Brethren, today is Easter Monday in the Easter Octave, meaning it is Easter once again, we celebrate this for eight consecutive days which is culminated by Divine Mercy Sunday (hope you are praying the Divine Mercy Novena). During these days we encounter the Risen Lord meeting various groups and commissioning many of them at once when he meets them. Are you prepared to meet the Risen Lord? Today in a particular way, he meets the women and behold, he tells them "Don't be afraid, go and tell my brothers that they must leave for Galilee, they will see me there."
Alleluia! The Lord is Alive! He has Risen as He said! Let us Rejoice and shout Alleluia! because this is the day that the Lord has made, let us Rejoice and be glad in it, for the Lord has won over death and sin and has opened for us doors of life, death no longer has power on us. It is the resurrection of Jesus, the basis of our faith, the apex of our faith and the apex Christianity because without resurrection, our is nothing (1 Corinthians 15:14). The first of all proofs of the resurrection was the empty tomb. What is its significance?
Brethren, Easter is here, let us celebrate, dance and rejoice that the Lord has risen from the dead, that the stone which was rejected has become the cornerstone, that Jesus is alive and that has conquered sin and death. This is what we call Easter, which begins on the time we sing Gloria in the Vigil mass today until Pentecost. It is the time to reap the fruits of what we have been fasting for, the labours, prayers and almsgiving which we have done throughout the forty days, it is the time to receive that light of Christ, and as we died to sin through our baptism, let us rise with him, with pure hearts, mind and bodies and walk in the light of the risen Christ forever.
Brethren, during the day of this Holy Saturday and in fact from yesterday after Jesus was crucified, is a sad moment for Christ Apostles and those who had believed in him. There is a great silence. The Savior has died. He rests in the tomb. Many hearts were filled with uncontrollable grief and confusion. Was He really gone? Had all their hopes been shattered? These and many other thoughts of despair filled the minds and hearts of so many who loved and followed Jesus.
Today is Good Friday, the Commemoration of the Lord's Passion as he shows us the greatest act of love to humanity. Good Friday is a day of penance for the whole Church, to be marked by fasting and abstinence from meat. No mass is celebrated that day. Today is called Good Friday alternative for 'Holy' while it's a dark day when Jesus died because though there is death of Jesus, there is more of good in the death of Jesus and no evil in it. It's good because it is the day Christ "showed His great love for man and purchased for him every blessing."
Brethren, today we begin the most sacred Triduum, the greatest Feasts in the life of the Church. Easter Triduum starts on the evening mass of the Lord's Supper on Thursday and ends with the evening prayer on easter Sunday. Tonight, we celebrate the Last Supper with our Lord. The Church then keeps vigil in prayer until midnight. Tomorrow, though Holy Communion that was consecrated on Holy Thursday is distributed, the Mass is not celebrated, and the tabernacle is empty. We venerate the Cross, recall the Passion, and experience the silence of the death of our Lord. On Holy Saturday, the Liturgy is not celebrated until the sun sets and we begin the Easter Vigil celebration of the Resurrection of our Lord.
Brethren, today we are again presented with the third servant song of Isaiah in the first reading. It has a darker yet more confident tone than the others. Although the song gives a first-person description of how the servant was beaten and abused, here the servant is described both as a teacher and learner who follows the path God places him on without pulling back. Echoing the first song's "a bruised reed he will not break," he sustains the weary with a word. His vindication is left in God's hands. Isaiah 50:4-9 Isaiah 50:4–7 is seen by New Testament commentators to be a Messianic prophecy of Jesus Christ. Isaiah 50:6 is quoted in Handel's "Messiah" of Jesus. There is an allusion in Luke 9:51 to Isaiah 50:7 ("Therefore I have set my face like a flint"), as Jesus "set His face steadfastly" to go to Jerusalem.a
Brethren, from Palm Sunday, we have been reflecting on the four servant songs in the book of Isaiah. Today we reflect on the second song, which is an account of the servant's prenatal calling by God to lead both Israel and the nations. The servant is now portrayed as the prophet of the Lord equipped and called to restore the nation to God. His success will come not by political or military action, but by becoming a light to the gentiles. Ultimately his victory is in God's hands (Isaiah 49:1-6). Isaiah 49:6 is quoted by Simeon in Luke 2:32 concerning the infant Jesus Christ, as the light to the Gentiles, during the time of His mother Mary's purification, meaning that the Servant Isaiah was talking about is Jesus Christ himself, and indeed he restored nation of Israel (all people to God), the mysteries we are celebrating in this Holy Week.
Brethren, as we enter fully into the passion of our Lord Jesus Christ through our observance of this Holy Week and walking with him, let us stop and reflect: where has Jesus done great wonders in my life, and how have I really shown gratitude to him? Of course the biggest sacrifice is still to come, that's, to die for us on the cross, but there are also many things he has done in our lives by which he deserves our gratitude. This is an invitation not to be like Jews who were seeing what Jesus had done as a son of God, but could not be grateful and finally killed him; it's an invitation to be like Mary who anointed Jesus with the most expensive ointment one can ever think of in those days, as a sign of gratitude for what Jesus had done for him, even raising Lazarus, her brotherfrom the dead. Today, let us Reflect on the actions of Mary, Jesus and Judas as presented in the Gospel.
