Tuesday of Holy Week
PRESENCE OF GOD - O suffering Jesus, grant that I may read in Your Passion Your love for me.
MEDITATIO
1. Today's Mass contains two lessons from Isaias (62.11-63.1-7-53.1-12) which describe in a very impressive way the figure of Jesus, the Man of Sorrows. It is The Suffering Christ who presents Himself to us, covered with the shining purple of is Blood, wounded from head to foot. "Why then is Thy apparel red, and Thy garments like theirs that tread in the winepress? I have trodden the winepress alone, and of the Gentiles there is not a man with Me." All alone Jesus trod the winepress of His Passion. Let us think of His agony in the Garden of Olives, where the vehemence of His grief covered all His members with a bloody sweat. Let us think of the moment when Pilate, after having Him scourged, brought Him before the mob, saying: "Behold the Man!" Jesus stood there, His head crowned with thorns, His flesh lacerated by the whips; the brilliant red of His Blood mingled with the purple of His cloak, that cloak of derision with which the soldiers had clothed their mock king. Christ was offering Himself as a sacrifice for men, shedding His Blood for their salvation, and men were abandoning Him. "I looked about and there was none to help; I sought, and there was none to give aid" (Roman Missal). Where were the sick whom He had cured, the blind, who at the touch of His Hand had recovered their sight, the dead who were raised to life, the thousands whom He had miraculously fed with bread in the wilderness, the wretched without number who in countless ways had experienced His goodness? Before Jesus there was only an infuriated mob clamoring: "Crucify Him! Crucify Him! Even the Apostles, His most intimate friends, had fled; indeed one of them had betrayed Him: "If he that hated Me had spoken great things against Me, I would perhaps have hidden Myself from him! But thou, a man of one mind, My guide, and My familiar, who didst take sweetmeats together with Me" (Ps 54.13-14). We read these words today, as on all the Wednesdays of the year, in the psalms of Terce. To this text which is so deeply expressive of the bitterness Jesus felt when betrayed and abandoned by His own, there is a corresponding response at Matins: "Instead of loving Me, they decried Me, and returned evil for good, and hate in exchange for My Love" (Roman Breviary).
As we contemplate Jesus in His Passion, each one of us can say to himself, "Dilexit me, et tradidit semetipsum pro me", He loved me, and delivered Himself for me (Gal 2.20); and it would be well to add, "How have I repaid His Love?"
2. Jesus is singularly worthy of the gratitude and fidelity of men. No one has ever done more for them than He; yet no one has suffered more than He the bitterness of ingratitude and treachery.
Let us review for a moment the prologue of St. John's Gospel, which presents Jesus to us in all His Divine Majesty, in the eternal splendour of The Word, the "True Light which enlighteneth every man that cometh into this world." Compare it then wit the lesson from Isaias (2nd lesson of the Mass), which describes the opprobrium and ignominy to which His Passion has reduced Him. The result should be a deeper understanding of the two great truths that emerge: the exceeding charity with which Jesus has loved us, and the enormous gravity of sin.
Of Him, The Son of God, it was written: "There is no beauty in Him, nor comeliness: and we have seen Him, and there was no sightliness that we should be desirous of Him: despised adn the most abject of men, a man of sorrows....His look was, as it were hidden." He has no beauty, He who is the splendour of The Father. He seeks to hide His Face, He, the sight of whose face is the beatitude of the angels and saints. He is so disfigured that He seems like a leper, so abject that no account is made of Him. "Surely He hat borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows" - infirmities and sorrows are the consequences of sin - "He was wounded for our iniquities and bruised for our sins....The Lord took all our iniquity upon Himself."
The consideration of the horror of sin should throw into relief the other great truth of The Passion; namely, the inexpressible love of Christ. This love made Him willingly accept His Passion; and having accepted it because "He willed it," He did not evade His enemies, but freely gave Himself into their hands. Let us recall the moment when Jesus, by His Divine Power, cast to the ground the soldiers who had come to arrest Him, and having said that, if He wished, He could have legions of angels to defend Him, allowed them to take and bind Him without any resistance. Let us remember that, when He was taken prisoner and condemned, he did not hesitate to say to the Roman governor, "Thou shouldst not have any power against Me, unless it were given thee from above" (St. John 19.11). Jesus is the victim. He goes willingly to be sacrificed; He immolates Himself lovingly, with sovereign liberty. We touch here the summit of love, the summit of liberty, for we speak of the love and the liberty of God.
