Monday - April 11, 2022
“Let us become saints so that after having been together on earth, we will be together forever in Heaven.”
--St. Pio of Pietrelcina
TODAY'S READINGS
Monday of Holy Week
Lectionary: 257
Reading I
Is 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 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 Phil 2:8-9
Hail to you, our King;
you alone are compassionate with our faults.
Gospel Jn 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.
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THE GIFT OF TRUE FRIENDSHIP
Imagine the scene depicted in today's Gospel story. It takes place exactly one week before the crucifixion of Jesus. He knows what's going to happen; he knows his time is short. So how does he spend this day? Fretting and worrying and fearing the pain that he'll soon suffer? Is he depressed perhaps?
No, he's enjoying a party!
Jesus chose to spend his last peaceful day with his dearest and closest friends. He can relax around them. He knows they're not going to pick a fight with him. If he wants to rest, they will minister to his needs and desires.
What a great example of friendship!
Look at how they dined. It was no simple meal of pita bread and dates, but a banquet! Jesus taught by his own example that we should live in humble simplicity, and yet he also enjoyed a fancy meal with lots of trimmings and gourmet dishes.
And he certainly appreciated the luxury of the perfume that his friend Mary lavished on him. He did not say: "Oh, you shouldn't have!" (like we often do). He was very gracious in accepting without question the gifts that his friends gave to him.
This is a wonderful example of genuine friendship. It didn't matter if the gift was expensive or frugal; what mattered was the depth of friendship from which it came.
In true friendship, we give service and gifts to each other simply because we love each other. There's no equality to it, no thought of "If you pay the bill at the restaurant this time, next time it's my turn" or "If you invite me to your $100-a-plate wedding reception, then I have to arrive bearing a gift of equal value."
Mary didn't anoint Jesus as payment for all the good he had done for her, but as a gift of her own goodness simply because she loved him. She was accused of being wasteful, the gift too extravagant, but she didn't choose the perfume based on its price tag; she gave her beloved friend a gift that showed the extravagance of her love. She was generous in the enthusiasm of her love.
Is your friendship with Jesus like this? How we treat our friends is how we treat Jesus. Our friendship with Jesus is only as genuine as the relationships we have with the people he's provided as the friends with whom we journey on the road of faith.
Jesus gives us his love through holy friendships. In the fellowship of true friends, Jesus ministers to us, heals us, teaches us, dies with us and resurrects us. In those friendships, we meet Jesus and kiss his feet and anoint him with the perfume of our adoration.
Today's Prayer
Jesus, give me the grace of forgiving those who have ridiculed me because of my faith in You. They don't know You. They don't know how much You love them. Bless them and give them the opportunity to experience how much You care for them. Amen.
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The mother of Jesus promised St. Dominic that, “one day through the rosary & the scapular I shall save the world!”
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