Tag: forviveness

Monday in the Octave of Easter

From the responsorial psalm: “Keep me, O God, for in you I take refuge; I say to the LORD, “My Lord are you.” O LORD, my allotted portion and my cup, you it is who hold fast my lot. Keep me safe, O God; you are my hope.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 28:8-15)

Mary Magdalene and the other Mary went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce the news 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.”

Hurrying away from the tomb and experiencing fear and great joy, the two women run to tell the disciples what they have seen. On their way, Jesus meets them, and the women worship him as he tells them not to be afraid. Jesus then instructs the women to tell his disciples to go to Galilee, where they will see him. As this happens, some of the guards who were at the tomb go into the city and report to the chief priests what has happened, and the chief priests make plans to tell a lie: that the disciples stole Jesus’ body while the guards were sleeping. In Jesus’ first words to the women, we find an example of strength in professing the Gospel: “Do not be afraid. Go and tell my brothers.”

God, as the day progresses and its trials crop up, help me remember the first words of Jesus to the women after his resurrection. “Do not be afraid.” Help me choose to face trials, not overcome with uncertainty and apprehension, but with the omnipotence of the Risen Christ, who lives within me in his words and through the sacraments. Filled with a sense of urgency, the women did as Jesus asked them to do: “Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.” Give me the grace, Lord, to go out in the midst of the day to find Christ present, eager to grant me the peace only he can give.

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.

Easter Sunday | The Resurrection of the Lord

From the sequence before the Gospel: “Christ indeed from death is risen, our new life obtaining. Have mercy, victor King, ever reigning! Amen. Alleluia.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 20:1-9)

On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.

As the disciples race to the tomb, John sprints ahead and looks inside, seeing the burial cloths but hesitates to enter. Peter arrives, enters the tomb, and sees immediately that the cloths are arranged carefully, unlike how they would appear if the body were stolen. As John follows Peter in, they both see and believe. And John tells us, “For they did not yet understand the Scripture that he had to rise from the dead.” What they find in the empty tomb is part of an answer to Mary’s troubled declaration, “They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.” Their minds still reeling, Mary and the other disciples don’t know what to make of what they have witnessed. It isn’t until later, as Jesus appears to them, that they come to know the unbounded joy of Christ’s paschal mystery that we celebrate at the Easter Mass: “Jesus Christ is risen today, Alleluia!”

God, help me make sense of the unfolding moments of that first Easter morning. I feel between spiritual worlds—more in spirit with Mary and her puzzlement than with the Spirit-confirmed faith of the apostles at Pentecost. “And we don’t know where they put him.” Something in that makes me want to linger, contemplating the mystery of Christ’s presence even in his absence. It’s the same mystery of the bread and wine made into his body and blood. Absent in appearance but truly, actually present. Lord, give me the grace to receive the Eucharist with reverential awe. The risen Christ, victor over sin and death, is freed from the tomb and shows us the path to eternal life. Thanks be to God, 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

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.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mark 16:1-7)

On entering the tomb they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a white robe, and they were utterly amazed. He said to them, “Do not be amazed! You seek Jesus of Nazareth, the crucified. He has been raised; he is not here. Behold the place where they laid him. But go and tell his disciples and Peter, ‘He is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him, as he told you.’”

After the sabbath, early on Sunday morning, Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome go to the tomb of Jesus to anoint him. As they approach the tomb, they question among themselves how they will remove the stone. When they look up, they see that it has been rolled away. A young man sits at the right side of the tomb who tells them Jesus has been raised, and he sends them with a message, mentioning Peter by name and the disciples. Jesus would meet them in Galilee, as he told them. In the resurrection, saving us from sin and death, Jesus goes ahead of us. And God always keeps his promises. In the Easter vigil Mass, the triumph of light over darkness appears in the risen Christ, the Light of the World.

God, help me fully embrace the passion, death, and resurrection of your Son in understanding it as much as your grace allows so that I can partake in the full Easter joy of receiving the body and blood of Christ in the Eucharist. By taking him in, I take in his victory over sin and death and am strengthened through him in the hope of the resurrection, which he made possible for all who believe in him. Grant me the grace, Lord, to participate in the mystery of Christ’s resurrection and know the joy it offers for me and for the whole world. Have mercy on us, Lord, and on the whole world. “By the LORD has this been done; it is wonderful in our eyes.”

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.

Good Friday of the Lord’s Passion

From the responsorial psalm: “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.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 18:1—19:42)

After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Until the moment of his death, Jesus was aware that he was accomplishing his Father’s will. Throughout the days leading up to his passion and through all its brutality, he never lost sight of it and in the last moment knew when he had fulfilled all he was sent to fulfill. What was it Jesus thirsted for? To be sure, as a man, he thirsted as a man thirsts; as Immanuel, he thirsted not for any created thing but for the salvation of all. In saying “It is finished,” the Son announces to the Father in that moment the finality of life but also the beginning of the end of sin and death in his glorious resurrection to come. Jesus’ death on the cross is not an end but for all who believe in him the full flowering of the hope of the resurrection.