COLLOQUIA
"O sweet Jesus, I understand what You must be feeling! O good Jesus, meek and loving! You suffered martyrdom by the many wounds caused by the scourgin and the nails. You were crowned with thorns. How many, O good Jesus, were they who struck You! Your Father struck You, since He did not spare You, but made You a victim for all of us. You struck Yourself when You offered Your soul to death, that soul which cannot be taken from You against Your will. The disciple who betrayed You with a kiss struck You too. The Jews struck You with their hands and feet, and the Gentiles struck You with whips and pierced You with nails. Oh! how many people, how many humiliations, how many executioners!
"And how many gave You over! The Heavenly Father gave You for us, and You gave Yourself, as St. Pau joyfully says: 'He loved me and delivered Himself up for me.'
"What a marvelous exchange! The Master delivers Himself for a slave, God for man, The Creator for the creature, The Innocent One for the sinner. You put Yourself into the hands of the traitor, the faithless disciple. The traitor handed You over to the Jews. The wicked Jews deliever You to the Gentiles to be mocked, scourged, spit upon, and crucified. You had said these things; You had foretold them, and they came to pass. Then, when all was accomplished, You were crucified and numbered among the wicked. But it was not enough that You were wounded. To the pain of Your wounds, they added other ignominies and, to slake Your burning thirst, they gave You wine mixed with myrrh and gall.
"I weep for You, my King, my Lord, and Master, my Father and Brother, my Beloved Jesus" (St. Bonaventure).
Tuesday of Holy Week
PRESENCE OF GOD - O Jesus, give me the grace to penetrate the abyss of sorrow made by sin in Your Heart, so full of meekness.
Meditatio
1. In the Epistle of today's Mass, Jeremias (11.18-20) speaks to us as The Suffering Saviour: "I was as a meek lamb that is carried to be a victim." This sentence expresses the attitude of Jesus toward the bitterness of His Passion. He knew every one of these sufferings in all their most concrete particulars; His Heart had undergone them by anticipation, and the thought of them never left Him for an instant during the course of His Life on earth. If The Passion, in its historical reality, took place in less than twenty-four hours, in its spiritual reality it spanned His entire life.
Jesus knew what was waiting Him, His Heart was tortured by it; and yet He not only accepted but ardently desired that hour, "His hour"; and He gave Himself into the hands of His enemies with th meekness of a lamb being led to the slaughter. "I have left My house," He says again through the mouth of Jeremias. "...I have delivered My Beloved Soul into the hands of My enemies" (Roman Breviary). Judas betrayed Him, His enemies dragged Him before the tribunal, they condemned Him to death, they tortured His body horribly; but Jesus, even in His Passion, remained always God, remained always The Master, The Lord. "I have power to lay down My Life and to take it up again," says the liturgy in today's Vespers (Roman Breviary), Jesus went to His Passion "because it was His Own Will" (Isaias 53.7). He willed it because, as He Himself said, "This is the command which I have received from My Father" (St. John 10.18)
However, His ardent desire for The Passion did not prevent Him from tasting all its bitterness. "The sorrows of death have encompassed me...Insults and terrors I have suffered from those who called themselves My friends....God of Israel, because of You, I have suffered opprobrium, and shame has covered My Face" (Roman Breviary). Let us try to sound the depths of these sacred texts which we read in today's liturgy, in order that we may have a better understanding of the most bitter Passion of Christ.
2. Today at Mass we read The Passion as recountered by St. Mark, Peter's disciple (14.32-72-15.1-46). No other Evangelist has described so minutely the denial of Peter; it is the humble confession which the chief of the Apostles makes of himself through the mouth of his disciple. During the Last Supper, when Jesus predicted that the Apostles would desert Him that very night, Peter had protested with all the vigour of his ardent temperament: "Although all shall be scandalized in Thee, yet not I!" In vain did The Master fortell his desertion, outling it in detail: "Even in this night, before the cock crows twice, thou shalt deny Me thrice." An overweening confidence in himself had blinded Peter to the truth of Jesus' words, to the possibility of his own weakness. "Although I should die together with Thee, I will not deny Thee." Peter was sincere in his protestation, but he sinned through presumption; the practical experience of human misery and frailty, by which no one, even the most courageous, can remain faithful to duty without divine aid, was lacking to him. His initial steps along this road would be aken in Gethsemane, when he, like the others, would be unable to watch "one hour" with The Master. Further, at the time of Jesus's arrest he would flee away trembling with fear. But these two episodes would not be enough to cure him of his presumption; he would need a third, the saddest of all.
