Tag: Prayer

Tuesday in the Octave of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus said to her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to my brothers and tell them, ‘I am going to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.’” Mary went and announced to the disciples, “I have seen the Lord,” and then reported what he had told her.

In today’s Gospel, Mary Magdalene goes to the tomb of Jesus and finds it empty. She thinks that the body of Jesus has been stolen, so she asks a man she thinks is the gardener where they have taken him. The man tells her that he is Jesus, and she recognizes him. Jesus tells her, “Stop holding on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father.” He tells her to go to the disciples and tell them that he is going to his Father and their Father, to his God and their God. Mary Magdalene goes to the disciples and tells them what she has seen. In this encounter with Jesus, Mary models perfect discipleship; she recognizes the risen Jesus and goes immediately to the disciples to proclaim what she has seen and what Jesus told her.

God, help me with your grace in the same way you helped Mary Magdalene recognize and respond to your Son’s commandment to go and announce the Good News. By destroying death, Jesus bridged a great chasm that stood between you and all of humanity. In that was the end to the ultimate division between God and man but also an end to small divisions that separated your people from you in their earthly existence. Thank you, Lord, for Mary’s love of the risen Christ. As Archbishop Luis María Martínez said of Easter morning: “But a woman whose heart beat with a fathomless, invincible love, returned from the sepulcher, radiant with jubilation, on the luminous Resurrection morning. From the depths of suffering and death, sinlessness arose victorious over sin to bestow upon the world the divine gift of joy.” Once Jesus restored us to you, like Mary we are able to hear and respond to your will. Just as Jesus called Mary by name, make clear to me today, my God, when I hear him call me by name.

Lord, meet me where I am throughout every moment of this day. How am I to recognize you and your word unless you say my name?

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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-KSOPWWBY

Monday in the Octave of Easter

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

On this second day in the Octave of Easter, Jesus says to Mary Magdalene and the other Mary, “Do not be afraid.” After all they experienced at the empty tomb—an earthquake, an angel descending from heaven, paralyzed Roman guards—the emotions of the two Marys were full of fear and joy as they hurried back to tell the disciples what had happened. And then Jesus met them. Consider how Jesus meets them where they are at that moment, at the height of their overwhelming joy and trembling. They couldn’t wait to share what they had witnessed. By contrast, the guards who had been frozen in fear went to tell the chief priests what had happened and were told to keep quiet. They received hush money. What did they do, Lord, when you met the two Marys on the road? Matthew says, “They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage.” Where will I be today when Jesus meets me on the way, and will I recognize him?

God, help me be ready to go out and receive you wherever today’s road leads. Often I choose paths that lead me out of fear away from giving witness to you through my life and words. Help me understand that you are there along the harder path of being your witness. Keep me in the truth of the resurrection of your Son and give me the grace to be a faithful witness of him to others.

Thank you, Lord, for this day, which is yours. Keep me in your peace and the joy of the risen Christ. As the Gospel acclamation says, “This is the day the LORD has made; let us be glad and rejoice in it.”

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://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2W-KSOPWWBY

The Resurrection of the Lord

The Disciples Peter and John running to the sepulchre
on the morning of the Resurrection,
Eugène Burnand

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

Today’s Gospel by John describes the discovery of the empty tomb by Mary Magdalene, Peter, and John. The passage begins with Mary Magdalene arriving at the tomb early on the first day of the week. She sees that the stone has been rolled away from the entrance and runs to tell Peter and the other disciple. Peter and the other disciple go to the tomb and see that the linen cloths are lying there, but the body of Jesus is gone. At the end of the passage, John enters the empty tomb and sees and believes that Jesus has risen from the dead. It is evidence of Jesus’ historical resurrection, a central tenet of the Catholic faith, but also an example of discipleship. Despite following Jesus as his closest disciples, it wasn’t until Peter and John entered the darkness of the empty tomb to see and believe in the Scripture—that Jesus had to rise from the dead. As a disciple of Jesus, I have to stop and consider how to increase my faith, where I need to see and believe.

God, help me understand the glory of the resurrection. In the empty tomb, the risen Christ has conquered death and is alive today just as he was when he rose from the dead two thousand years ago. He is the first, the one who goes before me in the hope of my own resurrection and salvation through him. It is a kind of veiled hope in this life, which quietly calls me toward you day after day in the bold, resounding hope that one day I, like your Son, will be with you forever in your glory. As Saint Paul says, “Think of what is above, not of what is on earth. For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. When Christ your life appears, then you too will appear with him in glory.” Christ has risen, and in him is undying hope. Father, give me the grace of discipleship to see and believe in hope made visible through the glory of his resurrection.

