Lectionary: 257
Reading 1
Isaiah 42:1-7
Here is my servant whom I uphold,
my chosen one with whom I am pleased,
Upon whom I have put my Spirit;
he shall bring forth justice to the nations,
Not crying out, not shouting,
not making his voice heard in the street.
A bruised reed he shall not break,
and a smoldering wick he shall not quench,
Until he establishes justice on the earth;
the coastlands will wait for his teaching.
Thus says God, the LORD,
who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spreads out the earth with its crops,
Who gives breath to its people
and spirit to those who walk on it:
I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice,
I have grasped you by the hand;
I formed you, and set you
as a covenant of the people,
a light for the nations,
To open the eyes of the blind,
to bring out prisoners from confinement,
and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 27:1, 2, 3, 13-14
R. (1a) The Lord is my light and my salvation.
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?
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
When evildoers come at me
to devour my flesh,
My foes and my enemies
themselves stumble and fall.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Though an army encamp against me,
my heart will not fear;
Though war be waged upon me,
even then will I trust.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD
in the land of the living.
Wait for the LORD with courage;
be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD.
R. The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Verse Before the Gospel
Hail to you, our King;
you alone are compassionate with our faults.
Gospel
John 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.
Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples,
and the one who would betray him, said,
"Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days' wages
and given to the poor?"
He said this not because he cared about the poor
but because he was a thief and held the money bag
and used to steal the contributions.
So Jesus said, "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."
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.
And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too,
because many of the Jews were turning away
and believing in Jesus because of him.
Reflection 1
Catholic Daily Reflections
Expressing Your Love of God
Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?” John 12:4–5
Jesus was with His disciples at the home of Lazarus, Martha and Mary. He regularly spent time at their home and was close to them. This meal took place just before Jesus entered into Jerusalem for the first Palm Sunday and Holy Week. It was six days before Jesus would die on the cross.
Recall that Lazarus had recently been raised from the dead by Jesus and also that Mary, Lazarus’ sister, was deeply devoted to Jesus and is recorded as the one who sat at His feet, while her sister Martha served. During this visit, Mary offered another act of devotion to Jesus when she anointed Him with “a liter of costly perfumed oil.” She offered Him an act of love and devotion. The Scripture passage above records Judas’ response as he also was at the meal. Jesus rebukes Judas and defends the act of devotion given by Mary, and the meal continues on.
One clear lesson this teaches us is that nothing is too good for our Lord. It’s true that we must do our part to help care for the poor, but Jesus’ response to Judas is quite interesting. He says, “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.” Jesus was not downplaying the importance of caring for the poor; He was emphasizing the importance of offering acts of love and devotion to Him.
As we enter into this the holiest week of the year, we are given this image of Mary lavishing upon Jesus this liter of costly perfumed oil as a way of inviting us to do the same. Though we serve Christ in others who are in need, we must also seek to regularly offer Him devotion and love directly, even in ways that others may think is excessive. Honoring Him, expressing our love, spending time with various devotions, praying for extended periods of time, and even offering Him our financial resources are all ways in which we give Jesus the glory that is due Him.
Reflect, today, upon ways in which you can imitate this act of loving devotion offered by Mary to Jesus. In what ways can you pour forth in an abundant way your time, money, talents, and energy upon our Lord? How can you best express your devotion to Him this Holy Week? Seek out ways to do this directly for the one and simple reason that you love our Lord and want to express that love this week.
Reflection 2
One Bread, One Body
THE LAST STRAW
“The fact was, the chief priests planned to kill Lazarus too, because many Jews were going over to Jesus and believing in Him on account of Lazarus.” —John 12:10-11
The raising of Lazarus from the dead was “the straw that broke the camel’s back,” and set in motion the plot to kill Jesus (see Jn 12:10). Simply by being alive, Lazarus was bringing people to believe in Jesus (Jn 12:11).
Can this be said of you? Simply by the fact that you are alive, and especially because you are alive in Christ, do people see you and then come to believe in Jesus? Do people need to be around you, call you on the phone, text you, glance at you because, by your very presence, you radiate the presence of God? Would worldly people wish to “cancel” you simply because you live, and especially because you live for Jesus as a witness to His mercy?
Lazarus died. Then he was raised from the dead by Jesus. But this also happened to you — if you were baptized. In Baptism, you died with Christ (Rm 6:3). Now you have been raised with Christ from the waters of Baptism (Rm 6:4-5).
