commandment.”  It refers to the two commandments our Lord gave to His disciples on this day.  The first is, “Love one another;” the second is, “Do this in remembrance of Me.”  Our service today is part-one of what the early Church observed as “the triduum,” a three-day remembrance of the events of our Lord’s suffering, death, and resurrection.