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Lectio Divina
March 2021
Monday, March 1, 2021 3
Tuesday, March 2, 2021 4
Wednesday, March 3, 2021 6
Thursday, March 4, 2021 8
Friday, March 5, 2021 11
Saturday, March 6, 2021 14
Sunday, March 7, 2021 18
Monday, March 8, 2021 22
Tuesday, March 9, 2021 24
Wednesday, March 10, 2021 26
Thursday, March 11, 2021 28
Friday, March 12, 2021 30
Saturday, March 13, 2021 33
Sunday, March 14, 2021 35
Monday, March 15, 2021 39
Tuesday, March 16, 2021 41
Wednesday, March 17, 2021 43
Thursday, March 18, 2021 46
Friday, March 19, 2021 48
Saturday, March 20, 2021 51
Sunday, March 21, 2021 53
Monday, March 22, 2021 57
Tuesday, March 23, 2021 59
Wednesday, March 24, 2021 62
Thursday, March 25, 2021 64
Friday, March 26, 2021 70
Saturday, March 27, 2021 72
Sunday, March 28, 2021 76
Monday, March 29, 2021 88
Tuesday, March 30, 2021 90
Wednesday, March 31, 2021 93

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Monday, March 1, 2021
Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Just and holy God, our loving Father, you offered us your hand in friendship, and you
sent us your Son Jesus to go with us the road of obedience and loyalty.
God, we often hurt this friendship, we act as if we were not your sons and daughters.
See the look of shame on our faces. Forgive us, for we count on you. Accept our thanks
for continuing to take us as we are and loving us notwithstanding our sins. We ask you
this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Luke 6: 36-38

“Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate. Do not judge, and you will not
be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be
forgiven. Give, and there will be gifts for you: a full measure, pressed down, shaken
together, and overflowing, will be poured into your lap; because the standard you use
will be the standard used for you.”

Reflection
• These three brief verses of today’s Gospel (Lk 6: 36-38) are the final part of a brief
discourse of Jesus (Lk 6: 20-38). In the first part of his discourse, he addresses himself
to the disciples (Lk 6: 20) and to the rich (Lk 6: 24) proclaiming four beatitudes for the
disciples (Lk 6, 20-23), and four curses for the rich (Lk 6: 20-26). In the second part, he
addresses himself to all those who are listening (Lk 6: 27), that is, the immense crowd
of poor and sick, who had come from all parts (Lk 6: 17-19). The words which he
addresses to this people and to all of us are demanding and difficult: to love the
enemy (Lk 6: 27), not curse them (Lk 6: 28), offer the other cheek to the one who slaps
you on one and do not complain if someone takes what is ours (Lk 6: 29). How can
this difficult advice be understood? The explanation is given in the three verses of
today’s Gospel, from which we draw the center of the Good News brought by Jesus.
• Luke 6: 36: Be merciful as your Heavenly Father is merciful. The Beatitudes for the
disciples (Lk 6: 20-23) and the curses against the rich (Lk 6: 24-26) cannot be
interpreted as an occasion for the poor to revenge against the rich. Jesus orders to
have the contrary attitude. He says: “Love your enemies!” (Lk 6: 27). The change or
the conversion which Jesus wants to bring about in us does not consist in merely
turning something to invert the system because in this way nothing would change.
He wants to change the system. The Novelty which Jesus wants to construct comes
from the new experience that he has of God Father/Mother full of tenderness who
accepts all, good and bad, who makes the sunshine on both the good and on the
bad and makes the rain fall on both good and bad (Mt 5: 5, 45). True love does
not depend nor it can depend on what I receive from others. Love must want the

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 good of the other independently of what he does for me. Because this is how God’s
love is for us. He is merciful not only toward those who are good, but with all, even
with the “ungrateful and the evil” Lk 6: 35). The disciples of Jesus should radiate this
merciful love.
• Luke 6: 37-38: Do not judge and you will not be judged. These last words repeat in a
clearer way what Jesus had said before: “Treat others as you would like them to treat
you” (Lk 6: 31; cf. Mt 7: 12). If you do not want to be judged, do not judge! If you do not
want to be condemned, do not condemn” If you want to be forgiven, forgive! If you
want to receive a good measure, give this good measure to others! Do not wait for
the other one to take the initiative, but you take it and begin now! And you will see
that it is like this!

Personal Questions
• Lent is a time of conversion. Which is the conversion which today’s Gospel is asking
of me?
• Have you already been merciful as the Heavenly Father is?

Concluding Prayer
Help us, God our Savior, for the glory of your name; Yahweh, wipe away our sins, rescue
us for the sake of your name. (Ps 79,9)

Tuesday, March 2, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Lord God, you want us to live our faith not so much as a set of rules and practices but as
a relationship from person to person with you and with people.
God, keep our hearts turned to you, that we may live what we believe and that we may
express our love for you in terms of service to those around us, as Jesus did, your Son,
who lives with you and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.

Gospel Reading - Matthew 23: 1-12

Then addressing the crowds and his disciples Jesus said, “The scribes and the Pharisees
occupy the chair of Moses. You must therefore do and observe what they tell you; but
do not be guided by what they do, since they do not practice what they preach.
They tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people's shoulders, but will they lift a finger
to move them? Not they! Everything they do is done to attract attention, like wearing
broader headbands and longer tassels, like wanting to take the place of honor at
banquets and the front seats in the synagogues, being greeted respectfully in the

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market squares and having people call them Rabbi. You, however, must not allow
yourselves to be called Rabbi, since you have only one Master, and you are all brothers.
You must call no one on earth your father, since you have only one Father, and he is in
heaven. Nor must you allow yourselves to be called teachers, for you have only one
Teacher, the Christ.
The greatest among you must be your servant. Anyone who raises himself up will be
humbled, and anyone who humbles himself will be raised up.”

Reflection
• Today’s Gospel presents the criticism of Jesus against the Scribes and the Pharisees
of his time. At the beginning of the missionary activity of Jesus, the Doctors of
Jerusalem went to Galilee to observe him (Mk 3: 22; 7: 1). Disturbed by Jesus‟
preaching, they had based their calumny saying that he was possessed (Mk 3: 22). All
along the three years the popularity of Jesus grew. And at the same time, the conflict
between he and the religious authority also grew. The origin of this conflict was the
way in which they placed themselves before God. The Pharisees sought their own
security, not so much in God’s love toward them, but rather in the rigorous
observance of the Law. Before this mentality, Jesus insists on the practice of love
which makes the observance of the law relative and gives it its true significance.
• Matthew 23: 1-3: The root or origin of the criticism: “They say but they do not do”.
Jesus recognizes the authority of the Scribes and of the Pharisees. They occupy the
chair of Moses and teach the law of God, but they themselves do not observe what
they teach. So, Jesus tells them: “You must, therefore, do and observe what they tell
you, but do not do as they do, because they say but do not do!” This is a terrible
criticism! Immediately, like in a mirror, Jesus shows some aspects of the incoherence
of the religious authority.
• Matthew 23: 4-7: Look in the mirror in order to make a revision of life. Jesus calls the
attention of the disciples concerning the incoherent behavior of some doctors of the
Law. In meditating on this incoherence, it is convenient to think not in the Pharisees
and the Scribes of that time already past, but rather in ourselves and in our
incoherence: they tie up heavy burdens and lay them on people’s shoulders but will
not lift a finger to move them; they do their works in order to be admired; they love
to take the first places and to be called doctors. The Scribes liked to enter into the
houses of the widows and to recite long prayers to receive money in exchange! (Mk
12: 40).
• Matthew 23: 8-10): You are all brothers. Jesus orders that we have the contrary
attitude. Instead of using the religion and the community as means for self-
promotion in order to appear as being more important before others, he asks not to
use the title of Rabbi or Teacher, of Master, Father and Guide because only one is the
Guide, Christ; only God in Heaven is Father, and Jesus is the Master, the Teacher. You
are all brothers. This is the basis of the fraternity which comes from the certainty that
God is our Father.

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• Matthew 23: 11-12: The final summary: the greatest must be the servant. This phrase
is what characterizes both the teaching and the behavior of Jesus: “The greatest
among you must be your servant; the one who raises himself up, will be humbled”
(cfr. Mk 10: 43; Lk 14: 11; 18: 14).

Personal Questions
• In what does Jesus criticize the Doctors of the Law and in what does he praise them?
In what would he criticize me and in what would he praise me?
• Have you already seen in the mirror?

Concluding Prayer
“Honor to me is a sacrifice of thanksgiving; to the upright I will show God's salvation.”
(Ps 50,23)

Wednesday, March 3, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Lord our God, your prophets remind us in season and out of season of our
responsibilities toward you and toward the world of people. When they disturb and
upset us, let it be a holy disturbance that makes us restless, eager to do your will and to
bring justice and love around us. We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Matthew 20: 17-28

Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, and on the road, he took the Twelve aside by
themselves and said to them, 'Look, we are going up to Jerusalem, and the Son of man
is about to be handed over to the chief priests and scribes. They will condemn him to
death and will hand him over to the gentiles to be mocked and scourged and crucified;
and on the third day he will be raised up again.'
Then the mother of Zebedee's sons came with her sons to make a request of him, and
bowed low; and he said to her, 'What is it you want?' She said to him, 'Promise that
these two sons of mine may sit one at your right hand and the other at your left in your
kingdom.' Jesus answered, 'You do not know what you are asking. Can you drink the
cup that I am going to drink?' They replied, 'We can.' He said to them, 'Very well; you
shall drink my cup, but as for seats at my right hand and my left, these are not mine to
grant; they belong to those to whom they have been allotted by my Father.'
When the other ten heard this, they were indignant with the two brothers. But Jesus
called them to him and said, 'You know that among the gentiles the rulers lord it over
them, and great men make their authority felt. Among you this is not to happen. No;

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anyone who wants to become great among you must be your servant, and anyone
who wants to be first among you must be your slave, just as the Son of man came not
to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.'

Reflection
• Today’s Gospel presents three points: the third announcement of the Passion (Mt 20:
17-19), the petition of the Mother of the sons of Zebedee (Mt 20: 20-23) and the
discussion of the disciples regarding the first place (Mt 20: 24-28).
• Matthew 20: 17-19: The third announcement of the Passion. Going toward Jerusalem,
Jesus walks in front of them. He knows that he is going to be killed. The Prophet
Isaiah had already announced it (Is 50: 4-6; 53: 1-10). His death is not the fruit of a plan
established in advance, but the consequence of the commitment taken concerning
the mission received from the Father, to be at the side of the excluded of his time.
This is why Jesus speaks to the disciples about the tortures and death that he will
have to face in Jerusalem. The disciple should follow the Master, even if he has to
suffer like him. The disciples are frightened and accompany him with fear. They do
not understand what is happening (cfr. Lk 18: 34). Suffering did not correspond to the
idea that they had of the Messiah (cfr. Mt 16: 21-23).
• Matthew 20: 20-21: The petition of the mother to obtain the first place for her sons.
The disciples do not only not understand the importance and significance of the
message of Jesus, but they continue with their own personal ambitions. When Jesus
insists on service and the gift of oneself, they continue to ask for the first places in
the Kingdom. The mother of James and John, taking her sons with her, gets close to
Jesus. The two did not understand the proposal of Jesus. They were concerned only
about their own interests. This is a sign that the dominating ideology of that time
had profoundly penetrated in the mentality of the disciples. In spite of the fact of
having lived with Jesus several years, they had not renewed their way of seeing
things. They looked at Jesus as always, with the same look. They wanted a reward for
the fact of following Jesus. The same tensions existed in the communities of the time
of Matthew and they still exist today in our own communities.
• Matthew 20: 22-23: Jesus’ answer. Jesus reacts firmly: ”You do not know what you are
asking for!” And he asks if they are capable of drinking the chalice that he, Jesus, will
drink and if they are ready to receive the baptism which he will receive. It is the
chalice of suffering, the baptism of blood! Jesus wants to know if they, instead of the
places of honor, accept to give their life up to death. Both answer: “We can!” It seems
to be a response not given from within, because a few days later, they abandoned
Jesus and left him alone at the hour of suffering (Mk 14, 50). They do not have a great
critical knowledge, they do not perceive their personal reality. In what concerns the
first place, the place of honor, in the Kingdom at the side of Jesus, the one who grants
this is the Father. What he, Jesus, has to offer, is the chalice and the baptism,
suffering and the cross.
• Matthew 20: 24-27: It should not be like that among you: Jesus speaks once again,
on the exercise of power (cfr. Mk 9: 33-35). At that time those who held power did not

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 give an account to people. They acted as they wished (cfr. Mk 6: 27-28). The Roman
Empire controlled the world and maintained it submitted with the force of the arms
and in this way, through tributes, taxes, succeeded in concentrating the riches of the
people in the hands of a few in Rome. Society was characterized by the repressive
and abusive exercise of power. Jesus had an altogether different proposal. He said:
“It should not be like that among you; but the one who wants to become great
among you, should become a servant, and the one who wants to be the first one
among you, will become your slave!” He teaches against privileges and rivalry. He
wants to change the system and insists on the fact that service is the remedy against
personal ambition.
• Matthew 20: 28: The summary of the life of Jesus. Jesus defines his mission and his
life: “I have not come to be served but to serve!” He has come to give his own life for
the salvation of many. He is the Messiah Servant, announced by the Prophet Isaiah
(cfr. Is 42: 1-9; 49: 1-6; 50: 4-9); 52: 13-53: 12). He learnt from his Mother who said: “Behold,
the handmaid of the Lord!” (Lk 1: 38). A totally new proposal for the society of that
time.