Radiate Christ Jesus by fully living your Baptism. You have died with Christ; now die daily to yourself. Deny your very self and pick up your cross each day. During this Holy Week, follow in His footsteps to Calvary (Lk 9:23).
Do not fear the second death (Rv 2:11). If you persevere to the end, it cannot harm you (Mt 24:13, Douay-Rheims). “After all, you have died!” (Col 3:3) Live your life in Jesus to the full (Jn 10:10). Be like Lazarus. Draw others to Jesus simply by being alive for Him.
Prayer: Father, make me fully alive in Your Son Jesus.
Promise: “The Lord is my Light and my Salvation; whom should I fear?” —Ps 27:1
Praise: Praise You, Jesus, the Chosen, Beloved One (Jn 1:34; Lk 3:22). “You are the Son of God” (Jn 1:49).
Reflection 3
The Servants of the Word
Extravagant Love for Jesus
Do you know the love that knows no bounds? As Jesus dines with his beloved friends, Mary does something which only love can do. She took the most precious thing she had and spent it all on Jesus. Her love was not calculated but extravagant. Mary's action was motivated by one thing, and one thing only, namely, her love for Jesus and her gratitude for God's mercy. She did something, however, a Jewish woman would never do in public. She loosed her hair and anointed Jesus with her tears. It was customary for a woman on her wedding day to bound her hair. For a married woman to loosen her hair in public was a sign of grave immodesty. Mary was oblivious to all around her, except for Jesus. She took no thought for what others would think, but what would please her Lord. In humility she stooped to anoint Jesus' feet and to dry them with her hair. How do you anoint the Lord's feet and show him your love and gratitude?
Love unbounded and poured out in gratitude
The Gospel of John records that the whole house was filled with the perfume of the ointment (John 12:3). What Mary had done brought sweetness not only in the physical sense, but the spiritual sense as well. Her lovely deed shows the extravagance of love - a love that we cannot outmatch. The Lord Jesus showed us the extravagance of his love in giving the best he had by pouring out his own blood for our sake and by anointing us with his Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul says that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:39). Do you allow the love of Christ to rule in all your thoughts and intentions, and in all your words and deeds?
The cost to the giver shows the true beauty and goodness of a heart filled with love and gratitude
Why was Judas critical of Mary's lovely deed? Judas viewed her act as extravagant wastefulness because of greed. A person views things according to what it inside the heart and soul. Judas was an embittered man and had a warped sense of what was precious and valuable, especially to God. Jesus had put Judas in charge of their common purse, no doubt because he was gifted in financial matters. The greatest temptation we can face will often come in the area of our greatest strength or gifting. Judas used money entrusted to him for wrong and hurtful purposes. He allowed greed and personal gain to corrupt his heart and to warp his view of things. He was critical towards Mary because he imputed unworthy motives. Do you examine your heart correctly when you impute wrong or unworthy motives towards others?
Prayers
My glorious Jesus, You are worthy of all praise and honor. You are worthy of our deepest devotion and love. As I enter into this Holy Week, I pray that it will be a time in which I may express my deepest love for You. Help me to pour forth that love in abundance this week so as to show You the glory and praise You deserve. Jesus, I trust in You.
Give us, Lord, a lively faith, a firm hope, a fervent charity, a love of you. Take from us all lukewarmness in meditation, dullness in prayer. Give us fervor and delight in thinking of you and your grace, your tender compassion towards me. The things we pray for, good Lord, give us grace to labor for: through Jesus Christ our Lord. (Prayer of Sir Thomas More, 16th century)
Daily Reflections on Divine Mercy
Reflection 85: Interior Mortification
One of the greatest gifts we can give to our Divine Lord is our willfulness. We often want what we want, when we want it. Our will can become stubborn and obstinate and this can easily dominate our whole being. As a result of this sinful tendency toward willfulness, one thing that delights our Lord greatly, and produces an abundance of grace in our lives, is an interior obedience to that which we do not want to do. This interior obedience, even to the smallest of things, mortifies our will so that we are made free to more completely obey the glorious Will of God (See Diary #365).
What do you want with a passion? More specifically, what do you cling to in an obstinate way with your own will? There are many things we want that could easily be given up as a sacrifice for God. It may not be that the thing we desire is evil; rather, it’s that letting go of our interior desires and preferences change us and dispose us to be more receptive to all that God wishes to bestow upon us.
Lord, help me to make my one desire that of perfect obedience to You in all things. May I cling to Your Will for my life in both great and small things. May I find in this submission of my will the great joy that comes from a heart fully submissive and obedient to You. Jesus, I trust in You.
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