Holy Thursday

Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him,  “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”

Never say never when God is concerned. We might have our own preconceived notions about how things should be, but we should never close ourselves off to what God is calling us to do. Sometimes when we see something that doesn't mesh with our own opinion, we can rebel against it. However, Jesus constantly reminds his disciples that God’s Ways are not our ways. His Thoughts are not our thoughts. He has a Divine Plan that we need to take heed of when making our own. If we want to inherit the Kingdom with Christ, then we need to be willing to change our course mid-stream and swim against the current of our lives.

What are the preconceived notions in our lives? Are they in alignment with the gospel message of Christ? If not, then how can we replace them with ones that are from God and not from our own opinions?

O Lord, wash away our resistance to you so that we can inherit the Kingdom.

Amen.

Wednesday of Holy Week

What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?

Judas betrayed Christ for thirty pieces of silver—a cheap price—because of his greed. However, we too sell out Jesus in many ways. Some of us sell him for the false comfort of doing whatever we wish. Others sell him out for financial security. We also sell him out because we think we can do better or because we want something that belongs to someone else. We use the wages of sin to appease our appetites, but we soon discover an emptiness within ourselves which cannot be filled with worldly things—no matter how hard we might try. So we are left alone, eaten away by our own appetites, and like Judas one day we will be faced with a choice: remain unrepentant and kill ourselves through sin or seek forgiveness and live. It sounds like an easy choice, but it is far more difficult than we can possibly imagine because we become addicted to the material world and its temptations and lose sight of what is right and wrong. How can we seek forgiveness when we do not recognize our own sins? However, this is what we must do if we want to live, not just this life, but the eternal life which Jesus Christ offers us through Himself.

How do we sell out Christ? What are those sins which we are addicted to? How can we overcome them?

O Lord, we have sinned against you. Please, help us cast aside our sins and seek you out with contrite hearts.

Amen.

Tuesday of Holy Week

Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.

We might not be Judas, but we all betray Jesus when we sin. All of his disciples betrayed him in some form or fashion during the Passion when things got difficult for Christ and all who followed him. We too face similar, though usually less dire, challenges to our faith and we fail just as they did back then. Sometimes we betray Jesus with a mortal sin like Judas. Sometimes we allow peer pressure to push us into denying some element of Jesus’ message like Peter. Sometimes we run away from those who we fear might persecute us for living out the Gospel like all the other disciples. Sometimes we fail to do the right thing in favor of the easy one like Pontius Pilate. These are all wounds in our relationship with Jesus and in the end we are too weak to heal them on our own. We need God’s Love, Mercy, and Grace to mend what we have broken. Thankfully for us, he offers these healing actions to us constantly, even though we do not deserve it. So the next time we fall because of our imperfections or sins, we should not be afraid because although we lost our way for a moment, Jesus will always give us another chance to follow him just as he did with all the disciples who were willing to accept his forgiveness.

What are our imperfections and our sins? What are those things which keep us from following Christ? How can we overcome these impediments?

O Lord, we know we have betrayed you, but with your help we will follow you once again.

Amen.

Monday of Holy Week

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.

Priorities. That is what this gospel is all about. Everyone has them. Martha placed her priorities on serving others. Lazarus placed his on reclining at the table with Jesus. Mary placed hers on anointing her Lord. Judas placed his on money and will betray his Lord because of it. The chief priests placed theirs on their power and decided to kill Jesus because of it. And Jesus placed his priority in fulfilling his Father’s Will knowing full well that it means suffering his Passion and Death. His priorities should be ours and we should learn from this gospel what it means to place God first in our lives.

What are our priorities in life? What should they be? How can we bridge the gap between them?

O Lord, you knew what was being asked of you, help us to know what God is asking of us.

Amen.