Personal Questions
• James and John ask for a favor, Jesus promises suffering. And I, what do I ask Jesus
for in my prayer? How do I accept suffering and the pains and sorrow which come
to me in my life?
• Jesus said: “It should not be like that among you!” Does my way of living in
community follow this advice of Jesus?

Concluding Prayer
Draw me out of the net they have spread for me, for you are my refuge;
to your hands I commit my spirit, by you have I been redeemed. God of truth. (Ps 31,4-5)

Thursday, March 4, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Lord our God, many of us never had it so good and so we have become smug and self-
satisfied, happy in our own little world.
God, may our ears remain open to your word and our hearts to you and to our brothers
and sisters. Do not allow us to forget you, or to place our trust in ourselves. Make us
restless for you through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Luke 16: 19-31

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'There was a rich man who used to dress in purple and fine linen and feast
magnificently every day. And at his gate there used to lie a poor man called Lazarus,
covered with sores, who longed to fill himself with what fell from the rich man's table.
Even dogs came and licked his sores.
Now it happened that the poor man died and was carried away by the angels into
Abraham's embrace. The rich man also died and was buried. 'In his torment in Hades
he looked up and saw Abraham a long way off with Lazarus in his embrace. So, he cried
out, "Father Abraham, pity me and send Lazarus to dip the tip of his finger in water and
cool my tongue, for I am in agony in these flames." Abraham said, "My son, remember
that during your life you had your fill of good things, just as Lazarus his fill of bad. Now
he is being comforted here while you are in agony. But that is not all: between us and
you a great gulf has been fixed, to prevent those who want to cross from our side to
yours or from your side to ours." 'So, he said, "Father, I beg you then to send Lazarus to
my father's house, since I have five brothers, to give them warning so that they do not
come to this place of torment too." Abraham said, "They have Moses and the prophets,
let them listen to them." The rich man replied, "Ah no, Father Abraham, but if someone
comes to them from the dead, they will repent." Then Abraham said to him, "If they will
not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if
someone should rise from the dead."

Reflection
• Every time that Jesus has something important to communicate, he creates a story
and tells a parable. In this way, through the reflection on an invisible reality, he leads
those who listen to him to discover the invisible call of God, who is present in life. A
parable is made to make us think and reflect. For this reason. it is important to pay
attention even to the smallest details. In the parable in today’s Gospel there are
three persons. The poor Lazarus, the rich man without a name and Father Abraham.
In the parable, Abraham represents the thought of God. The rich man without a
name represents the dominating ideology of that time. Lazarus represents the silent
cry of the poor of the time of Jesus and of all times.
• Luke 16: 19-21: The situation of the rich man and the poor man. The two extremes of
society. On the one side, aggressive richness, on the other the poor man without
resources, without rights, covered with wounds, without anybody to accept him, to
receive him, except the dogs which came to lick his wounds. What separates both
of them is the closed door of the house of the rich man. On the part of the rich man,
there is no acceptance nor pity concerning the problem of the poor man at his door.
But the poor man has a name, and the rich man does not. That is, the poor man has
his name written in the book of life, not the rich one. The poor man’s name is Lazarus.
It means God helps. And through the poor man, God helps the rich man who could
have a name in the book of life. But the rich man does not accept to be helped by
the poor man, because he keeps his door closed. This beginning of the parable which
describes the situation, is a faithful mirror of what was happening during the time of
Jesus and the time of Luke. It is the mirror of everything which is happening today
in the world!

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• Luke 16: 22: The change which reveals the hidden truth. The poor man died and was
carried away by the angels into Abraham’s embrace. The rich man also died and was
buried. In the parable the poor man dies before the rich one. This is an advertisement
for the rich. Up to the time when the poor man is alive and is at the door, there is still
the possibility of salvation for the rich man. But after the poor man dies, the only
instrument of salvation for the rich man also dies. Now, the poor man is in Abraham’s
embrace. The embrace of Abraham is the source of life, from where the People of
God is born, Lazarus, the poor man, forms part of the People of Abraham, from which
he was excluded, when he was before the door of the rich man. The rich man who
believes that he is a son of Abraham does not go toward the embrace of Abraham!
The introduction of the parable ends here. Now its significance begins to be revealed,
through the three conversations between the rich man and Father Abraham.
• Luke 16: 23-26: The first conversation. In the parable, Jesus opens a window on the
other side of life, the side of God. It is not a question of Heaven. It is a question of life
which only faith generates and which the rich man who has no faith cannot perceive.
It is only in the light of death that the ideology of the empire disintegrates and
appears for him what the true value of life is. On the part of God, without the
deceiving propaganda of the ideology, things change. The rich man sees Lazarus in
the embrace of Abraham and asks to be helped in his suffering. The rich man
discovers that Lazarus is his only possible benefactor. But now, it is too late! The rich
man without a name is pious, because he recognizes Abraham and calls him Father
Abraham responds and calls him son. In reality this word of Abraham is addressed to
all the rich who are alive. In so far as they are alive, they have the possibility to become
sons and daughters of Abraham, if they know how to open the door to Lazarus, the
poor man, the only one who in God’s name can help them. Salvation for the rich man
does not consist in Lazarus giving him a drop of fresh water to refresh his tongue,
but rather, that he, the rich man, open the closed door to the poor man so as fill the
great abyss that exists.
• Luke 16: 27-29: The second conversation. The rich man insists: “Then, Father, I beg you
to send Lazarus to my father’s house, because I have five brothers!” The rich man
does not want his brothers to end in the same place of suffering. Lazarus, the poor
man, is the only true intermediary between God and the rich. He is the only one,
because it is only to the poor that the rich have to return what they had and, thus,
re-establish the justice which has been damaged! The rich man is worried for his
brothers, but was never concerned about the poor! Abraham’s response is clear:
“They have Moses and the Prophets; let them listen to them!” They have the Bible!
The rich man had the Bible. He knew it by heart. But he was never aware of the fact
that the Bible had something to do with the poor. The key which the rich man has
in order to be able to understand the Bible is the poor man sitting at his door!
• Luke 16: 30-31: The third conversation. “No, Abraham, but if someone from the dead
goes to them, they will repent!” The rich man recognizes that he is wrong, he has
committed an error, because he speaks of repenting, something which he never
heard during his life. He wants a miracle, a resurrection! But this type of resurrection
does not exist. The only resurrection is that of Jesus. Jesus, risen from the dead comes

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 to us in the person of the poor, of those who have no rights, of those who have no
land, of those who have no food, of those who have no house, of those who have no
health. In his final response, Abraham is clear and convincing, forceful: “If they will
not listen either to Moses or to the prophets, they will not be convinced even if
someone should rise from the dead!” The conversation ends this way! This is the end
of the parable!
• The key to understand the sense of the Bible is the poor Lazarus, sitting before the
door! God presents himself in the person of the poor, sitting at our door, to help us
cover the enormous abyss which the rich have created. Lazarus is also Jesus, the poor
and servant Messiah, who was not accepted, but whose death changed all things
radically. And everything changes in the light of the death of the poor. The place of
torment, of torture is the situation of the person without God. Even if the rich man
thinks that he has religion and faith, in fact, he is not with God because he does not
open the door to the poor, as Zacchaeus did. (Lk 19: 1-10).

Personal Questions
• How do we treat the poor? Do they have a name for us? In the attitude that I have
before them, am I like Lazarus or like the rich man?
• When the poor enter in contact with us, do they perceive something different? Do
they perceive the Good News? And I, to which side do I tend, toward the miracle or
toward God‟s Word?

Concluding Prayer
How blessed is anyone who rejects the advice of the wicked and does not take a stand
in the path that sinners tread, nor a seat in company with cynics, but who delights in
the law of Yahweh and murmurs his law, day and night. (Ps 1,1-2)

Friday, March 5, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
God, we do not want to die; we want to live. We want to be happy but without paying
the price. We belong to our times, when sacrifice and suffering are out of fashion. God,
make life worth the pain to be lived.
Give us back the age-old realization, that life means to be born again and again in pain,
that it may become again a journey of hope to you, together with Christ Jesus, our
Lord.

Gospel Reading - Matthew 21: 33-43, 45-46

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Jesus said to the chief priests and the elders of the people: 'Listen to another parable.
There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard; he fenced it round, dug a
winepress in it and built a tower; then he leased it to tenants and went abroad.
When vintage time drew near, he sent his servants to the tenants to collect his
produce. But the tenants seized his servants, thrashed one, killed another and stoned a
third.
Next he sent some more servants, this time a larger number, and they dealt with them
in the same way.
Finally, he sent his son to them thinking, "They will respect my son." But when the
tenants saw the son, they said to each other, "This is the heir. Come on, let us kill him
and take over his inheritance." So they seized him and threw him out of the vineyard
and killed him.
Now when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those tenants?' They
answered, 'He will bring those wretches to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to
other tenants who will deliver the produce to him at the proper time.'
Jesus said to them, 'Have you never read in the scriptures: The stone which the builders
rejected has become the cornerstone; this is the Lord's doing and we marvel at it? 'I tell
you, then, that the kingdom of God will be taken from you and given to a people who
will produce its fruit.'
When they heard his parables, the chief priests and the scribes realized he was
speaking about them, but though they would have liked to arrest him they were afraid
of the crowds, who looked on him as a prophet.

Reflection
• The text of today’s Gospel forms part of a whole which is more vast or extensive
which includes Mathew 21: 23-40. The chief priests and the Elders had asked Jesus
with which authority he did those things (Mt 21: 23). They considered themselves the
patrons of everything and they did not want anybody to do things without their
permission. The answer of Jesus is divided into three parts: 1) He, in turn, asks them
a question because he wants to know from them if John the Baptist was from
heaven or from earth (Mt 21: 24-27). 2) He then tells them the parable of the two sons
(Mt 21: 28-32). 3) He tells them the parable of the vineyard (Mt 21: 33-46) which is
today’s Gospel.
• Mathew 21: 33-40: The parable of the vineyard. Jesus begins as follows: “Listen to
another parable: There was a man, a landowner, who planted a vineyard, he fenced
it around, dug a winepress in it and built a tower”. The parable is a beautiful summary
of the history of Israel, taken from the prophet Isaiah (Is 5: 1-7). Jesus addresses
himself to the chief priests, to the elders (Mt 21: 23) and to the Pharisees (Mt 21: 45)
and He gives a response to the question which they addressed to him asking about
the origin of his authority (Mt 21: 23). Through this parable, Jesus clarifies several
things: (a) He reveals the origin of his authority: He is the Son, the heir. (b) He
denounces the abuse of the authority of the tenants, that is of the priests and elders

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 who were not concerned and did not take care of the people of God. (c) He defends
the authority of the prophets, sent by God, but who were killed by the priests and
the elders. (4) He unmasks the authority by which they manipulate the religion and
kill the Son, because they do not want to lose the source of income which they
succeed to accumulate for themselves, throughout the centuries.
• Mathew 21: 41: The sentence which they give to themselves. At the end of the parable
Jesus asks: “Now, when the owner of the vineyard comes, what will he do to those
tenants? They are not aware that the parable was speaking precisely of them. This is
why, with the response that they give, they decree their own condemnation: “The
chief priests and the elders of the people answered: “He will bring those wretches
to a wretched end and lease the vineyard to other tenants who will deliver the
produce to him at the proper time.” Several times Jesus uses this same method. He
leads the person to say the truth about himself, without being aware that he
condemns himself. For example, in the case of the Pharisee who condemns the
young woman considering her a sinner (Luke 7: 42-43) and in the case of the parable
of the two sons (Mt 21: 28-32).
• Mathew 21: 42-46: The sentence given by themselves was confirmed by their
behavior. From the clarification given by Jesus, the chief priests, the elders and the
Pharisees understand that the parable speaks about them, but they do not convert.
All the contrary! They keep to their own project to kill Jesus. They will reject “the
corner stone”. But they do not have the courage to do it openly, because they fear
the reaction of the people.
• The diverse groups which held the power at the time of Jesus. In today’s Gospel two
groups appear which, at that time, governed: the priests, the elders and the
Pharisees. Then, some brief information on the power which each of these groups
and others had is given:
o The priests: They were the ones in charge of the worship in the Temple. The
people took to the Temple the tithe and the other taxes and offerings to pay
the promises made. The High Priest occupied a very important place in the life
of the nation, especially after the exile. He was chosen and appointed from
among the three or four aristocratic families who possessed more power and
riches.
o The elders or the Chief Priests of the People: They were the local leaders in the
different villages of the city. Their origin came from the heads of the ancient
tribes.
o The Sadducees: they were the lay aristocratic elite of society. Many of them
were rich merchants or landlords. From the religious point of view they were
conservative. They did not accept the changes supported by the Pharisees, for
example, faith in the resurrection and the existence of the angels.
o The Pharisees: Pharisee means separated. They struggled in a way that
through the perfect observance of the Law of purity, people would succeed in
being pure, separated and saint as the Law and Tradition demanded! Because

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 of the exemplary witness of their life according to the norms of the time, their
moral authority was greatly extended in the villages of Galilee.
o Scribe or doctor of the Law: They were the ones in charge of teaching. They
dedicated their life to the study of the Law of God and taught people what to
do to observe all the Law of God. Not all the Scribes belonged to the same line.
Some were united with the Pharisees, others with the Sadducees.

