Holy Week: April 14-19
April 14- Monday: Jn 12:1-11;
The context: The scene depicted in today’s
Gospel reading took place exactly one week before the crucifixion of Jesus.
Jesus was anointed on two different occasions — first, at the start of his
public ministry, in Galilee, as recounted by St. Luke: Jesus was anointed by a
repentant sinful woman in the house of a Pharisee (7:36-5), and, second,
towards the end of his life, in Bethany, as reported here by St. John. Instead
of brooding over the sufferings and death waiting for him, Jesus, along with
his Apostles, enjoyed a party given for his friend, the now-raised Lazarus, by
his family and friends. Jesus was on his way to Jerusalem to be crucified.
Probably he halted in Bethany, both because Jerusalem was overcrowded, and
because Jesus wanted to spend time in with his closest friends.
The Gospel summarizes two attitudes: the love of Mary and
the negative criticism of Judas. Mary expressed her love for Jesus and her
gratitude to God by an extravagant action. Before all the Apostles, she
anointed Jesus’ feet with nard (a very costly perfume worth the wages of a
laborer for 300 days), then wiped them with her hair. Her lovely deed shows the
extravagance of love. Judas on the other hand criticized Mary for spending so
much on perfume, suggesting that the money could have been used to help the
poor. Mary’s action was extravagant, but her motive justified it. However,
Judas’ motive in suggesting the good action of helping the poor tainted the
action, hurt Mary and garnered a brusque reproval from Jesus.
Life messages: 1) We need to express our love
and gratitude to Jesus during this Holy Week for what he did for us centuries
ago and for what he continues to do for us now: a) He poured out his Blood for
us and for our salvation; b) He anointed us with his Holy Spirit and made us
the Holy Spirit’s Temple; c) He continues to nourish us with his Body and Blood
through the Holy Eucharist. 2) We can express our love and gratitude to our
Savior Jesus during Holy Week a) by spending more time in prayer and adoration,
especially by participating in the liturgical celebrations b) by doing acts of
penance for our past sins, and c) by actively engaging in acts of loving and
humble service to those in need. (Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
April 15: Tuesday: Jn 13:21-33, 36-3821
The context: In today’s Gospel, we hear Jesus’
loving appeal to two of his chosen Apostles, Judas and Peter, who represent
hard-heartedness and repentance respectively. Judas was a perfect actor and an
accomplished hypocrite who could hide his motives from all except Jesus. He
deliberately betrayed Jesus for money. Peter on the other hand was simple at
heart, a deeply emotional disciple who really loved Jesus.
(A) Judas – a model of hard-heartedness: Jesus showed his
last act of love for Judas: a) by allowing him to sit at His left so that Jesus
could rest His head on his chest during the Last Supper; b) by giving him a
piece of bread dipped in sauce, from Jesus’ plate, as a sign of honor; c) by
making Judas the treasurer of the group and the keeper of money received as an
offering to the rabbi from the people, thus giving everyone a sign of his trust
and confidence in Judas. But Jesus could not save Judas from his
hard-heartedness and greed for money. Judas probably expected the triumphant
Messiah in Jesus and hoped to rule Israel with him as his finance minister. If
so, he must have been totally disillusioned when Jesus predicted his suffering
and shameful death. This might have prompted him to betray Jesus. We, too, can
become hard-hearted, like Judas, when we have become addicted to evil habits,
and we can refuse Jesus’ call for repentance and conversion even during Holy
Week.
(B) Peter – a model of true repentance: Peter showed good
will and generosity in repenting of his sin – denying Jesus out of weakness –
by weeping bitterly, professing his love for Jesus after the Resurrection, and
finally suffering a martyr’s death for his Faith in Jesus.
Life messages: 1) Let us imitate Peter by
repenting of our choices against Jesus and his ideals in our day-to-day lives.
2) Let us also ask God to liberate us from our evil habits and addictions
before they make us hard-hearted. 3) Just as Jesus considered death on the
cross as his glory, let us consider humble, committed, sacrificial service for
others as our glory and learn to love others as Jesus loves us.
(Fr. Tony) (https://frtonyshomilies.com/)
April 16; Wednesday: Mt 26:14-25:
The context: Today is traditionally known as “Spy
Wednesday,” and was called by Christians as early as AD 250 the “the
day of betrayal.” Today’s Gospel describes how Judas secretly planned
to betray Jesus for thirty silver pieces (the price of a slave), and how he
sought an opportunity to betray his master. We also learn how Jesus had his
plans for celebrating his last Passover supper with his disciples carried out
in a house prearranged by him. In Jesus’ time, the Passover supper was
celebrated on the first day of the week of Unleavened Bread. During the meal,
Jesus dramatically declared that one of the disciples was planning to betray
Him and hinted that it was Judas.
