Tag: lazarus

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Then the high priest said to him, “I order you to tell us under oath before the living God whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.” Jesus said to him in reply, “You have said so. But I tell you: From now on you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power’ and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.'” Then the high priest tore his robes and said, “He has blasphemed. . . ! He deserves to die!”

In this Sunday’s Gospel, the Lord’s Passion as told by Matthew, the Mass readings for today are rich in symbolism and meaning. At the start of the Gospel, Judas Iscariot makes a deal with the chief priests to hand over Jesus to them for thirty pieces of silver. Later, Jesus gathers the Twelve together for the Last Supper, where Judas Iscariot’s betrayal is made clear and where Jesus institutes the Eucharistic: “Jesus took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and giving it to his disciples said, “Take and eat; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying, “Drink from it, all of you, for this is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed on behalf of many for the forgiveness of sins.” Matthew goes on to relate how Jesus was handed over to the chief priests and then Pilate; how he was scourged, stripped of his clothes, and carried the cross to Golgotha where he died on the cross. At his death, Matthew tells us, the veil of the sanctuary was torn in two, the earth quaked, and tombs were opened, and the bodies of many were raised from the dead. Seeing this, the centurion and the men appointed to keep watch over Jesus, said, “Truly, this was the Son of God!” In witnessing this, do I have the same sense of awe and wonder as the Roman centurion?

God, the passion and death of your son is simultaneously the single greatest act of love for humanity—and for me personally—yet hard to keep my gaze fixed on. The high priest asked Jesus to tell him whether he was the Son of God. Eons, centuries, decades, and finally days and hours would pass before the truth of Christ was revealed through his resurrection. He is the Son of God, your only son. Help me take from it a means to know you, love you, and to do your will. Just as the centurion was transformed by his realization of the significance of Jesus’ death, help me by your grace keep my eyes fixed on the Son of Man who sits at the right hand of the Father.

Lord, help me today by keeping my gaze fixed on the passion and death of your son and giving praise to your name. With Saint Paul, let me proclaim: “God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name. . . . Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Caiaphas prophesied that Jesus was going to die for the nation, and not only for the nation, but also to gather into one the dispersed children of God. So from that day on they planned to kill him.

Today’s Gospel describes the plan of Caiaphas, high priest, to save the Jewish nation out of fear of the many signs Jesus performed. His fear is that if they leave Jesus on his own, people will come to believe in him. Caiaphas says to the Sanhedrin, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” At the beginning of today’s Gospel, we hear how many of the Jews come to Mary to see what Jesus had done in raising her brother Lazarus from the dead. This great miracle of Jesus in the hands of Caiaphas was divisive, and he meant to do everything he could to prevent Jesus from driving a wedge between the political alignment of the Jewish nation and the Romans. God’s plan for salvation in his Son’s passion, death, and resurrection began to unfold through Caiaphas and Mary. One obstructed God’s plan to “gather into one the dispersed children of God”; the other, a willing participant in that plan, cooperated with the same grace that set salvation into motion. If I had lived in that time, which side would I have been on?

God, help me recognize that if I am not with you, I am against you. As Jesus says in the Gospel according to Matthew: “Whoever is not with me is against me, and whoever does not gather with me scatters.” It is not possible to do your will and at the same time divide and plot to do harm to others. Having seen her brother raised from the dead, Mary’s joy overflowed to those around her, giving witness to Jesus as miraculous healer and Son of God. She gathered rather than scattered. Today I will have many opportunities to choose between gathering or scattering. Grant me the grace, God, to be drawn to you and to gather together others toward you, toward what is true and good and beautiful.

Guard me today, Lord, and guide me in your ways. From the responsorial psalm, let me recall your voice throughout the day: “My dwelling shall be with them; I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Monday of the Fifth Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

“Let the one among you who is without sin be the first to throw a stone at her.” Again he bent down and wrote on the ground. And in response, they went away one by one, beginning with the elders.

Saying these few words, Jesus then bends down and in that moment when no words are spoken, the crowd slowly disperses. In today’s Gospel, it is the elders who are the first to walk away from stoning the woman caught in adultery. In that still moment, they recognize that they also commit sin and are not free from guilt. By contrast, in the first reading from Daniel, it is the elders who are the first to accuse Susanna of adultery to hide their sin. John tells us in today’s Gospel that after the crowd goes away one by one, Jesus says to the woman: “Woman, where are they? Has no one condemned you?” She tells him, “No one, sir.” Then Jesus says to her, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more.” Before saying this to the woman, Jesus straightens up the woman; this is a detail not to be missed. He reaches out his hand to her to raise up the helpless.

God, there are times, as in the responsorial psalm, where the day’s walk is through a dark valley. In the first reading and in the Gospel, the crowd—the mob—accuses and wants nothing more than to see justice carried out even to the point of death. This is the world you sent your son into. Am I sometimes the one in the midst of the mob? Even when Jesus says “Let the one among you who is without sin,” there is one who would throw a stone regardless. During the Gospel reading on Good Friday, the congregation takes the voice of the crowd, crying out “Crucify him.” Help me, Lord, be merciful and forgiving. You alone know the sins of others and are the just judge. Give me the grace to quiet the mob voice within me. In the dark valley of waywardness and sin, straighten me up so that I can find a way back to you; guide me in the way of forgiveness.