Personal Questions
• Have you sometimes felt that you were controlled in an undue manner, at home, at
work, in the Church? Which was your reaction? Was it the same as that of Jesus?
• If Jesus would return today and would tell us the same parable, how would I react?

Concluding Prayer
As the height of heaven above earth, so strong is faithful the love of the Lord for those
who fear him. As the distance of east from west, so far from us does he put our faults.
(Ps 103: 11-12)

Saturday, March 6, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Faithful Father, you are our God of grace, mercy and forgiveness.
When mercy and pardon sound paternalistic to modern ears, make us realize, Lord,
that you challenge us to face ourselves and to become new people, responsible for the
destiny of ourselves and for the happiness of others.
Make us responsive to your love through Christ Jesus our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Luke 15: 1-3, 11-32

The tax collectors and sinners, however, were all crowding round to listen to him, and
the Pharisees and scribes complained saying, “This man welcomes sinners and eats
with them.” So, he told them this parable:
There was a man who had two sons. The younger one said to his father, "Father, let me
have the share of the estate that will come to me." So, the father divided the property
between them. A few days later, the younger son got together everything he had and
left for a distant country where he squandered his money on a life of debauchery.
When he had spent it all, that country experienced a severe famine, and now he began
to feel the pinch; so, he hired himself out to one of the local inhabitants who put him
on his farm to feed the pigs. And he would willingly have filled himself with the husks

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the pigs were eating but no one would let him have them. Then he came to his senses
and said, "How many of my father's hired men have all the food they want and more,
and here am I dying of hunger! I will leave this place and go to my father and say:
Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you; I no longer deserve to be called
your son; treat me as one of your hired men." So, he left the place and went back to his
father.
While he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was moved with pity. He ran to
the boy, clasped him in his arms and kissed him. Then his son said, "Father, I have
sinned against heaven and against you. I no longer deserve to be called your son." But
the father said to his servants, "Quick! Bring out the best robe and put it on him; put a
ring on his finger and sandals on his feet. Bring the calf we have fattened and kill it; we
will celebrate by having a feast, because this son of mine was dead and has come back
to life; he was lost and is found." And they began to celebrate.
Now the elder son was out in the fields, and on his way back, as he drew near the
house, he could hear music and dancing. Calling one of the servants he asked what it
was all about. The servant told him, "Your brother has come, and your father has killed
the calf we had been fattening because he has got him back safe and sound." He was
angry then and refused to go in, and his father came out and began to urge him to
come in; but he retorted to his father, "All these years I have slaved for you and never
once disobeyed any orders of yours, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me
to celebrate with my friends. But, for this son of yours, when he comes back after
swallowing up your property -- he and his loose women -- you kill the calf we had been
fattening."
The father said, "My son, you are with me always and all I have is yours. But it was only
right we should celebrate and rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has
come to life; he was lost and is found."

Reflection
• Chapter 15 of Luke’s Gospel is enclosed in the following information: “The tax
collectors and sinners, were all crowding round to listen to him, and the Pharisees
and Scribes complained saying: This man welcomes sinners and eats with them” (Lk
15: 1-3). Immediately Luke presents these three parables which are bound together
by the same theme: the lost sheep (Lk 15: 4-7), the lost drachma (Lk 15: 8-10), the lost
son (Lk 15: 11-32). This last parable constitutes the theme of today’s Gospel.
• Luke 15: 11-13: The decision of the younger son. A man had two sons. The younger one
asks for the part of the estate which will be his. The father divides everything
between the two and both receive their part. To receive the inheritance is not any
merit of ours. It is a gratuitous gift.
• The inheritance of the gifts of God is distributed among all human beings, whether
Jewish or Pagans, whether Christians or non-Christians. All receive something of the
inheritance of the Father. But not all take care of it in the same way. In this same way,
the younger son leaves and goes to a distant country and squandered his money on
a life of debauchery, getting away from the Father. At the time of Luke, the elder one

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 represented the communities which came from Judaism, and the youngest
represented, the communities from Paganism. And today who is the youngest and
who the less young?
• Luke 15: 14-19: The disillusionment and the will to return to the Father’s home. The
need to find some food makes the young man lose his freedom and he becomes a
slave and takes care of the pigs. This was the condition of life of millions of slaves in
the Roman Empire at the time of Luke. The situation in which he finds himself makes
the young man remember how he was in his Father’s home. Finally, he prepares the
words which he will say to his Father: “I no longer deserve to be called your son! Treat
me as one of your hired men!” The hired man executes the orders, fulfils the law of
servants. The younger son wants to fulfil the law as the Pharisees and the Scribes of
the time of Jesus wanted (Lk 15: 1). The missionaries of the Pharisees accused the
Pagans who were converted to the God of Abraham (Mt 23: 15). At the time of Luke,
some Christians who came from Judaism, submitted themselves to the yoke of the
Law (Ga 1: 6-10).
• Luke 15: 20-24: The joy of the Father when he meets his younger son again. The
parable says that the younger son was still a long way off from the house, but the
Father sees him, and runs to the boy, clasps him in his arms and kissed him. The
impression given by Jesus is that the Father remained all the time at the window to
see if his son would appear around the corner. According to our human way of
thinking and feeling, the joy of the Father seems exaggerated. He does not even
allow his son to finish his words, what he was saying. Nobody listens! The Father does
not want his son to be his slave. He wants him to be his son! This is the great Good
News which Jesus has brought to us! A new robe, new sandals, a ring on his finger,
the calf, the feast! In the immense joy of the encounter, Jesus allows us to see how
great the sadness of the Father is because of the loss of his son. God was very sad,
and the people now become aware of this, seeing the immense joy of the Father
because of the encounter with his son! It is joy shared with all in the feast that he has
prepared.
• Luke 15: 25-28b: The reaction of the older son. The older son returns from his work in
the fields and finds that there is a feast in the house. He refuses to enter. He wants
to know what is happening. When he is told the reason for the feast, he is very angry
and does not want to go in. Closing up in himself, he thinks he has his own right. He
does not like the feast and he does not understand the why of his Father’s joy. This
is a sign that he did not have a great intimacy with the Father, in spite of the fact that
they lived in the same House. In fact, if he would have had it, he would have remarked
the sadness of the Father for the loss of his younger son and would have understood
his joy when his son returned. Those who live very worried about the observance of
the Law of God, run the risk of forgetting God himself! The young son, even being far
away from home, seemed to know the Father better than the older son who lived
with him. Because the younger one had the courage to go back home to his Father,
while the older one no longer wants to enter the house of the Father. He is not aware
that the Father without him, will lose his joy. Because he, the older son, is also son as
much as the younger one!

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• Luke 15: 28a-30: The attitude of the Father and the response of the older son. The
Father goes out of the house and begs the older son to enter into the house. But he
answers: “All these years I have slaved for you and never once disobeyed any orders
of yours, yet you never offered me so much as a kid for me to celebrate with my
friends. But for this son of yours, when he comes back after swallowing up your
property, he and his loose women, you kill the calf we had been fattening.” The older
son also wants feast and joy, but only with his own friends. Not with his brother and
much less with his Father, and he does not even call brother his own brother, but
rather “this your son,” as if he were no longer his brother. And he, the older brother,
speaks about prostitutes. It is his malice which makes him interpret the life of his
younger brother in this way. How many times the older brother interprets badly the
life of the younger brother. How many times, we Catholics interpret badly the life
and the religion of others! The attitude of the Father is the contrary! He accepts the
younger son but does not want to lose the older son. Both of them form part of the
family. One cannot exclude the other!
• Luke 15: 31-32: The final response of the Father. In the same way, like the Father who
does not pay attention to the arguments of the younger son, in the same way he
does not pay attention to those of the older son and he says: “My son, you are with
me always and all I have is yours, but it was only right we should celebrate and
rejoice, because your brother here was dead and has come to life; he was lost and is
found!” Is it that the older son was really aware that he was always with his Father
and to find in his presence the reason for his joy? The expression of the Father: “All I
have is yours!” includes also the younger son who has returned! The older brother
does not have the right to make a distinction, and if he wants to be the son of the
Father, he has to accept him as he is and not as he would like the Father to be! The
parable does not say which was the final response of the older brother. It is up to the
older son, whom we are, to give it!
• The one who experiences the gratuitous and surprising irruption of the love of God
in his life becomes joyful and wishes to communicate this joy to others. The salvation
action of God is a source of joy: “Rejoice with me!” (Lk 15: 6, 9). And from this
experience of God’s gratuitousness emerges the sense of feast and joy (Lk 15: 32). At
the end of the parable, the Father asks to be happy and to celebrate, to feast. The joy
is threatened by the older son, who does not want to enter. He thinks he has the
right to joy only with his own friends and does not want to share the joy with all the
members of the same human family. He represents those who consider themselves
just and observant, and who think that they do not need any conversion.

Personal Questions
• Which is the image of God that I have since my childhood? Has it changed during
these past years? If it has changed, why?
• With which of the two sons do I identify myself: with the younger one or with the
older one? Why?

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Concluding Prayer
Bless Yahweh, my soul, from the depths of my being, his holy name; bless Yahweh, my
soul, never forget all his acts of kindness. (Ps 103: 1-2)

Sunday, March 7, 2021

Third Sunday of Lent
The purification of the temple Jesus, the new temple
John 2: 13-25

Opening Prayer
Spirit of truth, sent by Jesus to guide us to the whole truth, enlighten our minds so that
we may understand the Scriptures. You who overshadowed Mary and made her fruitful
ground where the Word of God could germinate, purify our hearts from all obstacles to
the Word. Help us to learn like her to listen with good and pure hearts to the Word that
God speaks to us in life and in Scripture, so that we may observe the Word and produce
good fruit through our perseverance.