LENT SERIES DAY 40: Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion, (Palm Sunday: Its Meaning, Significance, Symbols and What is Done on it)(https://youtu.be/BRm6CI7CuWo)
The entrance Gospel above shows Jesus asking for a colt and entering into Jerusalem. What a solemn welcome, what a hail, it was so marvelous from the crowd. It was just four short days before He would be arrested, He was received with great joy. As He entered, riding a donkey, the crowds spread their cloaks, strewed palm branches before Him and cried out, “Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest” (Mt. 21:9). Jesus was the King of Kings and Lord of Lords, and He was given a Kingly welcome.
I am always accustomed to ask these two questions in my talks and presentations and wherever I go. These questions may seem to be the same and similar but actually, they are totally different. There are reasons why Jesus was killed and also reasons why Jesus died. For the last few weeks of lent, the readings, especially the gospels, have presented to us a list of accusations to why the Jews killed Jesus. These accusations are very important for growth in our Christian life because, as Christians (followers of Christ), we have to follow in his footsteps so that when what happened to him can also happens to us, we can respond like him. Knowing these reasons makes us strong and courageous to face all the challenges involved in following Christ, knowing that we shall conquer as Jesus himself did.
As we draw closer to Holy Week, and exactly one week to Good Friday, we continue to see the growing hatred toward Jesus. Just as we saw in yesterday’s reflection, this week's readings point out the most outstanding accusation, which was laid upon Jesus, that is, calling himself Son of God, but this accusation, to Jesus, made no influence on him, he continued his mission despite the fore knowledge of what would happen to him, i.e. persecution which would result in death. To hate Jesus and to desire to stone Him to death is an act of the greatest irrationality. But this is what happened. Little by little, those who were against Jesus grew in boldness until that ultimate day came when He laid down His life for us and willingly embraced His death. He fell into their hands when appointed time had come but God was with him till the end.
Brethren today's readings point us to the Graces involved in heeding to the word of God, to the word that Jesus brings to us. In the first Reading, Abraham was made the father of a multitude of nations because he heeded to the word of God and followed whatever was instructed to him by God. However, he didn't not only heed to God's word but also had unwavering faith in God; that's why he is the father of faith. Thus, from Abraham, we see that whoever keeps the word of God and believes in him, will never taste death but will reign forever with God.
When we think of freedom as a mere physical freedom forgetting of the spiritual and psychological freedom, then we are not free but in slavery. The Jews who criticizedJesusafter telling them that the truth will save them free claiming that they are free forgot that they were spiritually enslaved because of their sins and not believing in Jesus, the awaited Messiah and in his teachings. Whoever sins is a slave of sin. If we are stuck in our sins, we are not free but slaves of sin and the only way to be free is to accept the truth for thetruth will set us free. What is this truth? It is Jesus Christ who alone gives freedom of body, mind and soul. As Bishop Robert Barron says, freedom is “not so much liberty of choice, but rather the disciplining of desire so as to make the achievement of the good first possible and then effortless.”
Brethren, what a Great Man, St Joseph is! He was made great not because of any privileges but because of the choices he made in life. Today’s Gospel refers to him as a “righteous man” and as a man who “did as the angel of the Lord commanded him.” Thus, his greatness is primarily on account of his moral righteousness and obedience to the will of God. The first reading proclaims an everlasting kingdom and how God decided to grant it to a “son of David.” The Gospel proclaims the accomplishment of the promise made to David: one of his descendants has fulfilled the words of Nathan beyond all expectations. The second reading speaks of Abraham, the man who placed his trust in God. Like Abraham, Joseph too believed that the dreams of God would be fulfilled. Abraham and Joseph prove that whoever puts their trust in God will never be disappointed.
Brethren, when accusations are brought against you, how do you respond and where do you turn for help? The story in today's first reading about the lustful elders, Daniel and the innocent Susanna can help us answer this question. God in his own Wisdom, gives right judgments to each and everyone either by himself or through the ones he has chosen to minister to his people. This is the theme of today’s reflection: Don't fear, you who trust in the Lord, for God in his own Wisdom will fight for you. Wisdom is one of the most precious gifts God will ever give a human person, we Remember the great king of Israel, Solomon just asked for wisdom and all things came to him. God does not just have wisdom but instead, himself is Wisdom, therefore if God gives us Wisdom, he has given us himself. That's why the psalm states, the fear of the Lord is the beginning of Wisdom. God's Wisdom does wonders and inspires everyone.
Brethren, as we approach Holy Week, the readings of this Sunday prepare us and point us to the suffering, death and resurrection of Christ in Easter. In the first reading we see the promise of God’s establishment of the New Covenant to his people which will be written in the hearts of people. Israelites had broken the covenant that God had made with them, for many times, and out of his mercy, the covenant was to be renewed, not, as previously, dependent on the institutions, Law and cult of Israel, but open to every individual, an individual commitment to the Lord, written on human hearts. This meant that there was no need for anyone to teach a brother or sister what to do, but everyone from his or her heart would know what to do and one would be judged by his conscience. Though we must still learn from one another and accept the guidance of the Church, the bond is between God and the individual, no longer the race as such. For us Christians, this is ‘the covenant in my blood for the forgiveness of sin’ to which Jesus refers at the Last Supper. He sees it ratified in his blood, as the first covenant was ratified in the blood of animal-sacrifice. The forgiveness it brings is the final forgiveness, pre-echoed in God’s forgiveness of the sin of Israel down the ages.
Brethren today's readings continue with theme of rejection, abandonment and passing wrong judgement. Though the time for Jesus to be arrested has not come, these readings point to us the reality that Jesus will be rejected, abandoned even betrayed by his own disciple and then judged and sentenced to death unjustly. They also show us in a way that us as Christians who speak in the name of God will have such experiences and so we have to stand firm in faith until we reach our destiny.