Be with me today, merciful Lord, and forgive me. “Even though I walk in the dark valley, I fear no evil; for you are at my side.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Fifth Sunday of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

“Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.”

In this Sunday’s Gospel, both Martha and Mary say this to Jesus as he approaches their brother Lazarus’s tomb. Jesus makes clear to the disciples that he will raise Lazarus from the dead, saying, “Lazarus has died. And I am glad for you that I was not there, that you may believe. Let us go to him.” Martha, one of the two sisters who in another Gospel passage busies herself in the kitchen while Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, says to Jesus: “But even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” She believes that Jesus is the Messiah, saying, “I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.” Jesus then asks Martha to send for Mary, who was inside mourning. Using the same words as Martha, Mary says to Jesus: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” When Jesus saw Mary’s weeping and the weeping of friends who had come with her, John tells us that Jesus became perturbed and deeply troubled. Jesus asked where Lazarus was, and he wept before going to the tomb that kept Lazarus bound by death.

God, I want to see today’s Gospel with a fresh set of eyes. At its core is a stark reality: Jesus, your son, raised Lazarus from the dead. Help me see also Martha’s and Mary’s responses to their brother’s death and the faith and trust they had in your mercy. Martha is stouthearted in her faith, and expresses it in certain terms: “You are the Christ, the Son of God.” Overcome with grief, Mary sheds tears that brings Jesus himself to weep. Both Mary and Martha reach out to your son in faith, and he responds to them with mercy by raising Lazarus from the dead. I believe, Lord; help my unbelief.

God, thank you for your mercy, your loving-kindness toward those in pain. Strengthen my faith in your son, who says to you before raising Lazarus from the dead: “Father, I thank you for hearing me. I know that you always hear me.” 

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

https://youtu.be/2W-KSOPWWBY

Readings

Thursday of the Second Week of Lent

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Luke

Thus says the LORD: More tortuous than all else is the human heart, beyond remedy; who can understand it? I, the LORD, alone probe the mind and test the heart, To reward everyone according to his ways, according to the merit of his deeds.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells a parable about a rich man who ignored the needs of a poor man named Lazarus, who lay at his gate begging for scraps. When both men died, the rich man found himself in torment, while Lazarus was comforted in the bosom of Abraham. The rich man begged Abraham to send Lazarus to warn his five brothers about the consequences of their actions, but Abraham told him that they had Moses and the prophets to guide them. In the first reading, Jeremiah voices the words of the LORD, warning against trusting in human strength and turning away from God, who alone can search and know our minds and hearts. Together, these two readings direct us to place our trust in God rather than in earthly things and prioritizing compassion and love for others over selfishness and greed.

God, help me understand the ways that I have been like the rich man in the parable. His hard-heartedness and indulgence in the things of this world ultimately led to his torment, while Lazarus’s faithfulness and trust in God led him to eternal reward. In his reliance on your providence, Lord, Abraham is like the woman Jesus encounters who begs him to heal her daughter. She says to Jesus: “Please, Lord, for even the dogs eat the scraps that fall from the table of their masters.” God, give me the grace today to keep my eyes fixed on your hand and on the good gifts you provide me with. Let me trust you and help me be aware of it, be alert to it, and give witness to it.

From today’s entrance antiphon: “Test me, O God, and know my thoughts. See that my path is not wicked, and lead me in the way everlasting.”

Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Readings

Memorial of Saints Martha, Mary, and Lazarus: Reflection

Jesus told her, “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” She said to him, “Yes, Lord. I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, the one who is coming into the world.”

Before Jesus said these words to Martha, she said to him: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” How else is Martha presented in the Gospel but as one who, while her sister Mary sits at Jesus’ feet, is anxious and worried about many things. Yet, after Lazarus dies, Mary sits at home, while it is Martha who heard that Jesus was coming and “went to meet him.” Here, as she mourns the death of her brother, her anxiety and grief are evident but brought to Jesus because she knows he is the Son of God. Help me understand, Lord, that you present me with many opportunities each day to test my faith. Rather than say, “If you had been here . . . ,” give me the grace to believe that with you, anything is possible.

Lord, let me rest in you as I try my best to make a worthy dwelling for you. Having received you in the Eucharist, let me come back throughout the day to find with complete trust that you are always present.

What Jesus said to Martha long ago, he says to all who would hear him today: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and anyone who lives and believes in me will never die. Do you believe this?” Jesus is not satisfied to broadcast a public service announcement for all who wish to follow him. Just as Jesus came to meet Martha, he comes to meet each of us wherever we are. When I go out to meet him in the midst of the day, will I say “Lord, if you had been here . . .” or “You are the Christ, the Son of God.”

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