Reading
• Context and structure:
Our passage follows immediately on the first sign that Jesus gave in Cana of Galilee
(2: 1-12). Some expressions and phrases are repeated in both scenes and lead us to
think that the author wanted to contrast the two scenes. In Cana, a village in Galilee,
during a wedding feast, a Jewish woman, the mother of Jesus, expresses her
unconditional faith in Jesus and invites others to accept his word (2: 3-5). On the
other hand, "the Jews," during the Paschal celebration in Jerusalem, refuse to believe
in Jesus and do not accept his word. In Cana, Jesus worked his first sign (2: 11) and
here the Jews ask for a sign (v. 18) but then do not accept the sign Jesus gives them
(2: 20).
The development of our little story is quite simple. Verse 13 places in a framework a
context of space and time that is very precise and significant: Jesus goes to
Jerusalem for the Paschal feast. Verse 14 introduces the scene that provokes a strong
reaction on the part of Jesus. Jesus‟ action is described in verse 15 and is caused by
Jesus himself in verse 16. Jesus‟ action and words in turn provoke two reactions. First,
that of the disciples, one of admiration (v. 17); secondly, that of the "Jews", one of
dissent and indignation (v. 18). They want an explanation from Jesus (v. 19) but they
are not open to receive this (v. 20). At this point the narrator intervenes to interpret
Jesus‟ words authentically (v. 21). "The Jews" cannot understand the real meaning of
Jesus‟ word. However, also the disciples, who admire him as a prophet full of zeal for
God, cannot grasp the meaning now. It is only after the fulfilment that they will
believe in Jesus‟ word (v. 22). Finally, the narrator offers us a brief account of Jesus‟

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 reception by the crowds in Jerusalem (vv. 23-25). Yet, this faith, founded only on his
signs, does not enthuse Jesus.
• The text:
13
The Passover of the Jews was at hand, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. 14 In the
temple he found those who were selling oxen and sheep and pigeons, and the
moneychangers at their business. 15 And making a whip of cords, he drove them all,
with the sheep and oxen, out of the temple; and he poured out the coins of the
moneychangers and overturned their tables. 16 And he told those who sold the
pigeons, "Take these things away; you shall not make my Father's house a house of
trade." 17 His disciples remembered that it was written, "Zeal for thy house will
consume me." 18 The Jews then said to him, "What sign have you to show us for doing
this?" 19 Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it
up." 20 The Jews then said, "It has taken forty-six years to build this temple, and will
you raise it up in three days?" 21 But he spoke of the temple of his body. 22 When
therefore he was raised from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said
this; and they believed the scripture and the word which Jesus had spoken.
23
Now when he was in Jerusalem at the Passover feast, many believed in his name
when they saw the signs which he did; 24 but Jesus did not trust himself to them, 25
because he knew all men and needed no one to bear witness of man; for he himself
knew what was in man.

A Moment of Prayerful Silence

so that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.

Some Questions
• Am I able to trust myself completely in God‟s hands in an act of faith or do I ask for
signs?
• God gives me many signs of his presence in my life. Am I capable of seeing and
accepting them?
• Am I satisfied with exterior worship or do I try to offer God the worship of my
obedience in my daily life?
• Who is Jesus for me? Am I aware that only in him and through him is it possible to
meet God?

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A Key to the Reading
for those who wish to go deeper into the theme.

• "The Jews"
John’s Gospel is characterized by a long argument concerning the identity of Jesus.
In this Christological argument, on the one hand we have Jesus and on the other
"the Jews". But this argument, rather than reflecting the historical situation at the
time of Jesus, reflects the situation which developed towards the 80s of the first
century between the followers of Jesus and the Jews who had not accepted him as
the Son of God and Messiah. It is certain that the conflict had already begun at the
time of Jesus, but the gap between the two groups, both of whom were Jews,
became set when those who did not accept Jesus as Son of God and Messiah and
held him to be a blasphemer, expelled the disciples of Jesus from the synagogue,
that is, from the community of Jewish believers (see Jn 9: 22; 12: 42; 16: 2).
Hence, "the Jews" that we often come across in the fourth Gospel, do not represent
the Jewish people. They are literary characters in the Christological argument that
evolves in this Gospel. They do not represent a race, but those who have taken the
clear position of an absolute rejection of Jesus. In any reading of the Gospel, "the
Jews" are all those who refuse Jesus, no matter what the race or time to which they
belong.
• The Signs
The healings and other thaumaturgical acts of Jesus that the synoptic Gospels (Mark,
Matthew and Luke) call miracles or prodigies, John calls signs. As signs, they point to
something that goes beyond the visible action. They reveal the mystery of Jesus.
Thus, for instance, the healing of the man born blind reveals Jesus as light of the
world (Jn 8: 12; 9: 1-41), the raising of Lazarus from the dead reveals Jesus as the
resurrection and the life (see Jn 11: 1-45).
In our passage, "the Jews" ask for a sign in the sense of a proof that will authenticate
the words and actions of Jesus. But in the fourth Gospel, Jesus does not work signs
as proof guaranteeing faith. A faith founded on signs is not sufficient. It is only an
initial faith that may lead to true faith (see Jn 20: 30-31), but may also not do so (see
Jn 6: 26).
John’s Gospel asks us to go beyond signs, not to dwell on the spectacular, but to see
the deepest meaning in the revelation that the signs point to.
• Jesus, New Temple
The temple in Jerusalem was the place of the presence of God in the midst of the
people. Yet the prophets constantly insisted that it was not sufficient to go to the
temple and offer sacrifices there in order to be accepted by God (see Is 1: 10-17; Jer 7:
1-28; Am 4: 4-5; 5: 21-27). God wants obedience and a life morally straight and just. If
the exterior cult does not express such a vital attitude, then it is empty (see 1 Sam 15:
22). Jesus inserts himself in that prophetic tradition of the purification of the cult (see

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 Za 14: 23 and Mi 3: 1 for the action of the coming "Messiah" in this context). The
disciples admire him for this and immediately think that for this attitude he will have
to pay personally like Jeremiah (see Jer 26: 1-15) and other prophets. But in John’s
Gospel, Jesus’ action is more than just a prophetic gesture of zeal for God. It is a sign
that prefigures and proclaims the great sign of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
More than just a purification, that which Jesus does is to abolish the temple and the
cult there celebrated, because from now on the place of the presence of God is the
glorified body of Jesus (see Jn 1: 51; 4: 23).

Psalm 50
The cult according to God’s will

The Mighty One, God the Lord, speaks and summons the earth
from the rising of the sun to its setting. Out of Zion, the perfection of beauty, God
shines forth.
Our God comes, he does not keep silence, before him is a devouring fire,
round about him a mighty tempest.
He calls to the heavens above and to the earth, that he may judge his people:
"Gather to me my faithful ones,
who made a covenant with me by sacrifice!" The heavens declare his righteousness,
for God himself is judge!
"Hear, O my people, and I will speak,
O Israel, I will testify against you. I am God, your God. I do not reprove you for your
sacrifices;
your burnt offerings are continually before me. I will accept no bull from your house,
nor he-goat from your folds.
For every beast of the forest is mine, the cattle on a thousand hills. I know all the birds
of the air,
and all that moves in the field is mine. "If I were hungry, I would not tell you; for the
world and all that is in it is mine. Do I eat the flesh of bulls,
or drink the blood of goats?
Offer to God a sacrifice of thanksgiving, and pay your vows to the Most High; and call
upon me in the day of trouble;
I will deliver you, and you shall glorify me." But to the wicked God says:
"What right have you to recite my statutes, or take my covenant on your lips?
For you hate discipline, and you cast my words behind you.
If you see a thief, you are a friend of his; and you keep company with adulterers. "You
give your mouth free rein for evil, and your tongue frames deceit.

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You sit and speak against your brother; you slander your own mother's son.
These things you have done and I have been silent;
you thought that I was one like yourself.
But now I rebuke you and lay the charge before you. "Mark this, then, you who forget
God, lest I rend, and there be none to deliver!
He who brings thanksgiving as his sacrifice honors me; to him who orders his way
aright
I will show the salvation of God!"

Closing Prayer
Father, you have constituted your Son, Jesus, new temple of the new and eternal
alliance, built not by the hands of human beings but by the Holy Spirit. Grant that, as
we welcome in faith his Word, we may dwell in him and thus adore you in spirit and in
truth. Open our eyes to the needs of our brothers and sisters who are the members of
the body of Christ, so that in serving them we may offer you the cult that you desire
from us. We ask you this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Monday, March 8, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Just and holy God, our loving Father,
you offered us your hand in friendship and you sent us your Son Jesus to go with us the
road of obedience and loyalty. God, we often hurt this friendship, we act as if we were
not your sons and daughters.
See the look of shame on our faces. Forgive us, for we count on you. Accept our thanks
for continuing to take us as we are and loving us notwithstanding our sins.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Luke 4: 24-30

And Jesus went on, “In truth I tell you, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country.”
“There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah's day, when heaven
remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout
the land, but Elijah was not sent to any one of these: he was sent to a widow at
Zarephath, a town in Sidonia. And in the prophet Elisha's time there were many
suffering from virulent skin-diseases in Israel, but none of these was cured -- only
Naaman the Syrian.”
When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They sprang to their

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feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their
town was built on, intending to throw him off the cliff, but he passed straight through
the crowd and walked away.

Reflection
• Today’s Gospel (Lk 4: 24-30) forms part of a larger part (Lk 4: 14-32) Jesus had
presented his program in the Synagogue of Nazareth, using a text from Isaiah which
spoke about the poor, the prisoners, the blind and the oppressed (Is 61: 1-2) and which
mirrored the situation of the people of Galilee at the time of Jesus. In the name of
God, Jesus takes a stand and defines his mission: to proclaim the Good News to the
poor, to proclaim liberation to prisoners, to give back their sight to the blind, to
restore liberty to the oppressed. After finishing the reading, he updated the text and
says: “Today this text is being fulfilled even while you are listening!” (Lk 4: 21). All those
present were astonished (Lk 4: 16, 22b). But immediately after there was a reaction
of discredit. The people in the Synagogue were scandalized and did not want to
know anything about Jesus. They said: “Is he not the son of Joseph?” (Lk 4: 22b). Why
were they scandalized? Which is the reason for this unexpected reaction?
• Because Jesus quoted the text of Isaiah only to the part that says: “to proclaim a year
of favor from the Lord”, and he omits the end of the sentence which says: “to
proclaim a day of vengeance for our God” (Is 61: 2). The people of Nazareth remained
surprised because Jesus omitted the phrase on vengeance. They wanted the Good
News of the liberation of the oppressed to be an action of vengeance on the part of
God against the oppressors. In this case the coming of the Kingdom would be only
a superficial change, and not a change or conversion of the system. Jesus does not
accept this way of thinking. His experience of God the Father helps him to
understand better the significance of the prophecies. He takes away the vengeance.
The people of Nazareth do not accept that proposal and the authority of Jesus begins
to diminish: “Is he not Joseph’s son?”
• Luke 4: 24: No prophet is ever accepted in his own country. The people of Nazareth
were jealous because of the miracles which Jesus had worked in Capernaum,
because he had not worked them in Nazareth. Jesus answers: “No prophet is ever
accepted in his own country!” In fact, they did not accept the new image of God
which Jesus communicated to them through this new and freer interpretation of
Isaiah. The message of the God of Jesus went beyond the limits of the race of the
Jews and opened itself to accept the excluded and the whole humanity.
• Luke 4: 25-27: Two stories of the Old Testament. In order to help the community to
overcome the scandal and to understand the universality of God, Jesus uses two
well- known stories of the Old Testament: one of Elijah and the other one of Elisha.
Through these stories he criticized the people of Nazareth who were so closed up in
themselves. Elijah was sent to the foreign widow of Zarephah (1 Kg 17: 7-16). Elisha
was sent to take care of the foreigner of Syria (2 Kg 5: 14).
• Luke 4: 28-30: They intended to throw him off the cliff, but he passed straight
through the crowd and walked away. What Jesus said did not calm down the people.

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 On the contrary! The use of these two passages of the Bible also caused them to get
angrier. The community of Nazareth reached the point of wanting to kill Jesus. And
thus, at the moment in which he presented his project to accept the excluded, Jesus
himself was excluded! But he remained calm! The anger of the others did not
succeed to make him change his mind. In this way, Luke indicates that it is difficult
to overcome the mentality of privilege which is closed up in itself. And he showed
that the polemic attitude of the Pagans already existed in the time of Jesus. Jesus
had the same difficulty which the Hebrew community had in the time of Luke.

Personal Questions
• Is Jesus‟ program also my program, our program? Is my attitude that of Jesus or that
of the people of Nazareth?
• Who are those excluded whom we should accept better in our community?

Concluding Prayer
My whole being yearns and pines for Yahweh's courts;
My heart and my body cry out for joy to the living God. (Ps 84: 2)

Tuesday, March 9, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Lord God,
you want us to live our faith not so much as a set of rules and practices but as a
relationship from person to person with you and with people. God, keep our hearts
turned to you, that we may live what we believe and that we may express our love for
you in terms of service to those around us, as Jesus did, your Son, who lives with you
and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.

Gospel Reading - Matthew 18: 21-35

Then Peter went up to him and said, 'Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he
wrongs me? As often as seven times?' Jesus answered, 'Not seven, I tell you, but
seventy-seven times. 'And so, the kingdom of Heaven may be compared to a king who
decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they
brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; he had no means of paying, so his
master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all
his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his
master's feet, with the words, "Be patient with me and I will pay the whole sum." And
the servant's master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt.

