Today, 23rd of March, we celebrate
Saint Turibius of Mongrovejo
First Reading: Isaiah 49:1-6
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
Hear me, O islands,
listen, O distant peoples.
The Lord called me from birth,
from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
Yet my reward is with the Lord,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the Lord has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
That Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
And I am made glorious in the sight of the Lord,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15 and 17
R./ I will sing of your salvation.
In you, O Lord, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, and deliver me;
incline your ear to me, and save me.
R./ I will sing of your salvation.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.
R./ I will sing of your salvation.
For you are my hope, O Lord;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother’s womb you are my strength.
R./ I will sing of your salvation.
My mouth shall declare your justice,
day by day your salvation.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
R./ I will sing of your salvation.
Gospel Reading: John 13:21-33, 36-38
One of you will betray me; the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.
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.”
What is my credential to be a disciple of Jesus?
The first thing I hear in today’s Gospel is that phrase that we had spoken too many times when we were children: “I didn’t do it.” The disciples of Jesus react like children trying to defend themselves to the statement of the Master: “One of you is going to hand me over.” They all wanted to look like good children who had never committed mischief.
But the reality is not always how we like it to be. Who has not broken a plate or many plates in their lives? Who can say that they are pure and good; that all their works are upright; that they have never acted out of selfishness; and that their intentions were always good? Look at the behaviour of the disciples. They failed to be faithful to the Lord and they all had their selfish reasons for following Jesus.
Some preachers commented: that Peter was delighted that he had left everything to follow Jesus, but in reality, perhaps he had only left a few nets that he mended a thousand times and a boat that leaked everywhere. They had intentions of obtaining important positions in the Kingdom that Jesus would establish. Remember the story of the sons of Zebedee who wanted the left and the right seats on either side of Jesus?
Let us move from the apostles and look into our lives. Can we claim to be pure and good? Although our lives are in disarray, let us not lose hope. Let us be thankful to the Lord for his mercy and draw energy from the good qualities that the Lord has endowed us with. The Lord knows our infidelities and betrayals but loves us for what we are.
The Liturgy of the Holy Week challenges us to keep our selfishness and arrogance aside. We are no different from those we regard as bad or not well-behaved. We are all in need of mercy, forgiveness, and understanding. Let us not judge anyone, even the betrayal of Judas. We are not any better than him. When we judge our brethren, we don’t make ourselves any different from them.
There are two betrayals in today’s reading; one by Judas and the other is by Peter. Peter is a representative of the rest of the group. He is our representative. He was too proud of his credentials – “I would never betray you!” Sometimes we are like him – so sure of our righteousness. We hear people comment: “Do not allow this person to serve in the Church, for he has a bad reputation.” Really? What makes me worthier or more meritorious than the other person to serve God and his Church? Our only credential shall be our reliance on the mercy of God.
bibleclaretIntroduction
Today's Gospel presents three persons to us.
The first is a man preoccupied with himself, his own interests and needs, his selfish satisfaction. He is not a free person; he is not open to Christ, for he serves money and greed. He will betray Jesus. This man is Judas.
Then, there is a second man, a good person, open to Christ, but weak. He tries to hide his frailty with impetuous, self-reliant bravery. He cracks in the hour of the test. He will deny Jesus. This person is Peter.
The third person is Jesus. He is totally unselfish, completely open to God and to everyone. He is the perfect servant, the person-for-others, that is described again today in the first reading in the words of the Second Song of God’s Servant. And because he was the perfect servant, he could save us all.
Opening Prayer
Lord, our God,
your Son, Jesus Christ,
had to undergo the humiliation
of being betrayed and denied
by those he called his friends.
But he made his suffering and death
into instruments of love and reconciliation.
Make us with him people-for-others,
who accept difficulties, even betrayals
and misunderstanding of our best intentions,
and turn them into sources of life and joy
for those around us.
Keep us faithful to you and to one another
through Jesus Christ, our Lord.
General Intercessions
God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son to save us and bring us life by his death and resurrection. Let us pray to Jesus for all who suffer and say: Lord, by your cross you have redeemed the world.
– For those whose ideals have faded, that they may still see and accept the novelty of life and constantly renew themselves, we pray:
– For the perpetual losers of their personal struggles against the forces of evil, that they may trust in Christ, whose grace is mightier than sin and death, we pray:
– For those who are lonely, deserted, or shut up within themselves, that they may accept the companionship of Christ, and through him, open themselves to others, we pray:
– For all of us, that we may learn from our Lord himself to bear our crosses in patience and humility, that somehow they may bring life to us and to our neighbor, we pray:
– For this community, that with Jesus, our Savior, it may be poor, and ser-ving and open to all needs, we pray:
Lord Jesus Christ, your cross remains to us a mystery, as does all pain and want. Yet, we rely on your word and example that it is a way to joy and freedom. Turn our crosses into bearers of happiness and life, now and for ever.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord God, loving Father,
the evening before he gave up himself to death,
your Son Jesus, gave himself to his friends
in the form of bread to be eaten
and a cup of wine to be shared.
As we are gathered here for his holy meal,
let your Son give himself again to us,
that we may learn from him
to give ourselves for one another
and that our strength to do so may come
from Jesus Christ, our Lord.
Prayer after Communion
Our God and Father,
we have eaten the bread of faithfulness
at the table of Jesus, your Son.
We too have at times betrayed him,
when we broke our friendship with you
and when we denied to our neighbor
the right to be happy and free.
From now on, let him be our strength
in bringing justice and dignity,
to even the last and least of our brothers and sisters
and in building up together
your community of joy and hope,
in which lives Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord, for ever and ever.
Blessing
One of the saddest experiences in life is to see one’s love and trust misunderstood, denied, or even betrayed. This was the lot of Jesus. He suffered from it, yet accepted it in order to undo our disloyalties and betrayals. This is why his own love and loyalty to the Father and to us went as far as it can go: death. And this is how he won for us, the courage to love without counting the cost and to be faithful to the end. May God fill us with his blessings: the Father, and the Son, and the Holy Spirit.
