Author: admin

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Gospel: John 13: 1-15

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come
to pass from this world to the Father.
He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end.
The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over.
So, during supper,
fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power
and that he had come from God and was returning to God,
he rose from supper and took off his outer garments.
He took a towel and tied it around his waist.
Then he poured water into a basin
and began to wash the disciples’ feet
and dry them with the towel around his waist.
He came to Simon Peter, who said to him,
“Master, are you going to wash my feet?”
Jesus answered and said to him,
“What I am doing, you do not understand now,
but you will understand later.”
Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.”
Jesus answered him,
“Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.”
Simon Peter said to him,
“Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.”
Jesus said to him,
“Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed,
            for he is clean all over;
so you are clean, but not all.”
For he knew who would betray him;
for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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Feet are the movers of the body. They take us where we want to go – and stop us from going where we don’t.

Tonight, as we remember the final hours of the Lord, twelve people have come to have their feet washed, just as Jesus did for his disciples. 

We begin by welcoming them, and all of you, for using your feet to bring your bodies – and by extension, your hearts – into this liturgy.

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As Jesus knelt down to wash his disciples’ feet, the power of his heart was revealed.

In ancient Palestine, washing someone’s feet was an ordinary gesture before entering a person’s home. In dry weather, the roads could be inches deep in dust. After the spring rains, they’d be mushy and muddy. 

Understandably, feet got dirty.

But notice that not one of the disciples steps forward to do the customary washing. Within the shadow of the cross, they’re too busy arguing about who is the greatest. So, the Lord takes off his outer garments, kneels down, and does it himself.

This gesture not only grants the disciples access into their host’s home for the evening; on a deeper level, Jesus is welcoming them into his sorrow, into his heart, even into the priesthood.

We will see as the evening unfolds, the more people hurt Jesus, the more he will love them.

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A prime example is Judas.

Judas spent the last three years of his life observing the Lord. He listened to Christ’s sermons, witnessed miraculous healings, and saw first-hand the compassion Jesus had for those who suffered – widows, lepers, the blind, the paralyzed, even the dead.

In spite of this, Judas is preparing to hand the Lord over for thirty lousy pieces of silver – and Jesus knows this!

With this knowledge in mind, the Lord kneels down and washes Judas’ feet. Then at supper, he feeds Judas with a morsel of his very own Body. 

As the Gospel tells us, “Jesus dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. After he took the morsel, Satan entered him. So, Jesus said to him, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly.’”

With the exception of the Apostle John, the other disciples also abandon the Lord. Still, Jesus kneels down, washes their feet, and feeds them with his very Self.

The more people hurt Jesus, the more he loves them.

This truth continues unfolding at the Cross. 

After being betrayed by a kiss, arrested, repeatedly lashed with a whip, spit upon, and crowned with thorns, Jesus is nailed to a tree. Beaten and bloodied, he cries out from the depths of his heart, “Father, forgive them. They know not what they do.”

People have mocked and scourged the Lord, yet he loves them.

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It’s so easy – seemingly natural – for us to react in the opposite way. When hurt, we become resentful or bitter. When betrayed, we plot revenge. 

But when these things happen to the Lord, he loves us all the more.

Any time we stand before him – regardless of where our feet have taken us – he kneels down and bathes them in forgiveness.

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Imagine doing such a thing to others.

Think of someone who’s hurt or disappointed you. Even someone who’s betrayed you. Can you kneel down and wash their feet in love? 

Left to our own nature, it seems impossible.

We need the heart of Christ.

Devout Jews longed for this divine love in the Old Testament. Perhaps the most famous – and important – of all of them was King David, who prayed to the LORD after committing adultery and murder:

“You love truth in the heart. Then in the secret of my heart, teach me wisdom. Purify me, then I shall be clean. Wash me, then I shall be whiter than snow… A pure heart create for me, O God, put a steadfast spirit within me.”

David longed for the heart of Christ – a heart that bled for all on the Cross. 

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As each of our pilgrims have their feet washed tonight, imagine the Lord washing yours. Then pray for the grace to do the same for others.

As Jesus says, “I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

Most Sacred Heart of Jesus, have mercy on us and on the whole world!

