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Good Friday - March 29, 2024

  Isaiah 52:13—53:12     Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9     John 18:1—19:42 Today the readings focus on the redemptive suffering of Christ. What did this mean to the early Church, and what does it mean today? The Gospel according to John was likely finalized about 60 years after the crucifixion. By then, those who knew Jesus and saw his suffering had time to ponder why his Passion was necessary. Couldn’t our salvation have been accomplished in some other way—perhaps by simple divine fiat? Jesus’ disciples would have been intimately familiar with today’s first reading. It’s not hard to see why the Church still turns to Isaiah. We get goosebumps when hearing this great prophet’s description of what the Suffering Servant would undergo. Seven hundred years later, early Jewish Christians would have seen the Holy Spirit inspiring Isaiah to foretell Jesus’ crucifixion and explain its meaning. In today’s second reading, Jesus is portrayed not just as the sacrificial victim, but as the high pries
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Holy Thursday - March 28, 2024

  Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14     1 Corinthians 11:23-26     John 13:1-15 Grown, He walked through towns and countryside, feeding hollow-eyed hundreds who pursued him by day. He learned that the memory of yesterday’s bread could not relieve today’s hunger. On the eve of his death, He at last found a way to keep rejection and hunger at bay. He held his life in his hands and said to his friends, “Take. Eat. This is my body, broken for you.” And when they were filled, commanded: “Feed the hungry. Do this. Re-member me.”   (“Legacy,” from Incarnation, by Sr. Irene Zimmerman, OSF)   Re-reading the Scripture selections for Holy Thursday, this Lenten season I was struck by the focus on nourishment, sated not so much by physical means, but through mindful acts of service. In Exodus’ deliberate and detailed instructions about the observance of Passover protocol, we cannot overlook Yahweh’s attention to the family who may be too small to afford purchasing a whole lamb: “You
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Wednesday of Holy Week - March 27, 2024

  Isaiah 50:4-9a      Matthew 26:14-25 Today's readings center around Judas’ betrayal. It's hard to imagine how Jesus contained his human emotions knowing that Judas was going to betray him. Jesus had chosen Judas and spent 3 years with this disciple and although there is not any mention of their interactions prior to this first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the day before the Last Supper, today it is clear that Jesus knows what is in Judas' heart. Judas had planned his betrayal of Jesus for a period of time before the Last Supper as we are told in this gospel. He previously received thirty pieces of silver from the chief priests and was looking for an opportunity to hand Him over. Judas’ greed and ego kept him from seeing that seemingly unforgivable sin he committed until it was too late. Only after Jesus made the ultimate sacrifice by dying on the cross did Judas realize the magnitude of his betrayal. As we are called to live our faith each day I sometimes won
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Tuesday of Holy Week - March 26, 2024

  Isaiah 49:1-6     John 13:21-33, 36-38 The contrast between Isaiah’s beautiful prose about the world’s salvation in the First Reading and Jesus’ calling out of Judas and Peter in the Gospel could not be more stark. Isaiah uses hopeful rhetoric to describe how God fashioned his servant in his mother’s womb, formed him into a “polished arrow,” and deployed him to be a “light to the nations” and to bring salvation “to the ends of the earth.” Isaiah’s decision both to speak in the first person and then to toss in a reference to “Israel” is a bit confusing to a simpleton like me (I have never been confused with a biblical scholar). But I assume Isaiah was foreshadowing Jesus’ future arrival when he referred to the servant as a “polished arrow,” kept in God’s quiver, only to be deployed when necessary to save the world. The phrase “polished arrow” keeps echoing back to me. Meanwhile, in reading the Gospel I am overcome by the unwritten phrase “human weakness.” Jesus reprimands his be
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Monday of Holy Week - March 25

  Isaiah 42:1-7     John 12:1-11 In today’s first reading, we are given an inspired call to action. Through Isaiah, God says “I have formed you and set you as…a light for the nations.” A few years ago, the second weekend of January was one of the worst weather weekends we had in many years. Much of the city lost power due to the ice and people had to either evacuate their homes or live with no electricity. Visitation Parish also suffered from the power outages and on Sunday morning at 9 am, we entered the sanctuary to candlelight and natural light from the windows. It was cool, but not cold yet and most people sat a little closer to the altar since there were no microphones. The crowd was smaller than usual, but all in all the spirits were good. There was no cantor that morning, but the pianist played with gusto. During the collection, he started playing “Christ Be Our Light.” It was so perfect. The notes flew from the piano like water down a beautiful waterfall. His music was pure
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Palm Sunday - March 24

  Mark11:1-10     Isaiah 50:4-7     Philippians 2:6-11     Mark 14:1-15:47 Palm Sunday is a strange moment in the church calendar. It begins with a ritual observed only once a year, the waving and blessing of palm branches while we listen to the story of an adoring crowd joyfully welcoming Jesus as he enters Jerusalem ahead of Passover - the festival of liberation. Palm Sunday gives us a foretaste of the Holy Week to come. That mystical triduum of days meant to bleed into one another. Its rituals will jostle us between fasting and feasting, darkness and light, fear and joy. A flurry of incense and prayer will veil these days with feelings of wonder and awe; creating a sense that the distinction between life and death is not what it seems. Jesus entered Jerusalem that day knowing his death was imminent. My father died this past October after three years battling a cancer he knew would eventually kill him. We made the most of those final weeks with him in the hospital and then hospic
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Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent - March 23

  Ezekiel 37:21-28         John 11:45-56 Today’s passages spoke to me in many ways. The main way the first reading spoke to me was the sense of unity. Unity has always been a big part of the Old Testament. For instance, the Israelites‘ exodus, Adam and Eve’s bond, and God’s presence with his people are all instances of unity greatly benefiting everyone involved. There are also plenty of instances where a lack of unity is the source of bad things to come. Some of these include Saul and the burnt offering, the Israelites during the Judges period, or even our world right now. One of my favorite sayings is “There is no such thing as evil, only the lack of good.” In my heart I absolutely believe that to be true, and I feel the same is true for today’s reading. God makes everything good, and God is Goodness itself. We all do, or should, desire to have a personal and intimate relationship with God. Evil is the deprivation of good, and since God is goodness itself, living a life without
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