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Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him
one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him,
saying, "Pay what you owe me." His fellow-servant fell at his feet and appealed to him,
saying, "Be patient with me and I will pay you." But the other would not agree; on the
contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow-servants
were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their
master and reported the whole affair to him. Then the master sent for the man and
said to him, "You wicked servant, I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed
to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow-servant just as I had pity
on you?" And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should
pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each
forgive your brother from your heart.'

Reflection
• Today’s Gospel speaks to us about the need for pardon. It is not easy to forgive,
because certain grief and pain continue to burn the heart. There are persons who
say: “I forgive, but I do not forget!” Rancor, tensions, diverse opinions, insults, offences,
provocations, all this renders pardon and reconciliation difficult. Let us try to
meditate on the words of Jesus which speak about reconciliation (Mt 18: 21-22) and
which speak to us about the parable of pardon without limits (Mt 18: 23-35).
• Matthew 18: 21-22: To forgive seventy times seven! Jesus had spoken of the
importance of pardon and of the need of knowing how to accept the brothers and
sisters to help them to reconcile themselves with the community (Mt 18: 15-20)
Before these words of Jesus, Peter asks: “How often should I forgive my brother if he
wrongs me? As often as seven times?” Number seven indicates perfection. In this
case, it was synonymous of always. Jesus goes far beyond the proposal of Peter. He
eliminates any possibility of limitation to pardon: “Not seven I tell you, but seventy-
seven times!” That is, seventy times always! Because there is no proportion between
the pardon which we receive from God and the pardon which we should offer to the
brother, as the parable of pardon without limit teaches us.
• The expression seventy-seven times was a clear reference to the words of Lamech
who said: “·I killed a man for wounding me, a boy for striking me. Sevenfold
vengeance for Cain but seventy- sevenfold for Lamech” (Gen 4: 23-24). Jesus wants
to invert the spiral of violence which entered the world because of the disobedience
of Adam and Eve, because of the killing of Abel by Cain and for the vengeance of
Lamech. When uncontrolled violence invades life, everything goes wrong and life
disintegrates itself. The Deluge arrived and the Tower of Babel appeared for universal
dominion (Gen 2: 1 to 11: 32).
• Matthew 18: 23-35: The parable of pardon without limits. The debt of ten thousand
talents was approximately around 164 tons of gold. The debt of one hundred denarii
was worth about 30 grams of gold. There is no comparison between the two! Even if
the debtor together with his wife and children set to work their whole life, they would
never be capable to get 164 tons of gold. Before God’s love which forgives

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 gratuitously our debt of 164 tons of gold, is more than just on our part to forgive
gratuitously the debt of 30 grams of gold, seventy times always! The only limit to the
gratuity of pardon of God is our incapacity to forgive our brother! (Mt 18: 34; 6: 15).
• The community, an alternative space of solidarity and of fraternity: the society of the
Roman Empire was hard and without a heart, without any space for the little ones.
They sought refuge for the heart and did not find it. The Synagogue was also
demanding and did not offer them any place. And in the Christian communities, the
rigor of some in the observance of the Law made life together difficult because they
used the same criteria of the Synagogue. Besides this, toward the end of the first
century, in the Christian communities began to appear the same divisions which
existed in society between rich and poor (Jm 2: 1-9). Instead of making of the
community a space of acceptance, they ran the risk of becoming a place of
condemnation and conflict. Matthew wants to enlighten the communities, in such
a way that these be an alternative space of solidarity and of fraternity. They should
be Good News for the poor.

Personal Questions
• Why is it so difficult to forgive?
• In our community is there a space for reconciliation? How?

Concluding Prayer
Direct me in your ways, Yahweh, and teach me your paths. Encourage me to walk in
your truth and teach me since you are the God who saves me. For my hope is in you all
day long. (Ps 25: 4-5)

Wednesday, March 10, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
your prophets remind us in season and out of season of our responsibilities toward you
and toward the world of people. When they disturb and upset us, let it be a holy
disturbance that makes us restless, eager to do your will and to bring justice and love
around us.
We ask you this through Christ our Lord.

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Gospel Reading - Matthew 5: 17-19
“Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not
to abolish but to complete them. In truth I tell you, till heaven and earth disappear, not
one dot, not one little stroke, is to disappear from the Law until all its purpose is
achieved.
Therefore, anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and
teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of Heaven;
but the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the
kingdom of Heaven.”

Reflection
• Today’s Gospel (Mt 5: 17-19) teaches how to observe the law of God in such a way that
its practice indicates in what its complete fulfilment consists (Mt 5: 17-19). Matthew
writes in order to help the communities of the converted Jews to overcome the
criticism of the brothers of their own race who accused them saying: You are
unfaithful to the Law of Moses.” Jesus himself had been accused of infidelity to the
Law of God. Matthew has the clarifying response of Jesus concerning his accusers.
Thus, he gives some light to help the communities solve their problems.
• Using images of daily life, with simple and direct words, Jesus had said that the
mission of the community, its reason for being, is that of being salt and light! He had
given some advice regarding each one of the two images. Then follow two or three
brief verses of today’s Gospel.
• Matthew 5: 17-18: Not one dot, nor one stroke is to disappear from the Law. There
were several different tendencies in the communities of the first Christians. Some
thought that it was not necessary to observe the laws of the Old Testament, because
we are saved by faith in Jesus and not by the observance of the Law (Rm 3: 21-26).
Others accepted Jesus, the Messiah, but they did not accept the liberty of spirit with
which some of the communities lived the presence of Jesus. They thought that
being Jews they had to continue to observe the laws of the Old Testament (Acts 15:
1, 5). But there were Christians who lived so fully in the freedom of the Spirit, who
no longer looked at the life of Jesus of Nazareth, nor to the Old Testament and they
even went so far as to say: ”Anathema Jesus!” (1 Co 12: 3). Observing these tensions,
Matthew tries to find some balance between both extremes. The community should
be a space, where the balance can be attained and lived. The answer given by Jesus
to those who criticized him continued to be actual for the communities: “I have not
come to abolish the law, but to complete it!” The communities could not be against
the Law, nor could they close up themselves in the observance of the law. Like Jesus,
they should advance, and show, in practice, which was the objective which the law
wanted to attain in the life of persons, that is, in the perfect practice of love.
• Matthew 5: 17-18: Not one dot or stroke will disappear from the Law. It is for those
who wanted to get rid of all the law that Matthew recalls the other parable of Jesus:
“Anyone who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches

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 others to do the same will be considered the least in the Kingdom of Heaven; but
the person who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the
Kingdom of Heaven”. The great concern in Matthew’s Gospel is to show that the Old
Testament, Jesus of Nazareth and the life in the Spirit cannot be separated. The three
of them form part of the same and unique project of God and communicate to us
the certainty of faith: The God of Abraham and of Sarah is present in the midst of the
community by faith in Jesus of Nazareth who sends us his Spirit.

Personal Questions
• How do I see and live the law of God: as a growing horizon of light or as an imposition
which limits my freedom?
• What can we do today for our brothers and sisters who consider all this type of
discussion as obsolete and not actual? What can we learn from them?

Concluding Prayer
Praise Yahweh, Jerusalem, Zion, praise your God.
For he gives strength to the bars of your gates, he blesses your children within you. (Ps
145: 12-13)

Thursday, March 11, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Lord our God, many of us never had it so good and so we have become smug and self-
satisfied, happy in our own little world.
God, may our ears remain open to your word and our hearts to you and to our brothers
and sisters. Do not allow us to forget you, or to place our trust in ourselves.
Make us restless for you through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Luke 11: 14-23

He was driving out a devil and it was dumb; and it happened that when the devil had
gone out the dumb man spoke, and the people were amazed. But some of them said,
“It is through Beelzebul, the prince of devils, that he drives devils out.”
Others asked him, as a test, for a sign from heaven; but, knowing what they were
thinking, he said to them, “Any kingdom which is divided against itself is heading for
ruin, and house collapses against house. So, too, with Satan: if he is divided against
himself, how can his kingdom last? - since you claim that it is through Beelzebul that I
drive devils out. Now if it is through Beelzebul that I drive devils out, through whom do

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your own sons drive them out? They shall be your judges, then. But if it is through the
finger of God that I drive devils out, then the kingdom of God has indeed caught you
unawares. So long as a strong man fully armed guards his own home, his goods are
undisturbed; but when someone stronger than himself attacks and defeats him, the
stronger man takes away all the weapons he relied on and shares out his spoil.”
“Anyone who is not with me is against me; and anyone who does not gather in with me
throws away.”

Reflection
• Today’s Gospel is that of Luke. We already meditated on the parallel text of Mark (Mk
3: 22- 27) during January.
• Luke 11: 14-16: The diverse reactions before the expulsion of a devil. Jesus had expelled
a devil which was dumb. The expulsion produced two different reactions. On the one
side, the crowd of persons who remain astonished and surprised. The people accept
Jesus and believe in him. On the other side, those who do not accept Jesus and do
not believe in him. Among the latter, some said that Jesus cast out the devils in the
name of Beelzebul, the prince of devils, and others wanted a sign from heaven. Mark
says that it was a question of the Scribes who had come from Jerusalem (Mk 3: 22),
who were not in agreement with the liberty of Jesus. They wanted to defend the
Tradition against the novelty of Jesus.
• Luke 11: 17-22: Jesus‟ answer is divided into three parts:
o 1st part: Comparison with a divided kingdom. (vv. 17-18a) Jesus denounces the
absurdity of the calumny of the Scribes. To say that he casts out the devils with
the help of the prince of the devils means to deny the evidence. It is the same
thing as saying that water is dry, and that the sun is darkness. The Doctors of
Jerusalem slandered against him because they did not know how to explain
the benefits which Jesus fulfilled for the people. They were afraid to lose their
leadership. They felt threatened in their authority before the people.
o 2nd part: through whom do your own sons drive them out? (vv. 18b-20) Jesus
provokes the accusers and asks: “But if it is through Beelzebul that I drive out
devils, in whose name do your disciples drive them out?” Let them respond
and explain themselves! “If I drive out the devil through the finger of God, then
the Kingdom of God has indeed caught you unawares.”
o 3rd part: when someone stronger than himself attacks and defeats him, the
stronger one takes away all weapons. (vv. 21-22) Jesus compares the devil to a
strong man. Nobody, except a stronger person, can rob in the house of a strong
man: Jesus is the strongest. This is why he succeeds to enter into the house
and to get hold of the strong man. He succeeds in driving out the devils. Jesus
seizes the strong man and now robs in his house, that is, he liberates the
persons who were under the power of evil. The Prophet Isaiah had used the
same comparison to describe the coming of the Messiah (Is 49: 24-25). This is

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 why Luke says that the expulsion of the devil is an evident sign that the
Kingdom of God has arrived.
• Luke 11: 23: Anyone who is not with me is against me. Jesus ends his response with
this phrase: “Anyone who is not with me is against me. And anyone who does not
gather in with me throws away.” On another occasion, also regarding the expulsion
of a devil, the disciples prevented a man to use the name of Jesus to drive out the
devil because he was not one of their group. Jesus answered: “You must not stop
him: anyone who is not against you is for you!” (Lk 9: 50) These two phrases seem to
be contradictory, but they are not. The phrase in today’s Gospel is said against the
enemies who have a preconception against Jesus: “Anyone who is not with me is
against me. And anyone who does not gather in with me throws away.” The
preconception and the lack of acceptance make dialogue impossible and break the
union. The other phrase is said for the disciples who thought they had the monopoly
on Jesus. “Anyone who is not against you is for you!” Many persons who are not
Christians practice love, goodness, justice, many times in a much better way than
Christians. We cannot exclude them. They are brothers and workers in the
construction of the Kingdom. We Christians are not the owners of Jesus. On the
contrary: Jesus is our Lord!

Personal Questions
• “Anyone who is not with me, is against me. And anyone who does not gather in with
me, throws away”. How does this take place in my life?
• “Do not stop him, because anyone who is not against you is for you!” How does this
take place in my life?

Concluding Prayer
Come, let us cry out with joy to Yahweh, acclaim the rock of our salvation.
Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving, acclaim him with music. (Ps 95: 1-2)

Friday, March 12, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
God, we do not want to die; we want to live.
We want to be happy but without paying the price. We belong to our times, when
sacrifice and suffering are out of fashion. God, make life worth the pain to be lived,
Give us back the age-old realization that life means to be born again and again in pain,
that it may become again a journey of hope to you, together with Christ Jesus our Lord.