In the courtyard of Caiphas' palace, where, having recovered from his first fright, Peter had gone to watch the turn of events, he was recognized by a maid as a disciple of Jesus. Seized by the fear of being involved in The Master's trial, he denied the accusation immediately, saying, "I know Him not." Having fallen once, he had difficulty in recovering himself, and when questioned again, he made a second, even a third denial. "As he was yet speaking, the cock crew, and The Lord turning, looked on Peter." That crowing of the cock, and much more, that look full of love and sorrow, made him enter into himself, "and going out, he wept bitterly" (St. Luke 22.62).
The blindfold of presumption fell from his eyes; and Peter, who sincerely loved Jesus, acknowledged his weakness, his fault. The loving glance of The Master had saved him. Because Peter no longer relied on himself, Jesus could rely upon him and would entrust His flock to him. The lesson is clear. As long as a soul depends solely upon itself, it is not ready to be sanctified, nor to cooperate efficaciously in the sanctification of others.
Colloquia
"O Lord of my soul, how quick we are to offend You! But how much quicker are You to forgive us! What am I saying, Lord! 'The sorrows of death have encompassed me.' Alas! What a great evil is sin, since it could put God Himself to death with such terrible sufferings! And these same sufferings surround You today, O my Lord! Where can You go that You are not tortured? Men cover You with wouds in all Your members.
"Christians, this is the hour to defend your King and to keep Him company in the profound isolation in which He finds Himself. How few, O Lord, are the servants who remain faithful to You!...The worst of it is that there are some who proess to be Your friends in public, but who sell You in secret. You can scarcely find one in whom You can trust. O my God, true Friend, how badly does he repay You who betrays You!
"O true Christians, come to weep with your God! It was not only over Lazarus that He shed tears of compassion, but over all those who, in spite of His call, would never rise from the dead. At that time, my Love, You saw even the sins that I would commit against You. May they be at an end, and wth them, those of all sinners. Grant that these dead may come to life. May Your Voice, Lord, be strong enough to give them life, even if they do not ask it of You. Lazarus did not ask You to bring him back to life, and yet You restored life to him at the prayer of a sinner. Here is another sinner, my God, and much more culpable than she was. Let, then, Your mercy shine forth! I ask it of You in spite of my wretchedness, for those who will not ask" (St. Teresa de Jesus).
Monday of Holy Week
PRESENCE OF GOD - O Lord, with Mary of Bethany I wish to pay my humble, devout homage to Your Sacred Body before it is disfigured by the Passion.
Meditatio
1. The Gospel for today (St. John 12.1-9) tells us of this impressive scene: "Jesus therefore, six days before the Pasch, came to Bethany...and they made Him a supper there; and Martha served...Mary, therefore, took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped His feet with her hair." Martha, as usual, was busy about many things. Mary, however, paid attention only to Jesus; to show respect to Him, it did not seem extravagent to her to pour over Him a whole vase of precious perfume. Some of those present murmured, "Why this waste? Could not the ointment have been sold...and the price given to the poor?" And they murmured against her (St. Mark 14.4-5). Mary said nothing and made no excuses; completely absorbed in her adored Master, she continued her work of devotion and love.
Mary is the symbol of the soul in love with God, the soul who gives herself exclusively to Him, consuming for Him all that she is and all that she has. She is the symbol of those souls who give up, in whole or in part, exterior activity, in order to consecrate themselves more fully to the immediate service of God and to devote themselves to a life of more intimate union with Him. This total consecration to The Lord is deemed wasteful by those who fail to understand it - although the same offering, it otherwise employed, would cause no complaint. If everything we are and have is His gift, can it be a waste to sacrifice it in His Honour and, by so acting, to repair for the indifference of countless souls who seldom, if ever, think of Him?