Christ, our paschal lamb, has been sacrificed; let us then feast with joy in the Lord. Alleluia, alleluia!

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.

Holy Saturday—Easter Vigil

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. . . . And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. . . . Then the angel said to the women in reply, “Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. . . .” Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, “Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.”

Today’s Gospel for the Easter Vigil Mass tells how Mary Magdalene and the other Mary go to the tomb of Jesus on the first day of the week and find that it is empty. An angel tells them that Jesus has risen from the dead, and that they should go and tell his disciples. Fearful yet overjoyed, they run to announce this to his disciples and meet Jesus on the way. In telling them not to be afraid and to go to Galilee, Jesus reveals that he will appear to them there. At this moment, Jesus confirms his divinity to the women and soon will do the same to the disciples. Through his resurrection, Jesus destroys death, offering salvation to all who believe in him. An unending source of joy and hope, the risen Christ brings to everybody as the firstfruits life in the new covenant based love and mercy and salvation for all.

God, just as the women came to see the tomb, I come to you today expecting nothing extraordinary to happen. A life lived in routines—even the best routines—leads to ordinary ends. It leaves little room for awe. Yet, as they arrived, the two Marys experienced an earthquake, an angel descending from heaven, Roman guards paralyzed with fear, a stone rolled back, and the voice of the angel saying, “Do not be afraid. I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified.” Your angels, Lord, must know all about ordinary expectations. Rituals sustain us through all of life’s passages. We expect that a man who has died stays dead and that when visiting a tomb, we will find him there. But then the angel then invites them to see the place where Jesus lay, but the dead man is gone. God, help me today to put my well-worn, routine expectations to death in the pitch-black tomb where Jesus lay. Grant me the great gift of faith to expect that from the ordinary, you ignite the world with—wonder of wonders!—the extraordinary hope of life lived in your love.

From the responsorial psalm: “The right hand of the LORD has struck with power; the right hand of the LORD is exalted. I shall not die, but live, and declare the works of the LORD. Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia.”

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

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him,  went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?” They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.” He said to them, “I AM.” Judas his betrayer was also with them. When he said to them, “I AM,” they turned away and fell to the ground. So he again asked them, “Whom are you looking for?” They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.” Jesus answered, “I told you that I AM.”

In the Lord’s Passion, Jesus refers to himself as I AM from the moment the chief priests and Pharisees come looking for him to his moment of death, when he says, “It is finished.” In his self-declaration as I AM, Jesus identifies himself as God. When Pilate tells Jesus that his own nation has handed him over to him and asks what Jesus has done, Jesus replies: “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.” Again, when Pilate tells Jesus he has the power to release him or crucify him, Jesus says, “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above.” So it is the eternal God, the creator of the universe, God who loved us into existence and whose Son is one with him, who died on the cross to take away our sins. As Isaiah says in the first reading of the servant, the Son of God: “he shall take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.”

God, considering your Son on this day of his Passion, I fumble for words. What do I say to you? It’s the way I might feel when approaching a great or saintly person, yet there is added to that the sorrow of death and loss of a beloved one, your Son. It is your grace I need to help me expand and deepen my understanding of the passion. Saint Paul encourages me to come to you for that grace. Let me remember his words throughout the day: “So let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy and to find grace for timely help.” To find grace in you, God—I know you desire that and that you thirst for me to come to you. From the cross, Jesus said, “I thirst.” Let me hear your voice today and come to you to receive your mercy.

Let your face shine upon your servant; save me in your kindness. Take courage and be stouthearted, all you who hope in the LORD. Father, into your hands I commend my spirit.

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

Holy Thursday—Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’  and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

On this day, the Church celebrates three important events: the institution of the Holy Eucharist, the institution of priestly ordination and service, and the commandment to love one another as God first loved us. In today’s Gospel, Jesus knows that his hour has come to depart from this world to the Father. When Jesus offers to wash the feet of the disciples, Peter objects, saying: “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answers, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” And Peter says, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.” In washing the feet of the disciples, Jesus gives them a model to follow “so that as I have done for you, you should also do.” With this example of the humility and love of the master, what opportunities do I have today and every day to follow as a disciple?

God, my tendency is like Peter’s in objecting to allow Jesus to humble himself before me. Jesus says, “Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over.” Yet, like Judas I have betrayed your Son and feel undeserving of his love. Help me, God, accept that you want my soul to be clean all over. For that, I need to allow you to wash me in ways that are sometimes uncomfortable or inconvenient. In turn, by your Son’s example, teach me to love and serve others when it is inconvenient or when humility toward them seems undeserved.