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Gospel Reading - Mark 12: 28-34
One of the scribes who had listened to them debating appreciated that Jesus had
given a good answer and put a further question to him, 'Which is the first of all the
commandments?'
Jesus replied, 'This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one, only Lord, and
you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your
mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbor as
yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.'
The scribe said to him, 'Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true, that he is one
and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and
strength, and to love your neighbor as yourself, this is far more important than any
burnt offering or sacrifice.'
Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, 'You are not far from the kingdom of
God.' And after that no one dared to question him anymore.

Reflection
• In today’s Gospel (Mk 12: 28b-34), the Scribes and the Doctors of the Law want to
know from Jesus which is the greatest commandment of all. Even today, many
people want to know what is more important in religion. Some say that it is to be
baptized. Others say that it is to go to Mass and to participate in the Sunday Mass.
Others still say: to love our neighbor and to struggle for a more just world! Others are
concerned only of the appearances and of the tasks in the Church.
• Mark 12: 28: The question of the Doctor of the Law. Sometime before the question of
the Scribe, the discussion was with the Sadducees concerning faith in the
resurrection (Mk 12: 23- 27). The doctor who had participated in the debate, was
pleased with Jesus‟ answer, he perceived in it his great intelligence and wishes to
profit of this occasion to ask a question to clarify something: “Which is the greatest
commandment of all?” At that time, the Jews had an enormous amount of norms to
regulate the observance of the Ten Commandments of the Law of God. Some said:
“All these norms have the same value, because they all come from God. It is not up
to us to introduce any distinction in the things of God”. Others said: “Some laws are
more important than others, and for this reason, they oblige more!” The Doctor
wants to know what Jesus thinks.
• Mark 12: 29-31: The response of Jesus. Jesus responds quoting a passage from the
Bible to say that the greatest among the commandments is “to love God with all
your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all our strength!” (Dt 6: 4-
5). At the time of Jesus, the pious Jews recited this phrase three times a day: in the
morning, at noon and in the evening. It was so well known among them just as the
Our Father is among us. And Jesus adds, quoting the Bible again: “The second one
is: You shall love your neighbor as yourself” (Lec 19: 18). There is no other greater

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 commandment than these two.” A brief but very profound response! It is the
summary of everything that Jesus teaches on God and his life (Mt 7: 12).
• Mark 12: 32-33: The response of the Doctor of the Law. The doctor agrees with Jesus
and concludes: “Well said, to love your neighbor as yourself, this is far more important
than any burnt offering or sacrifice”. That is, the commandment of love is more
important than the commandments which concern the worship and sacrifices of
the Temple. The Prophets of the Old Testament already had affirmed this (Hos 6: 6;
Ps 40: 6-8; Ps 51: 16-17). Today we would say that the practice of love is more important
than novenas, promises, sermons and processions.
• Mark 12: 34: The summary of the Kingdom. Jesus confirms the conclusion of the
Doctor and says: “You are not far from the Kingdom of God!”. In fact, the Kingdom of
God consists in the union of two loves: love toward God and love toward neighbor.
Because if God is Father/Mother, we are all brothers and sisters, and we should show
this in practice, living in community. “On these two commandments, depend all the
law and the prophets!” (Mt 22: 40). We, disciples, should keep this law in our mind, in
our intelligence, in our heart, in our hands and feet, which is the first one, because
one cannot reach God without giving oneself totally to one’s neighbor!
• Jesus had said to the Doctor of the law: “You are not far from the Kingdom of God!”
(Mk 12: 34). The Doctor was already close, but in order to be able to enter into the
Kingdom he had to still go a step forward. In the Old Testament the criterion of the
love toward neighbor was: “Love the neighbor as yourself.” In the New Testament
Jesus extends the sense of love: “This is my commandment: love one another as I
have loved you! (Jn 15: 12-23). Then the criterion will be “Love the neighbor as Jesus
has loved us.” This is the sure path to be able to live together in a more just and
fraternal way.

Personal Questions
• Which is the most important thing in religion for you?
• Today, are we closer or farther away from the Kingdom of God than the Doctor who
was praised by Jesus? What do you think?

Concluding Prayer
Among the gods there is none to compare with you, for you are great and do
marvelous deeds,
you, God, and none other. (Ps 86: 8, 10)

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Saturday, March 13, 2021
Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you yourself remind us through your holy people that all our religious practices, even
this eucharistic sacrifice, are not worth anything if we use them to bend you our way.
God, may we come to you in humility and repentance, ready to encounter you in love
and to turn your way. Accept us as your sons and daughters, together with Jesus Christ,
your Son and our Lord forever.

Gospel Reading - Luke 18: 9-14

Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being
upright and despised everyone else, “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a
Pharisee, the other a tax collector.
The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, ‘I thank you, God, that I am not
grasping, unjust, adulterous like everyone else, and particularly that I am not like this
tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.’
The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven;
but he beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’
This man, I tell you, went home again justified; the other did not. For everyone who
raises himself up will be humbled, but anyone who humbles himself will be raised up.”

Reflection
• In today’s Gospel, Jesus, in order to teach us to pray, tells the parable of the Pharisee
and the tax collector. Jesus has a different way of seeing things. He saw something
positive in the tax collector, of whom everybody said: “He does not know how to
pray!” Jesus, through prayer, lived so united to the Father that everything became
an expression of prayer for him.
The way of presenting the parable is very didactic. Luke gives a brief introduction
which serves as the key for reading. Then Jesus tells the parable and at the end Jesus
himself applies the parable to life.
• Luke 18: 9: The introduction. The parable is presented by the following phrase: “He
spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being
upright and despised everyone else!” This phrase is Luke’s. It refers to the time of
Jesus. But it also refers to our own time. There are always persons and groups of
persons who consider themselves upright and faithful and who despise others,
considering them ignorant and unfaithful.

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• Luke 18: 10-13: The Parable. Two men went up to the Temple to pray: one a Pharisee,
the other a tax collector. According to the opinion of people at that time, the tax
collectors were not considered at all, and they could not address themselves to God
because they were impure persons. In the parable, the Pharisee thanks God because
he is better than others. His prayer is nothing other than a praise of himself, an
exaltation of his good qualities and contempt for others and for the tax collector. The
tax collector does not even raise his eyes, but he beats his breast and says: “God, be
merciful to me, a sinner!” He places himself in his own place, that which belongs to
him before God.
• Luke 18: 14: The application. If Jesus would have allowed people to express their
opinion and say which of the two went home justified, all would have answered: “the
Pharisee!” Because at that time, this was the common opinion. Jesus thinks in a
different way. For him, the one who returns home justified, in a good relationship
with God, is not the Pharisee, but rather the tax collector. Jesus turns all things
upside down. It is certain that the religious authority of that time was not pleased
with the application which he makes of the parable.
• Jesus prays. Luke informs us, especially, about the life of prayer of Jesus. He presents
Jesus in constant prayer. The following is a list of texts of Luke’s Gospel, in which
Jesus appears in prayer: Lk 2: 46-50; 3: 21; 4: 1-12; 4: 16; 5: 16; 6: 12; 9: 16, 18, 28; 10: 21; 11: 1;
22: 32; 22: 7-14; 22: 40-46; 23: 34; 23: 46; 24: 30). In reading Luke’s Gospel, you can find
other texts which speak about the prayer of Jesus. Jesus lived in contact with the
Father. To do the will of the Father was the breathing of his life (Jn 5: 19). Jesus prayed
very much and, insisted so that people and his disciples would do the same, because
from the union with God springs truth and the person is able to discover and find
self, in all reality and humility. In Jesus prayer was intimately bound to concrete facts
of life and to the decisions which he had to take. In order to be faithful to the Father’s
project, he sought to remain alone with Him in order to listen to Him. Jesus prayed
the Psalms. He did it like any other pious Jew and he knew them by heart. Jesus even
succeeded in composing his own Psalm. It is the Our Father. His whole life was
permanent prayer: “By himself the Son can do nothing; he can do only what he sees
the Father doing!” (Jn 5: 19, 30). To him can be applied what the Psalm says: “All I can
do is pray!” (Ps 109: 4).

Personal Questions
• Looking into the mirror of this parable, am I like the Pharisee or like the tax collector?
• There are persons who say that they do not know how to pray, but they speak with
God all the time. Do you know any persons like this?

Concluding Prayer
Have mercy on me, O God, in your faithful love, in your great tenderness wipe away my
offences; wash me clean from my guilt, purify me from my sin. (Ps 51: 1-2)

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Sunday, March 14, 2021
Fourth Sunday of Lent
Jesus, Light of the World
John 3: 14-21

Opening Prayer
Shaddai, God of the mountain,
You who make of our fragile life the rock of your dwelling place, lead our mind to strike
the rock of the desert, so that water may gush to quench our thirst.
May the poverty of our feelings cover us as with a mantle in the darkness of the night
and may it open our heart to hear the echo of silence until the dawn, wrapping us with
the light of the new morning, may bring us, with the spent embers of the fire of the
shepherds of the Absolute who have kept vigil for us close to the divine Master, the
flavor of the holy memory.

LECTIO
• The Text:
14
As Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so must the Son of man be lifted up 15 so
that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him. 16 For this is how God loved
the world: he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not perish
but may have eternal life. 17 For God sent his Son into the world not to judge the
world, but so that through him the world might be saved. 18 No one who believes in
him will be judged; but whoever does not believe is judged already, because that
person does not believe in the Name of God's only Son. 19 And the judgement is this:
though the light has come into the world people have preferred darkness to the light
because their deeds were evil. 20 And indeed, everybody who does wrong hates the
light and avoids it, to prevent his actions from being shown up; 21 but whoever does
the truth comes out into the light, so that what he is doing may plainly appear as
done in God.'

A Moment of Silence
Let us allow the voice of the Word to resonate within us.

MEDITATIO
• Some Questions:
• God has loved the world so much…: how many judgments and prejudices on an
insensitive and far away God. Would this not be, perhaps, because we attribute to
him that which instead are our responsibilities?
• Light came into the world, but men have preferred darkness: whoever deludes

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 himself of not being man and lives from God, cannot choose the light because the
illusion would vanish. How much darkness surround my days?
• Whoever does the truth comes out into the light. He is not afraid to show what he
is. Man is not asked to be infallible, but simply to be man. Are we capable of living
our weakness as a place of encounter and of openness to God and to others, who
like myself need to work faithfully in their space and in their time?
• Key to the Reading:
• vv. 14-15. And “as Moses lifted up the snake in the desert, so must the Son of man
be lifted up so that everyone who believes may have eternal life in him”. For the
sons of Israel, who were bitten by the poisonous snakes in the desert, Moses
offered the possibility of salvation by looking at the bronze serpent. If man
succeeds to raise his head and to look on high, God prepares an alternative for
him. He does not oblige, he is there, available. The mystery of human liberty, of
freedom is the most lovable thing which God could invent! The choice of a look, of
an encounter, of a new opportunity… the Son of man in the desert of the world will
be raised up on the cross as a sign of salvation for all those who will feel the need
to continue to live and will not allow themselves to be bitten by poisonous
mistaken choices. Christ is there: cursed is he who has no faith, blessed is he who
believes. This is a fruit to be taken, attached to the wood of life. We also, like the
Israelites in the desert have been “bitten” by the serpent in Eden, and we need to
look at the bronze serpent raised up on the staff of wood not to die: “Whoever
believes in him has eternal life”.
• v. 16. For, in fact, God has loved the world so much, that he gave his only Son, so
that everyone who believes in him may not perish, but may have eternal life. God
loves us with a preferential love, a tangible love, a love which speaks… Could the
Father come directly? Yes, but is the love of a Father, who gives his only Son, not
greater? Every mother, if she is able to choose, prefers to die herself rather than
see her son die. God has loved us so much, to the point of seeing his Son die!
• v. 17. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but so that through
him the world would be saved. A God capable of a perfect judgment sends the
Son not to judge but to be a place of salvation. Truly, it is necessary to set at zero
every thought and to place oneself before such a great love. Only the One who
loves can “judge” that is “save”. He knows the fragility of the human heart and
knows that his image, which has been darkened, has the possibility to return to be
clear, it is not necessary to make it anew. The logics of life does not know death:
God who is life cannot destroy what he himself has wanted to create, that, in some
way, would be to destroy himself.
• v. 18. No one who believes in him will be judged; but whoever does not believe is
judged already, because that person does not believe in the Name of God’s only
Son. Faith is the discriminating element in every existence. Not to believe in the
name of the Only Begotten Son: this is already a condemnation, because he who
does not accept love excludes himself from love!
• vv. 19-20. And the judgment is this: though the light has come into the world,
people have preferred darkness to the light because their deeds were evil. And