Money, time, strength, and even human lives spent in the immediate service of The Lord, far from being wasted, reach therein the perfection of their being. Moreover, by this consecration, they conform to the proper scales of values. Giving alms to the poor is a duty, but the worship and love of God is a higher obligation. If urgent works of charity sometimes require us to leave His service for that of our neighbour, no change in the hierarchy of importance is thereby implied. God must always have the first place.
Jesus Himself then comes to Mary's defense: "Let her be, that she may keep this perfume against the day of My burial." In the name of all those who love, Mary gave The Sacred Body of Jesus, before it was disfigured by the Passion, the ultimate homage of an ardent love and devotion.
2. In St. John's Gospel it is clearly stated that the murmurings about Mary's act were uttered by Judas Iscariot. The sinister face of the traitor appears darker still beside that of the loyal Mary: physically, he is still numbered among the Twelve, but spiritually, he has been cut off from them for a long time. Ever since the previous year, when The Master ahd told them about The Eucharist, Judas was lost. Referring to him on one occasion, Jesus had said, "Have not I chosen you twelve; and one of you is a devil" (St. John 6.71). Judas had been chosen by Jesus with a love of predilection; he had been admitted to the group of His closest friends and, like the eleven others, had received the great grace of the apostolate. In the beginning, he must have been faithful; but later, attachment to worldly things and avarice began to take possession of him, so as to completely chill his love for The Master and transform the Apostle into a traitor. Because of His Divine foreknowledge, Jesus had expected the treachery; and yet, since Judas had been originally worthy of His trust, He had placed him on an equal footing with the other members of the apostolic college. Subsequently, although he had already become a liar, Jesus continued to treat him like the others, showing him the same love and esteem. This was very painful to the sensitive Heart of Jesus, but He would not act otherwise, He wished that we might see with what love, patience, and delicacy He treats even His most stubborn enemies. How many times must The Master have tried to enlighten that when He gave His instructions on detachment from darkened mind! Certainly, He was thinking of Judas' worldly goods: "You cannot serve God and mammon....the loss of His own soul?" (St. Matthew 6.24-16.26). However, these words,which should have been an affectionate reprove to the traitor, did not touch him. Judas represents those souls who have received from God graces of predilection, but who prove to be unworthy of them, because of their infidelities, Consecrated souls must, therefore, be very faithful to the grace of their vocation and must not permit the slightest attachment to take root in their hearts.
Colloquia
Here are two paths, Lord, as diametrically opposed as possible: one of fidelity and one of betrayal, the loving fidelity of Mary of Bethany, the horrible treachery of Judas, O Lord, how I should like to offer You a heart like Mary's! How I should like to see the traitor in me entirely dead and destroyed!
But You tell me: "Watch ye, and pray that you enter not into temptation!" (St. Mark 14.38) Oh! How necessary it is for me to watch and pray, so that the enemy will not come to sow the poisonous germs of treason in my heart! May I be faithful to You, Lord, faithful at any cost, in big things as well as in small, so that the foxes of little attachments will never succeed in invading and destroying the vineyard of my heart!
"Lord Jesus, when I meditate on Your Passion, the first things that strikes me is the perfidy of the traitor. He was so full of the venom of bad faith that he actually betrayed You - You, his Master and Lord. He was inflamed with such cupidity that he sold his God for money, and in exchange for a few vile coins delivered up Your Precious Blood. His ingratitude went so far that he persecuted even to death Him who had raised him to the height of the apostolate....O Jesus, how great was Your Goodness toward this hard-hearted disciple! Although his wickedness was so great, I am much more impressed by Your gentleness and meekness, O Lamb of God! You have given me this meekness as a model. Behold, O Lord, the man whom You allowed to share Your most special confidences, the man who seemed to be so united to Your, Your Apostle, Your friend, the man who ate Your Bread, and who, at the Last Supper, tasted with You The Sweet Cup, and this man committed this monstrous crime against Your, his Master! But, in spite of all this at the time of betrayal, You, O meek Lamb, did not refuse the kiss of that mouth so full of malice. You gave him everything, even as You gave to the other Apostles, in order not to deprive him of anything that might melt the hardness of his evil heart" (St. Bonaventure).
O Jesus, by the atrocious suffering inflicted on Your Hear by that infamous treachery, grant me, I beg of You, the grace of a fidelity that is total, loving, and devoted. Amen.