God, in contemplating the death of your Only Begotten Son on the cross, I strive to see the profound depth and breadth of its effects, for the sake of the whole world and for my own sake. Help me weigh the small sacrifices I make today against the weight of your crucifixion. There is no comparison, and it could be that all I can do today is stand in wonder of that. Give me the grace to know more deeply the meaning of the crucifixion; teach me through obedience to your will the meaning of suffering as a means of sanctification. A sinner, I am inclined to want to look away from the crucifixion and what it draws me to—Christ your Son—but I can’t look away. Help me understand who it is I behold and what it means.

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 Thursday

From the responsorial psalm: “How shall I make a return to the LORD for all the good he has done for me? The cup of salvation I will take up, and I will call upon the name of the LORD. Our blessing-cup is a communion with the Blood of Christ.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 13:1-15)

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.”

Before the feast of Passover in the Upper Room, Jesus begins to wash his disciples’ feet. As he comes to Simon Peter, he asks what Jesus is doing and says to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus then replies, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” Peter says, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.” At first failing to understand why Jesus would want to wash his feet, Peter accepts wholeheartedly what Jesus offers to do. The lowly, menial task of washing feet is an example to the disciples of humility and selflessness. In this example of sacrificial love and service, Peter accepts what Jesus does for the sake of his own salvation. “What I am doing,” Jesus tells Peter, “you do not understand now, but you will understand later.” Peter, the first servant of the servants, would come to understand service and sacrificial love as our first pope.

God, help me understand what greatness is—not conventional greatness, not greatness as the world sees it, but greatness in going all out to be the least important person in the room. “Human greatness has always had sadness for a companion,” said exorcist Fr. Gabriele Amorth. Jesus assured Peter that only his feet need be cleaned to receive the self-gift of Jesus’ humility. In seeking human greatness, I’ve demonstrated time after time that I stumble and fall. Raise me up to true greatness, Lord, in learning the virtue of humility and loving service to others. “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.

Wednesday of Holy Week

From the responsorial psalm: “I will praise the name of God in song, and I will glorify him with thanksgiving: “See, you lowly ones, and be glad; you who seek God, may your hearts revive! For the LORD hears the poor, and his own who are in bonds he spurns not.” Lord, in your great love, answer me.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Matthew (Mt 26:14-25)

When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”

Jesus tells the disciples “My appointed time draws near,” and he celebrates the Passover with them. While they were eating, Jesus tells them that one of them will betray him. One by one the disciples deny that they will betray Jesus. “Surely it is not I, Lord?” When Jesus makes clear the consequences of failing to seek his mercy, as Peter did following his denial of Jesus, Judas also questions Jesus—”Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”—and later betrays him in the Garden of Gethsemane. Judas is not alone in his betrayal. In their weakness, each of the disciples also betrayed Jesus; only John remained with him at the foot of the cross. After the resurrection, all but Judas returned to Jesus to receive his mercy.

God, help me call to mind your presence today, that you are eternally present to me whether I am conscious of it at any given moment. In the decisions I face today, give me the grace to remain faithful to you and not weaken by turning away from your will and choosing to do wrong. “Surely it is not I, Lord?” Let that question be top of mind today as I face its opportunities and trials. “The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced.”

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.

Tuesday of Holy Week

From the responsorial psalm: “In you, O LORD, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame. In your justice rescue me, and deliver me; incline your ear to me, and save me. I will sing of your salvation.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 13:21-33, 36-38)

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.”

Jesus tells the disciples that one of them will betray him. Peter asks Jesus which of them is the betrayer. In dipping the morsel, Judas gives the sign that he will betray Jesus. He tells him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” And Judas departs. But Judas is not the only one who betrays Jesus. Peter, the one who says he would lay down his life for Jesus, later denies him three times in the courtyard. Peter’s overconfident devotion to Jesus reveals human weakness. When Jesus questions Peter—”Will you lay down your life for me?”—it is not to shame him but to direct his total dependence on God to strengthen and sustain him. In later repenting, Peter affirms this dependence.

God, help me realize the extent of your mercy, not to presume it but to recognize sin for what it is and know the grace of reconciliation with you. Judas moves off stage in the Gospel, passing from light to darkness. Peter leans against Jesus’ chest in devotion to him. Yet, both fail through human weakness to remain loyal to Jesus. Help me see in Peter a model of contrition and dependence on you for the forgiveness of sins. I am in a helpless place, Lord, if I trust only my good will to see me through the day. Let me know your mercy and be merciful to others. “In you, O LORD, I take refuge; let me never be put to shame.”

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.