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 indeed, everybody who does wrong hates the light and avoids it, to prevent his
actions from being shown up. The only judgment by which humanity is invested,
is the call to live in the light. When the sun rises, nothing can escape from its ray
and the same thing for men. When Christ is born, nobody can escape from this
light which inundates everything. But men have constructed their houses to be
able to flee from the light of the Love which expands itself everywhere, houses of
egoism, houses of opportunity. They have intertwined tunnels and hiding places
to freely continue to carry out their deeds. And can a work deprived of light bear
fruit? The light of existence has only one source: God. He who withdraws from the
light, dies.
• v. 21. But whoever does the truth comes out into the light, so that what he is doing
may plainly appear as done in God. Everything which is under the rays of eternal
love, is filled with light, as it happens in nature. It seems that everything smiles
when the sun shines. And the things which during the day are familiar and
beautiful, at night they take a form which inspires fear by the fact that they are not
visible. The sun does not change its form, but it exalts it in its beauty. Whoever lives
the truth of himself and accepts his fragility as an ornament of his being a man, is
not afraid of light because he has nothing to hide. He knows that as a creature he
acts in the logic of limitation, but this does not diminish the greatness of his work
because his life is one with eternal truth.
• Reflection:
The garden becomes a desert for the man who draws himself away from God. And
in the desert of his limitations as man he once again finds the poisonous bites of
the serpent. But God does not abandon his children, and when they withdraw
away from him, he follows them, ready to intervene when necessary. A serpent, the
symbol for healing, is raised every time that the poison weakens the life in man,
Christ the Lord. If man prefers to look down to the ground and to remain in the
desert of “I do it myself,” God, just the same, offers himself to his gaze: as a serpent.
as the only way in which man can recognize him. Christ has made himself sin,
damned, in order to save his image, in order not to let human life die out.
Condemnation does not belong to God; it is man’s choice. I am completely free not
to live close to the heat. But that means that I will have to look for another type of
heat, if I want to warm up. Running the risk of experiencing the cold, fatigue,
sickness. God’s freedom has a price of condemnation. Only persons who are not
intelligent enough do not profit of a gift which is given to them, it is simply foolish
not to accept what is best so as not to feel as debtors. In the sphere of love the
word “debt” does not exist, because gratuitousness is the only term that can be
consulted. And with the word gratuitousness light explodes: everything becomes
possible, everything becomes an occasion. Works done in darkness or works done
in God: the dirt simulacrum of the faint glittering of false stones are dangerous
games for everyone; it is better to go frequently to halls filled by the sunshine of a
never finished apprenticeship! At least there life grows and joy fills all things with
beauty.

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ORATIO
Psalm 35

Sin is the oracle of the wicked in the depths of his heart; there is no fear of God before
his eyes. He sees himself with too flattering an eye to detect and detest his guilt; all he
says is malicious and deceitful, he has turned his back on wisdom.
To get his way he hatches malicious plots even in his bed; once set on his evil course no
wickedness is too much for him. Yahweh, your faithful love is in the heavens, your
constancy reaches to the clouds, your saving justice is like towering mountains, your
judgements like the mighty deep.
Yahweh, you support both man and beast; how precious, God, is your faithful love.
So the children of Adam take refuge in the shadow of your wings. They feast on the
bounty of your house, you let them drink from your delicious streams; in you is the
source of life, by your light we see the light.
Maintain your faithful love to those who acknowledge you, and your saving justice to
the honest of heart. Do not let the foot of the arrogant overtake me or wicked hands
drive me away.
There they have fallen, the evil doers, flung down, never to rise again.

CONTEMPLATIO
When holy fear abandons me, Oh Lord, I feel sin which speaks in my heart: these are
moments of illusion, moments in which I go to look for my failures, I experience the
sense of guilt without end, and all this is useless because I have not understood that it
is only in doing good, that the iniquitous and misleading words of evil are extinguished.
To be obstinate to evil is an attraction, almost as if this would give me more importance
and honor, more value. When I become aware that what you give me and allow me to
live, is immense then I perceive the great abyss of your fidelity and I see how your
salvation does not know any limits; everything inundates and takes me with it, me who
are in your image and all that which you have created for me and to which I have
given a name. Truly, your grace is precious. In your house the abundance of protection
is in force and pleasure and delight flow like water. If I look through your eyes, Lord,
then everything is light. And nothing is now difficult, because my heart, purified from
temptation of being God in your place, tells me that I will be God with you. Rivalry,
competition, hostility… vanish in the face of your proposal to participate in your divine
life. God with you. You, the source of the image and I a reflection of that image! Your
love as sap runs through the heart, through the depth of my humanity until I find my
origin: in your Name.

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Monday, March 15, 2021
Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Lord our God, almighty Father, you want us not to turn to the past to regret it and to
mourn over it but to hope in the future, in the new earth and the new heaven.
Give us a firm faith in your Son Jesus Christ, that notwithstanding the shortcomings of
our time we may have faith in the future, which you want us to build up with your Son,
Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 4: 43-54

When the two days were over Jesus left for Galilee. He himself had declared that a
prophet is not honored in his own hometown. On his arrival the Galileans received him
well, having seen all that he had done at Jerusalem during the festival which they too
had attended.
He went again to Cana in Galilee, where he had changed the water into wine. And
there was a royal official whose son was ill at Capernaum; hearing that Jesus had
arrived in Galilee from Judaea, he went and asked him to come and cure his son, as he
was at the point of death. Jesus said to him, 'Unless you see signs and portents you will
not believe!' 'Sir,' answered the official, 'come down before my child dies.' 'Go home,'
said Jesus, 'your son will live.' The man believed what Jesus had said and went on his
way home; and while he was still on the way his servants met him with the news that
his boy was alive. He asked them when the boy had begun to recover. They replied,
'The fever left him yesterday at the seventh hour.' The father realized that this was
exactly the time when Jesus had said, 'Your son will live'; and he and all his household
believed. his new sign, the second, Jesus performed on his return from Judaea to
Galilee.

Reflection
• Jesus had left Galilee, and directed himself toward Judah, in order to arrive to
Jerusalem on the occasion of the festival (Jn 4: 45) and, passing through Samaria, he
was returning again toward Galilee (Jn 4: 3-4). The observant Jews were forbidden to
pass through Samaria, and they could not even speak with the Samaritans (Jn 4: 9).
Jesus did not care about these norms which prevented friendship and dialogue. He
remained several days in Samaria and many people were converted (Jn 4: 40). After
that, he decided to return to Galilee.
• John 4; 43-46ª: The return toward Galilee. Even though Jesus knew that the people
of Galilee had a certain reservation toward him, he wished to return to his own
hometown. Probably, John refers to how badly Jesus was received, accepted in
Nazareth of Galilee. Jesus himself had declared that “No prophet is honored in his
own hometown” (Lk 4: 24). But now, before the evidence of what he had done in

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 Jerusalem, the Galileans change their opinion and received him well. Jesus then
returns to Cana where he had worked the first “sign” (Jn 2: 11).
• John 4: 46b-47: The petition of the court official. It is the case of a pagan. A short time
before, in Samaria, Jesus had spoken with a Samaritan woman, an heretic person
according to the Jews, to whom Jesus revealed his condition of Messiah (Jn 4: 26).
And now, in Galilee, he receives a pagan, the official of the king, who was seeking
help for his sick son. Jesus does not limit himself to help those of his race only, nor
those of his own religion. He is ecumenical and receives all.
• John 4: 48: The answer of Jesus to the court official. The official wanted Jesus to go
with him to his house to cure his son. Jesus answered: “Unless you see signs and
portents you will not believe!” A harsh and strange answer. Why does Jesus answer
in this way? What was wrong with the petition of the official? What did Jesus want
to attain through this response? Jesus wants to teach how our faith should be. The
official would believe only if Jesus went with him to his house. He wanted to see
Jesus curing. In general, this is the attitude that we all have. We are not aware of the
deficiency of our faith.
• John 4: 49-50: The official repeats his petition and Jesus repeats the response. In spite
of the answer of Jesus, the man does not keep silence and repeats the same petition:
“Sir, come down before my child dies!” Jesus continues to keep his stand. He does
not respond to the petition and does not go with the man to his house and repeats
the same response, but formulated in a different way: “Go home! Your son will live!”
Both in the first as well as in the second response, Jesus asks for faith, much faith. He
asks that the official believes that his son has already been cured. And the true
miracle takes place! Without seeing any sign, nor any portent, the man believes
in Jesus‟ word and returns home. It should not have been easy. This is the true
miracle of faith; to believe without any other guarantee, except the Word of Jesus.
The ideal is to believe in the word of Jesus, even without seeing (cf. Jn 20: 29).
• John 4: 51-53: The result of faith in the word of Jesus. When the man was on the way
to his home, his servants saw him and ran to meet him to tell him that his son had
been cured, that he was alive. He asked them when the boy had begun to recover
and discovered that it was exactly the time when Jesus had said: “Your son will live!”
He was confirmed in his faith.
• John 4: 54: A summary presented by John, the Evangelist. John ends by saying: “This
new sign, the second, Jesus preformed.” John prefers to speak of sign and not of
miracle. The word sign recalls something which I see with my eyes, but which only
faith can make me discover its profound sense. Faith is like an X-Ray: it makes one
discover that which the naked eye cannot see.

Personal Questions
• How do you live your faith? Do you have faith in God’s word or do you only believe in
miracles and in sensitive, perceptible experiences?
• Jesus accepts heretics and foreigners. And I, how do I relate with persons?

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Concluding Prayer
Make music for Yahweh,
all you who are faithful to him, praise his unforgettable holiness. His anger lasts but a
moment, his favor through life;
In the evening come tears, but with dawn cries of joy. (Ps 30: 4-5)

Tuesday, March 16, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Lord our God, you have quenched our thirst for life with the water of baptism.
Keep turning the desert of our arid lives into a paradise of joy and peace, that we may
bear fruits of holiness, justice and love.
Lord, hear our prayer through Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 5: 1-16

There was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now in Jerusalem next to
the Sheep Pool there is a pool called Bethesda in Hebrew, which has five porticos; and
under these were crowds of sick people, blind, lame, paralyzed.
One man there had an illness which had lasted thirty-eight years, and when Jesus saw
him lying there and knew he had been in that condition for a long time, he said, 'Do
you want to be well again?' 'Sir,' replied the sick man, 'I have no one to put me into the
pool when the water is disturbed; and while I am still on the way, someone else gets
down there before me.' Jesus said, 'Get up, pick up your sleeping-mat and walk
around.' The man was cured at once, and he picked up his mat and started to walk
around.
Now that day happened to be the Sabbath, so the Jews said to the man who had been
cured, 'It is the Sabbath; you are not allowed to carry your sleeping-mat.' He replied,
'But the man who cured me told me, "Pick up your sleeping-mat and walk around." '
They asked, 'Who is the man who said to you, "Pick up your sleeping-mat and walk
around"? ' The man had no idea who it was, since Jesus had disappeared, as the place
was crowded.
After a while Jesus met him in the Temple and said, “Now you are well again, do not sin
anymore, or something worse may happen to you.”
The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him. It was
because he did things like this on the Sabbath that the Jews began to harass Jesus.

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Reflection
• Today’s Gospel describes Jesus who cures the paralytic who had waited 38 years
for someone to help him get to the water of the pool so as to be healed! Thirty-
eight years! Before this total absence of solidarity, what does Jesus do? He
transgresses the law of Saturday and cures the paralytic. Today, in poor countries,
assistance to sick persons is lacking, people experience the same lack of solidarity.
They live in total abandonment, without help or solidarity from anyone.
• John 5: 1-2: Jesus goes to Jerusalem. On the occasion of the Jewish festival, Jesus
goes to Jerusalem. There, close to the Temple was a pool with five porticos or
corridors. At that time, worship in the Temple demanded much water because of
the numerous animals which were sacrificed, especially during the great festivals.
This is why, near the Temple there were several cisterns where rainwater was
gathered. Some could contain over one thousand liters. Close by, because of the
abundance of water, there was a public bathing resort, where crowds of sick
people gathered waiting for help or to be healed. Archeology has shown that in
the same precincts of the Temple, there was a place where the Scribes taught the
Law to students. On one side, the teaching of the Law of God. On the other, the
abandonment of the poor. The water purified the Temple, but it did not purify the
people.
• John 5: 3-4: The situation of the sick. These sick people were attracted by the water
of the bathing resort. They said that an angel would disturb the water and the first
one who would enter after the angel disturbed the water, would be cured. In other
words, the sick people were attracted by a false hope. Healing was only for one
person. Just as the lottery today. Only one person gets the prize! The majority pays
and wins nothing. Precisely, in this situation of total abandonment, in the public
baths, Jesus meets the sick people.
• John 5: 5-9: Jesus cures a sick man on Saturday. Very close to the place where the
observance of the Law of God was taught, a paralytic had been there for 38 years,
waiting for someone who would help him to go down to the water to be cured.
This fact reveals the total lack of solidarity and of acceptance of the excluded!
Number 38 indicated the duration of a whole generation (Dt 2: 14). It is a whole
generation which does not succeed to experience solidarity, or mercy. Religion at
that time, was not capable to reveal the welcoming and merciful face of God. In
the face of this dramatic situation Jesus transgresses the law of Saturday and takes
care of the paralytic saying: “Get up, pick up your sleeping-mat and walk around!”
The man picked up his mat and started to walk around among the people.
• John 5: 10-13: Discussion of the cured man with the Jews. Immediately after, some
Jews arrived and criticized the man who was carrying his sleeping mat on a
Saturday. The man did not know who the one who had cured him was. He did not
know Jesus. This means that Jesus passing by that place where the poor and the
sick were saw that person; he perceived the dramatic situation in which he was
and cured him. He does not cure him to convert him, neither so that he would
believe in God. He cures him because he wants to help him. He wanted him to
experience some love and solidarity through his help and loving acceptance.