Lord, help me derive from Holy Thursday a deeper understanding of the graces and sacraments that you pour forth from it. If I am overwhelmed in taking its meaning in, guide me to what aspect of it that is most necessary in my life right now. The Gospel acclamation says simply what today is about: “I give you a new commandment, says the Lord: love one another as I have loved you.”

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

Wednesday of Holy Week

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?” They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.

Today’s Gospel, as told by Matthew, relates the story of the betrayal of Jesus by Judas Iscariot. As the Twelve sit at the table with Jesus during the Feast of the Unleavened Bread, Jesus tells them to go into the city to a certain man in whose house they celebrated Passover. Jesus says to them while they were eating, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” They then begin to question which one of them is the betrayer. “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me,” Jesus says, warning them of the mortal consequences of betrayal. Then Judas says to Jesus, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” And he answers, “You have said so.” Judas is fully aware that he is betraying Jesus. In his conscience, he knows he is lying. In what ways do I betray Jesus, fully aware that I am being deceitful?

Lord, I am closer to Judas in betrayal than I am to Jesus in discipleship. Often, I fail to do what I know is right and do the wrong thing instead. Judas hanged himself for the unbearable remorse he felt in his betrayal that seemed to him greater than your mercy. In his threefold denial of Jesus, Peter would find in Jesus the relationship restored with his threefold question: “Simon, son of John, do you love me?” The chief priests put a price on the head of Jesus, and Judas succumbed to betrayal for it. Time after time when I betray you, Lord, you restore me through your unfathomable mercy in the sacrament of reconciliation. Your Son paid the price for that at a cost I will never fully comprehend.

Merciful God, restore me with your loving presence. Grant me the wisdom to know the limited value of the things of this world and the grace of trusting in your limitless mercy.

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

Tuesday of Holy Week

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now, though you will follow later.” Peter said to him, “Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.”

These words from today’s Gospel follow Judas’s betrayal of Jesus. John tells us that after Judas took the morsel that Jesus gave him, Satan entered him. Jesus then tells Judas, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” When Judas leaves, Jesus says, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once.” He also tells them he will be with them only a little while longer. It seems at first odd that Jesus should say at this betrayal that he is glorified and that God is glorified in him. However, Jesus looks to the short time ahead when his death and resurrection will fulfill his Father’s will in bringing redemption and salvation to all.

God, what opportunities are there for me today that will give you glory? To know your will begins by first seeking and knowing it and then doing it. For me, it is impossible that every action of mine would reach that end. Help me understand that this is not something I can accomplish on my own but instead has to begin with you. Work with me today, God; work through me so that I allow you to work all things for the good. After betraying Jesus, Peter ultimately laid down his will and his life for Christ. Help me be faithful to you, Lord, through my thoughts, words, and actions.

Sometimes, Lord, I lose the opportunity to know your presence through silence, afraid that I’ll have little to measure against the yardstick of time. Teach me to be quiet, to want what you want, to accomplish your immeasurable will.

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 Holy Week

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John

The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.

Before Passover and after Jesus had raised Lazarus from the dead, Jesus goes to the house of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus for a dinner they invited him to. John tells us that Mary takes a liter of costly perfumed oil and anoints the feet of Jesus and dries them with her hair. At this, Judas Iscariot complains, saying that the oil should have been sold to give to the poor. He says this not because he cared about the poor but because he held the money bag and would steal from it. Jesus says to Judas: “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” Seeing large crowds of Jews go to see Jesus there, the chief priests plot to kill Jesus and Lazarus. Because of Lazarus, many people were coming to believe in Jesus. In Jesus’ rebuke of Judas, there is tenderness toward Mary’s anointing. During Holy Week, what little extravagance of love can I offer the Lord?

God, you are outside of time; yet, your Son recognizes his time on earth was coming to an end. Mary sits at the feet of Jesus, just as he would soon be at the feet of the Twelve, the servant of servants washing them clean of sin. Help me understand the paths of those who came to believe in you, whether through their heart or head. Before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, Mary said to him: “I have come to believe that you are the Messiah, the Son of God.” Others came to believe in you through the works your Son performed while on earth, witnesses to his many miraculous healings. In the first reading from Isaiah, you say: “I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand.” There is only so much time to come to believe in you, Lord, and remain firm in belief; take initiative, take me by the hand.

God, grant me the grace today to use the things of this world for your glory. Creator of heaven and earth, you are a light for the nations. Open my eyes today to see the light and do what is pleasing to you.

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

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