Monday of Holy Week

From the responsorial psalm: “The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The LORD is my life’s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? The Lord is my light and my salvation.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 12:1-11)

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.

The extravagant love that Mary shows Jesus fills the entire house with the fragrance of oil. Oil, a sacramental, becomes a tangible expression of devotion to Jesus. In the room with Jesus and Mary is Lazarus, whom Jesus resurrected from the dead. Judas questions why the oil should not be sold and given to the poor; he deceives. But what is true instead is that in Christ’s presence, the poor come in crowds looking for the hope that only Jesus can give. John tells us: “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.” Without Christ, we ourselves become spiritually poor; with him, we gain a superabundance of grace that overspills to others. As Saint Bede the Venerable said: “We wipe the feet of these same ones with our hair when we share some of what is superfluous to us to alleviate the wants of the needy.”

God, thank you for the presence of Jesus! Present to Mary and Lazarus in body and soul, he remains present today in the Eucharist—body and blood, soul and divinity. In the fulfillment of love through his passion, death, and resurrection, he sits at your right hand and yet remains in the full presence of the Blessed Sacrament. Help me follow Mary’s example of devotion and see Christ in his presence, especially as Saint Teresa of Calcutta saw him—in the needs of others. “Whenever I meet someone in need,” she said, “it’s really Jesus in his most distressing disguise.” Lord, bless me today with the opportunity to see the needs of others and anoint them with your love.

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.

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

From the responsorial psalm: “All who see me scoff at me; they mock me with parted lips, they wag their heads: ‘He relied on the LORD; let him deliver him, let him rescue him, if he loves him.’ My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to Mark (Mk 15:1-39)

Pilate again said to them in reply, “Then what do you want me to do with the man you call the king of the Jews?” They shouted again, “Crucify him.” Pilate said to them, “Why? What evil has he done?” They only shouted the louder, “Crucify him.” So Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas to them and, after he had Jesus scourged, handed him over to be crucified.

Mark relates the excruciating details of the passion, crucifixion, and death of Jesus until the moment Jesus cries out, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” A prayerful reading of the immense pain Jesus suffers reveals who we are to God and the divinity of Christ that breaks through to humanity in his redemptive sacrifice. At the moment of Jesus’ death, Mark tells us this: “The veil of the sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion who stood facing him saw how he breathed his last he said, “’Truly this man was the Son of God!’” How is it that the same Jesus who rides a colt into Jerusalem and hears from the crowd, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!” days later is mocked, tortured, and put to death at the hands of the people in Jerusalem? It was necessary for the sake of our redemption that he was both suffering servant and Lord of all, King of kings.

God, help me humbly accept that I cannot fully understand the mystery of the suffering and death of your Only Begotten Son. In fallen human nature, I see in myself the one crying “Hosanna” as Jesus enters Jerusalem; a sinner, I see in myself one among others in a crowd who crucifies him. Help me, Lord, in brokenness turn more toward you. Give me the grace to understand the necessity of a Savior of us all and what it means to me that Jesus died on a cross to destroy sin and death and to restore the hope of eternal life. “For the sake of his sorrowful passion, have mercy on us and on the whole world.”

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.

image: Bartolomé Esteban Murillo, CC0, via Wikimedia Commons

Many began to believe him. | Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent

From the responsorial psalm: “Hear the word of the LORD, O nations, proclaim it on distant isles, and say: He who scattered Israel, now gathers them together, he guards them as a shepherd his flock. The Lord will guard us, as a shepherd guards his flock.”

A reading from the holy Gospel according to John (Jn 11:45-56)

Many of the Jews who had come to Mary and seen what Jesus had done began to believe in him. But some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees convened the Sanhedrin and said, “What are we going to do? This man is performing many signs. If we leave him alone, all will believe in him, and the Romans will come and take away both our land and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “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.”

The mention of Mary in the first line of today’s Gospel refers to the resurrection of her brother Lazarus. Many witnesses spread the news of this miracle and came to believe in Jesus. This news alarmed religious leaders already threatened by Jesus’ popularity and his claims to divinity. Under the leadership of Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin planned to kill Jesus in order to save their nation. So from that day on they planned to kill him. “So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews,” John tells us, “but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim, and there he remained with his disciples.” The approaching Passover would bring about the fulfillment of Jesus’ mission, who offers himself as a sacrifice for the salvation of all.

God, help me understand what the events unfolding in the Gospel mean to me in the present day. This event is not isolated in time but sweeps up all of history to bring the sins of humanity to the passion and death of your Son. With the resurrection of Lazarus, many came to believe in Jesus. In his saving death and resurrection, Jesus becomes the means of working all things for the good to reconcile each person to you. Help me recognize that in my sins I also nailed to a tree the Son of God. Give me a grateful, humbled heart as I consider the true price of reconciliation with 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.