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Image credits: (1) Jose Baztan Decasa, Museo Nacional Del Prado (2) Jesus Washing Peter’s Feet, Ford Madox Brown (3) He Washed Their Feet – John Hilton III

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Gospel: Matthew 26: 14-25

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.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?”
He said,
“Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.””‘
The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.

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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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“Surely, it is not I, Lord?”

It’s easy for us to villainize Judas Iscariot over that one wretched decision he made.

But, at the same time, we might wonder, “Was Judas a true villain or just a divine pawn?” If scripture was to be fulfilled, then someone had to betray Jesus.

Perhaps Judas just filled the spot. Unlike Mary, he was not filled with divine grace; rather, he was the one elected to draw the short, sinful straw.

As the Lord says to him, “Judas, go quickly and do what you have to do.” That sounds more like a command than a choice. 

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Consider why Judas did what he did. Some speculate it was out of greed. But thirty lousy pieces of silver seems a bit insignificant to me. A more likely reason was that Judas felt betrayed first; Christ did not pan out to be the person Judas thought he’d be.

Earlier in the Gospels, we hear about all of the disciples arguing over seats of honor and titles in Christ’s kingdom. They all hoped Jesus would be an earthly king, and they his glorious advisors.

Even after his resurrection, Jesus appears to two of his disciples who are leaving Jerusalem, who unknowingly share their grief with him, saying disappointingly, “We thought he would be the one to redeem Israel.” 

There was a dark mark of disappointment in the hearts of them all, not just Judas.

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This begs the question: was Judas beyond divine forgiveness?

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Just before he dies, the Lord washes Judas’ feet and feeds him with his very Self. Then Jesus gives them all this command: “Love one another as I have loved you.”

It’s in the very nature of love to forgive. Thus, Christ must have been thinking about Judas, as well, when he cried out, exhausted and bloodied, “Father, forgive them! They know not what they do!” 

Forgive him. Forgive them. Forgive us all.

For every time we, too, have turned away from the Lord, each in our own way, “Father, forgive us. We know not what we do.”

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Image credits: (1) Physician Burnout (2) Judas’ Remorse, Almeida Júnior (3) Family Foundations Institute

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Gospel: John 13: 21-38

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.
One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,
was reclining at Jesus’ side.
So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.
He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him,
“Master, who is it?”
Jesus answered,
“It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.”
So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,
son of Simon the Iscariot.
After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.
So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.
Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,
“Buy what we need for the feast,”
or to give something to the poor.
So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

When he had left, Jesus said,
“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.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,
‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”

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.”

The Gospel of the Lord.

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In days gone by, nations would erect large stone walls around the border of their city in order to protect their citizens from foreign armies who might attack them. Anyone who lived within the city walls was considered safe, a trusted member of society.

Thus, the greatest dread would be an enemy who attacked his own people from within. Against such a threat, there was no immediate protection.

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We all know how the story of Christ’s life ends, and because of that, we tend to imagine Judas Iscariot being the suspicious one, the renegade, the one on the fringe of this intimate circle of trust.

But that’s not the case.

If the disciples didn’t trust Judas, or if they had any inkling of his sinister plans, then they would’ve know right away whom Jesus was talking about when he said, “One of you will betray me.”

But they didn’t. Judas was the enemy within the walls. 

Tragically, the decision Judas makes that night will have a devastating ripple effect. Within a matter of hours, nearly everyone Jesus loves will follow suit and betray him.

Peter denies knowing Jesus while he cowers in fear, warming his hands by a fire. The other disciples run off into the night. The crowds who shout, “Hosanna! Hail to the King!” on Palm Sunday switch their tune to, “Crucify him!” on Good Friday.

Christ’s own people, some of whom must’ve witnessed his miraculous power, chose Barabbas, a murderous loser, over their long-awaited king.

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The terrible and sensitive wisdom written into the final hours of Christ’s life is the truth that, under the right conditions, we human beings are capable of turning on those whom we love the most – friends, family, even God.

Suddenly, you discover a long-time business partner has been stealing company funds. A spouse’s well-kept secret is exposed. An adult child suddenly splits from the family circle.

But the Lord carries his cross to Calvary for that very reason – not only to die in our place, absolving our weaknesses, but also to receive pardon from our Father.

Christ Crucified, have mercy on us.

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Image credits: (1) Medium (2) Catholic 365 (3) Christ Carrying the Cross, El Greco, Metropolitan Museum of Art