Bible scholars suggest three reasons why Judas betrayed
Jesus. The primary reason seems to have been his greed for money. John tells us
that Judas used to steal from the common fund. Bitter hatred due to
disillusionment might have been a second reason. As a zealot who hated the
Romans, Judas might have expected that his master would overthrow the Romans
using his Divine power. Instead, he preached love and peace. A third reason may
have been that Judas supposed that his betrayal would give Jesus an occasion to
fight back and conquer the Romans. That may be the reason why he committed
suicide when he saw Jesus arrested without any resistance from Him.
Life messages: 1) We, too, can betray Jesus and
his ideals for money, for power and influence, or for selfish pleasure. Let us
examine our conscience, when we wrongly think that our God disappoints us by
demanding chastity, poverty, justice, and righteousness in the Holy Bible, and
then by “fails to answer” our prayers, by failing to prevent suffering and
premature death from touching our families and communities, and by “failing to
punish the wicked” right here, right now. Let us be on our guard not to betray
Jesus as Judas did. 2) Holy Week is the time to assess our life, examine our
conscience, do penance for our infidelity, and make practical resolutions to
reform our lives with God’s help. 3) We are little Judases—we fall to small
temptations that we can’t seem to overcome. These little things can have a
negative impact on our spiritual life over time.
Fr. Tony
April 17: Thursday: Holy Thursday evening Mass
Introduction: We celebrate three anniversaries
on Holy Thursday: 1) the anniversary of the first Holy Mass; 2) the anniversary
of the institution of ministerial priesthood in order to perpetuate the Holy
Mass, to convey God’s forgiveness to repentant sinners, and to preach the Good
News of salvation; 3) the anniversary of Jesus’ promulgation of his new
commandment of love: “Love one another as I have loved you” (Jn 13:34). First, we
remember how Jesus transformed the Jewish Passover into the New Testament
Passover. The Jewish Passover was, in fact, a joint celebration of two ancient
thanksgiving celebrations. The descendants of Abel, who were shepherds, used to
lead their sheep from the winter pastures to the summer pastures after the
sacrificial offering of a lamb to God. They called this celebration the “Pass-over.”
The descendants of Cain, who were farmers, held a harvest festival called
the Massothin which they offered unleavened bread to God as an act
of thanksgiving. The Passover feast of the Israelites (Ex 12:26-37)
harmoniously combined these two feasts in a ritual meal instituted by God, to
be celebrated yearly, thanking Him for His miraculous liberation of their
ancestors from Egyptian slavery, their Exodus from Egypt, and their final
arrival in the Promised Land. (A homily starter anecdote may be given)
Scripture lessons summarized: In the first
reading, God gives the Hebrews two instructions: prepare for the moment of
liberation by a ritual meal, and make a symbolic mark on
your homes to exempt yourselves from the coming slaughter. In the second
reading, Paul teaches that the celebration of the Lord’s Supper was an unbroken
tradition from the very beginning of the Church, by which Christians
reminded themselves of the death and Resurrection of Jesus. Today’s Gospel
describes how Jesus transformed the Jewish Passover into the
Eucharistic celebration. After washing the feet of his apostles and commanding
them to do humble service for each other, Jesus concluded the Seder meal with
its roasted Paschal lamb by giving his apostles his own body and blood under
the appearances of bread and wine as spiritual food and drink.
Life Messages: 1) A challenge for
humble service. Our celebration of the Eucharist requires that we wash one
another’s feet, i.e., serve one another, and revere Christ’s
presence in other persons. In practical terms, that means we are to consider
others’ needs to be as important as our own and to serve their needs, without
expecting any reward. 2) A loving invitation for
sacrificial sharing and self-giving love. Let us imitate the self-giving
model of Jesus who shares with us his own Body and Blood and who enriches us
with his Real Presence in the Holy Eucharist. It is by sharing
our blessings – our talents, time, health, and wealth – with others, that we
become true disciples of Christ and obey his new commandment: “Love one
another as I have loved you.” 3) An invitation to
become Christ-bearers and Christ-conveyers: “Go forth, the Mass is ended,”
really means, “Go in peace to love and serve one another.’’ We are to
carry Jesus to our homes, our places of work, our schools, and our communities,
conveying to others around us the love, mercy, forgiveness, and spirit of
humble service of Christ whom we carry with us.
