Category: Uncategorized

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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, I will wash the feet of ten youngsters who participate in our faith formation program. They’ve used their feet to bring their bodies – and by extension, their hearts – here tonight.

We begin by welcoming them – as well as their parents, and all of you present this evening.

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We are now entering into the final hours of Christ’s life on earth. As he kneels down to wash his disciples’ feet, the power of his heart is revealed.

In ancient Palestine, washing a person’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, people’s 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 leads by example.

This gesture not only grants the disciples access into their host’s home for the evening; on a deeper level, the Lord is also 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 Jesus over for thirty lousy pieces of silver – and Jesus knows this!

With this knowledge in mind, the Lord kneels down and washes his feet. Then at supper, Jesus 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 will also abandon the Lord. Yet he kneels down and washes their feet, then feeds them with his very Self, as well.

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.”

The more people hurt Jesus, the more 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 happened to Jesus, he loves them all the more.

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

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Imagine doing this to others.

Picture someone who’s hurt or disappointed you. Even someone who’s betrayed you. Can you kneel down and wash their feet? 

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 us on the cross. A heart that seeks to merge our lives with his.

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As I kneel down to wash these youngsters’ feet, imagine the Lord washing yours. Then pray for the grace to do the same to 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) Jesus Washing Peter’s Feet, Ford Madox Brown (2) Ibid. (3) America Magazine

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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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“Et tu, Brute?” … “And you, Brutus?”

These were the final words spoken by Julius Caesar after being swarmed by Roman senators and stabbed to death in Shakespeare’s famous play, Julius Caesar.

Caesar was preparing to be installed as Emperor of Rome for life, until he was murdered by his colleagues, including his closest friend, Brutus.

“And you, Brutus?”

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Betrayal must be a wrenching feeling, leaving you feeling like the life has been sucked out of you. Someone you love has turned against you, showing you a hidden face, a side you never knew.

Caesar sees the betrayal of Judas as he bleeds, gazing into his friends eyes. 

I wonder what Jesus saw in the eyes of Judas.

“Et tu, Judas?” … “And you, Judas?”

After all Judas has seen Jesus do and hear him say, he betrays him with a kiss. This is humanity at its worst, taking God for granted – perhaps any human being is capable of in different forms.

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Tomorrow, we begin the Triduum – the three-day event encompassing Christ’s betrayal, crucifixion, death, and resurrection.

I imagine him staring at me at the Last Supper, staring at me in the Garden of Gethsemane, saying, “Et tu?”

“And you?”

You know what I’ve done for you. How will we respond? With an insincere kiss like Judas? 

Or with the steadfast love of John the Beloved, who places his head tenderly on the heart of Christ, and remained by his side in his darkest hour, even when John didn’t understand? 

“And you?” 

What does Jesus see when he looks at us?

“And you?”

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Image credits: (1) James Jordan, Medium (2) The Taking of Christ, Caravaggio (3) Christianity.com

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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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During Jesus’ final night on earth, he gathers his friends together for a meal, known as the Last Supper.

It’s a dynamic group. And, if we’re honest, at times we may see parts of each of them at work within ourselves.

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There is John, the ever-faithful disciple, whose devotion to Christ is clear. He is the one who leans tenderly on the Lord’s heart, as if the two are one.

That’s each of us at our best – entirely devoted to the Lord, as if our hearts are one.

Then there’s Peter. Peter sways in his devotion like a branch in the wind. One moment he’s ready to die for the Lord. The next he denies ever knowing him. 

Peter wants to be faithful. But fear and temptation can get in his way. At times, aren’t we also Peter? We want to be faithful to Jesus, but fear or temptation impede us. 

Then there’s Judas, the one who betrays Jesus, handing him over for 30 lousy pieces of silver. 

Why did he do this? Was he disappointed that this journey with the Lord didn’t turn out differently? Was he greedy? Perhaps angry that his own dreams of glory have withered? 

We don’t know. But such feelings – greed, anger, disappointment, resentment – can appear in any human heart, especially when we don’t get what we want or hope for.

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There they are: three men sitting at the same table with Jesus.

One was faithful. Another stumbled. The third gave up. 

Yet, the Lord “loved them to the end,” and died for them all, just as he died for us. 

As we prepare for the scandal of Calvary, and the suprise of the empty tomb, in what ways can we be our better selves, leaning tenderly on the heart of Christ, as if the two of us are one? 

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Image credits: (1) Trappists.org (2) CatholicMom.com (3) Jesus and John at the Last Supper, Jozef Sedmak, Fine Art America