April 18: Friday: Good Friday: CHALLENGE TO CARRY OUR
CROSSES: (Jn 18:1—19:42)
(A)The cross and the crucifix are meaningful symbols, as
the dove symbolizes peace and the heart symbolizes love. The crucifix and the
cross are the symbols of Jesus’ loving and sacrificial offering of himself for
others. 1) It is only in the cross that we see the face of God’s love. 2) the
cross is the symbol of the remission of our sins: “But he was pierced
for our offenses, crushed for our sins, upon him was the chastisement that
makes us whole, by his stripes we were healed.” (Is 53:5). 3) The
cross is the symbol of humble self-emptying for others. 4) the cross is the
symbol of the risen Christ who promises us a crown of glory as a reward for our
patient bearing of our daily crosses. Anecdote #2 The Soviet
premier’s cross:
(B) The Cross always means pain. But our pain is
Christ’s cross 1) When we offer our suffering with His on the cross for the
salvation of all of us. 2) when we share our blessings sacrificially for his
ideas and ideals.
(C) Our crosses come to us mainly from four sources.
Some of our crosses, like diseases, natural disasters and death, arise from
natural causes. We face other crosses when we do our duties faithfully. Our
friends and enemies supply a few of our crosses. Finally, we ourselves cause
many of our crosses as natural consequences of careless living and evil habits
and addictions.
(D) Why should we carry our crosses willingly? First,
cross-bearing is a condition for Christian discipleship. Jesus said: “Whoever
wishes to come after me must deny himself, take up his cross, and follow Me”
(Mt 16:24). Second, it is by carrying our crosses that we make
reparation for our sins and for the sins of others related to us. That is why
St. Paul said that he was suffering in his body what is “lacking” in
Christ’s suffering. Third, it is by carrying our crosses that we become
imitators of Christ in his suffering for us. St. Paul explains it thus: “I
have been crucified with Christ; yet I live, no longer I, but Christ lives in
me.” (Gal 2: 19-20).
Life messages for Good Friday: (1)We should
carry our crosses with the right motives, notlike a lazy donkey, cursing its
fate or angry oxen protesting their load or a hired worker laboring only for
his wage. We should carry our crosses the way a loving wife nurses
her paralyzed husband or sick child, with sacrificial love and dedicated
commitment. (2) The carrying of our crosses becomes easier when we compare our
light crosses with the heavy crosses of terminally ill patients or patients in
emergency wards. We need to draw strength and inspiration from Jesus Who walks
ahead of us carrying his heavier cross, while supporting us in carrying our
crosses. (3) We should plant the cross of Christ in our daily lives: We need to
begin every day with a sign of the cross, asking the blessing and protection of
the crucified Lord in our lives that day. A loving, prayerful touch on the
cross we wear on our body will encourage us to serve others selflessly.
April 19: Holy Saturday
A day to remember the burial of Jesus. (The early Church
commemorates the death of Jesus on Good Friday, the burial of Jesus on Holy
Saturday, and the resurrection of Jesus on Easter Sunday)
I- Good Friday and Holy Saturday were days of full fasting
in the early Church. Good Friday is:
II- A day for baptism. After A.D. 313 when the Church got
freedom of religious practice from Emperor Constantine, Holy Saturday was the
day to receive the catechumens to the Church, after three years of preparation.
It was considered as a ceremony reminding them that they become dead to their
former Gentile life by immersing themselves in water and that they emerge in to
a new life in Jesus Christ by rising up from the water.
III- A day for blessing baptismal water. The catechumens
returned the Book of Creed (catechism book) to the bishop in a morning
ceremony. In the evening the bishop blessed the baptismal water.
IV- A day of lighting the Easter candle. The
bishop re-ignited the fire extinguished on Holy Thursday and lit the Easter
candle to represent Jesus as the “Light of the world.” Imitating
the Jewish custom of the ceremonial lighting of Sabbath lamps on Friday
evenings, the early Christians lighted and displayed lamps on Saturday evenings
to honor Jesus as the “Light of the world.”
V- A day to read I Peter 2:9 reminding the people of their
worth and dignity – as “the “chosen people of God,” sanctified,
appropriated by God, and honored with the royal priesthood.
VI- A day of renewing our Baptismal promises. The people
were asked to repeat their baptismal promises by rejecting Satan and his empty
promises, by accepting Jesus as the Lord and savior and revesting with
the “new man” after removing the vestments of the “old
man.”
Life messages: Message of expectation, change of
heart and new life:
1) Lead a new life with the Risen Lord by dying to sinful
life.
2) Live a new life recognizing the nobility of Christians as children of God, brothers and sisters of Jesus, and members of the mystical body of Jesus.