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 • John 5: 14-16: The man meets Jesus again. Going to the Temple, in the midst of the
crowds, Jesus meets the same man and tells him: “Now, you are well again, do not
sin anymore, or something worse may happen to you”. At that moment, people
thought and said: “Sickness is a punishment from God. God is with you!” Once the
man is cured, he has to keep from sinning again, so that nothing worse will happen
to him! But in his naiveté, the man went to tell the Jews that Jesus had cured him.
The Jews began to ask Jesus why he did those things on Saturday. In tomorrow’s
Gospel we have what follows.

Personal Questions
• Have I ever had an experience similar to that of the paralytic: to remain for some time
without any help? How is the situation regarding assistance to the sick in the place
where you live? Do you perceive any signs of solidarity?
• What does this teach us today?

Concluding Prayer
God is both refuge and strength for us, a help always ready in trouble;
so we shall not be afraid though the earth be in turmoil, though mountains tumble
into the depths of the sea, and its waters roar and seethe, and the mountains totter as
it heaves. (Ps 46: 1-3)

Wednesday, March 17, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Our God and Father, you keep seeking us out with love as passionate as a mother's
love, even when we have abandoned you. Give us hope and courage, especially when
we feel uncertain.
Reassure us that you want us to live in the security of your love and that you stay with
us through your Son Jesus Christ, our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 5: 17-30

Jesus answer to the Jews was, 'My Father still goes on working, and I am at work, too.'
But that only made the Jews even more intent on killing him, because not only was he
breaking the Sabbath, but he spoke of God as his own Father and so made himself
God's equal.
To this Jesus replied: In all truth I tell you, by himself the Son can do nothing; he can do
only what he sees the Father doing: and whatever the Father does the Son does too.
For the Father loves the Son and shows him everything he himself does, and he will

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show him even greater things than these, works that will astonish you.
Thus, as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, so the Son gives life to anyone
he chooses; for the Father judges no one; he has entrusted all judgement to the Son, so
that all may honor the Son as they honor the Father. Whoever refuses honor to the Son
refuses honor to the Father who sent him.
In all truth I tell you, whoever listens to my words, and believes in the one who sent me,
has eternal life; without being brought to judgement such a person has passed from
death to life.
In all truth I tell you, the hour is coming -- indeed it is already here -- when the dead will
hear the voice of the Son of God, and all who hear it will live. For as the Father has life in
himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself; and, because he is the
Son of man, has granted him power to give judgement.
Do not be surprised at this, for the hour is coming when the dead will leave their graves
at the sound of his voice: those who did good will come forth to life; and those who did
evil will come forth to judgement. By myself I can do nothing; I can judge only as I am
told to judge, and my judging is just, because I seek to do not my own will but the will
of him who sent me.

Reflection
• The Gospel of John is different from the other three. It reveals a more profound
dimension which only faith is able to perceive in the words and gestures of Jesus.
The Fathers of the Church would say that the Gospel of John is “spiritual”, it reveals
what the Spirit makes one discover in the words of Jesus (cf. Jn 16: 12-13). A beautiful
example of this spiritual dimension of the Gospel of John is the passage which we
are going to meditate on today.
• John 5: 17-18: Jesus explains the profound meaning of the healing of the paralytic.
Criticized by the Jews for having cured on Saturday, Jesus answers: “My Father still
goes on working, and I am at work too!” The Jews taught that no work could be done
on Saturday, because even God had rested and had not worked on the seventh day
of creation (Ex 20: 8-11). Jesus affirms the contrary. He says that the Father has always
worked even until now. And for this reason, Jesus also works, and even on Saturday.
He imitates his Father! For Jesus the work of creation is not finished as yet. God
continues to work, unceasingly, day and night, holding up the Universe and all of us.
Jesus collaborates with the Father continuing the work of creation in such a way that
one day all may be able to enter into the eternal rest that has been promised. The
reaction of the Jews was violent. They wanted to kill him for two reasons: because he
denied the sense of Saturday and for saying he was equal to God.
• John 5: 19-21: It is love which allows the creative action of God to shine and be visible.
These verses reveal something of the relationship between Jesus and the Father.
Jesus, the Son, lives permanently attentive before the Father. What he sees the
Father do, he does it also. Jesus is the reflection of the Father. He is the face of the
Father! This total attention of the Son to the Father makes it possible for the love of

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 the Father to enter totally into the Son and through the Son, carry out his action in
the world. The great concern of the Father is that of overcoming death and to give
life. It is a way of continuing the creative work of the Father.
• John 5: 22-23: The Father judges no one; he has entrusted all judgment to the Son.
What is decisive in life is the way in which we place ourselves before the Creator,
because it radically depends on him. Now the Creator becomes present for us in
Jesus. The plenitude of the divinity dwells in Jesus (cf. Col 1: 19). And therefore,
according to the way in which we are before Jesus, we express our position before
God, the Creator. What the Father wants is that we know him and honor him in the
revelation which he makes of himself in Jesus.
• John 5: 24: The life of God in us through Jesus. God is life, he is creating force.
Wherever he is present, there is life. He becomes present in the Word of Jesus. The
one who listens to the word of Jesus as a word that comes from God has already
risen. He has already received the vivifying touch which leads him beyond death.
Jesus passed from death to life. The proof of this is in the healing of the paralytic.
• John 5: 25-29: The resurrection is already taking place. All of us are the dead who still
have not opened ourselves to the voice of Jesus which comes from the Father. But
“the hour will come” and it is now, in which the dead will hear the voice of the Son of
God and those who will listen, will live”. With the Word of Jesus which comes from
the Father, the new creation begins; it is already on the way. The creative word of
Jesus will reach all, even those who have already died. They will hear and will live.
• John 5: 30: Jesus is the reflection of the Father. “By myself I can do nothing; I can
judge only as I am told to judge, and my judgment is just, because I seek to do not
my own will but the will of him who sent me”. This last phrase is the summary of all
that has been said before. This was the idea that the community of the time of John
had and diffused regarding Jesus.

Personal Questions
• How do you imagine the relationship between Jesus and the Father?
• How do you live faith in the resurrection?

Concluding Prayer
Yahweh is tenderness and pity, slow to anger, full of faithful love. Yahweh is
generous to all, his tenderness embraces all his creatures. (Ps 145: 8-9)

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Thursday, March 18, 2021
Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Lord our God, we know, perhaps more in theory than in practice, that You are with us,
that You are our God and we Your people. Forgive us, Lord, when we fashion our own
gods made in our own image - honor, power, prestige, things to which we are attached
and enslaved. Remind us again and again that You are our loyal God, who made us in
Your own indelible image and who shows us Your perfect likeness in Jesus Christ, Your
Son and our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 5:31-47

Jesus said to the Jews: "If I testify on my own behalf, my testimony is not true. But there
is another who testifies on my behalf, and I know that the testimony he gives on my
behalf is true. You sent emissaries to John, and he testified to the truth. I do not accept
human testimony, but I say this so that you may be saved. He was a burning and
shining lamp, and for a while you were content to rejoice in his light. But I have
testimony greater than John's. The works that the Father gave me to accomplish, these
works that I perform testify on my behalf that the Father has sent me. Moreover, the
Father who sent me has testified on my behalf. But you have never heard his voice nor
seen his form, and you do not have his word remaining in you, because you do not
believe in the one whom he has sent. You search the Scriptures, because you think you
have eternal life through them; even they testify on my behalf. But you do not want to
come to me to have life. "I do not accept human praise; moreover, I know that you do
not have the love of God in you. I came in the name of my Father, but you do not
accept me; yet if another comes in his own name, you will accept him. How can you
believe, when you accept praise from one another and do not seek the praise that
comes from the only God? Do not think that I will accuse you before the Father: the
one who will accuse you is Moses, in whom you have placed your hope. For if you had
believed Moses, you would have believed me, because he wrote about me. But if you
do not believe his writings, how will you believe my words?"

Reflection
• John, interpreter of Jesus. John is a good interpreter of the words of Jesus. A good
interpreter must have two-fold fidelity: fidelity to the words of the one who speaks,
and fidelity to the language of the one who listens. In John’s Gospel, the words of
Jesus are not transmitted materially or literally; rather they are translated and
transferred to the language of the people of the Christian communities of the first
century in Asia Minor. For this reason, the reflections in the Gospel of John are not
always easy to understand, because in them are mixed the words of God and the
words of the Evangelist himself, who mirrors the language of faith of the
communities of Asia Minor. The scholarly or scientific study of Jesus is not sufficient

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 for this. It is also necessary that we have the lived experience of faith in the
community. Today’s Gospel is a typical example of the spiritual and mystical depth
of the Gospel of the Beloved Disciple.
• Reciprocal enlightenment between life and faith. Here it is well to repeat what John
Cassian says regarding the discovery of the full and profound sense of the psalms:
“Instructed by that which we ourselves feel, let us not consider the text as something
which we have only heard, but rather like something which we have experienced
and which we touch with our hands; not like a strange and unheard of story, but
rather like something that we bring out to light from the deepest part of our heart,
as if these were sentiments which form part of our being. Let us repeat them; it is
not the reading (the study) what makes us penetrate into the sense or meaning of
the words, but rather our own experience which has previously been acquired in the
life of every day.” (Collationes X, 11). Life enlightens the text; the text enlightens life. If,
at times, the text says nothing, it is not because of lack of study or because of lack of
prayer, but simply because of lack of depth in one’s own life.
• John 5: 31-32: The value of the witness of Jesus. The witness of Jesus is true because
He does not promote or exalt Himself. “There is another witness who speaks on My
behalf,” that is, the Father. And His witness is true and deserves to be believed.
• John 5: 33-36: The value of the witness of John the Baptist and of the works of Jesus.
John the Baptist also gave witness to Jesus and presents Him to the people as the
One sent by God who has to come to this world (cf. Jn 1: 29, 33-34; 3: 28-34). For this
reason, even if the witness of John the Baptist is very important, Jesus does not
depend on him. He has a witness in His favor who is greater than the witness of John,
that is, the works which the Father carries out through Him (Jn 14: 10-11).
• John 5: 37-38: The Father bears witness to Jesus. Previously, Jesus had said, “Whoever
is from God listens to the words of God” (Jn 8: 47). The Jews who accused Jesus did
not have a mind open to God. And for this reason, they do not perceive the witness
of the Father which reaches them through Jesus.
• John 5: 39-41: Scripture itself gives testimony of Jesus. The Jews say that they have
faith in the Scriptures, but, in reality, they do not understand Scripture, because the
Scripture speaks of Jesus (cf. Jn 5: 46; 12: 16, 41; 20: 9).
• John 5: 42-47: The Father does not judge but entrusts His judgment to the Son. The
Jews say that they are faithful to the Scripture of Moses and, because of this, they
condemn Jesus. In reality, Moses and the Scripture speak about Jesus and ask us to
believe in Him.

Personal Questions
• Life enlightens the text; the text enlightens life. How does one use this to gain an
authentic understanding of each?
• The Jews of the time were following their hardened beliefs and not open to Jesus’
teaching. What is the proper balance between keeping old beliefs and accepting

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 new ones? How does one discern what to keep and what to adopt, and how does
this apply to Church doctrine and ritual?

Concluding Prayer
Yahweh, Your kingship is a kingship forever; Your reign lasts from age to age. Yahweh is
trustworthy in all His words, and upright in all His deeds. Yahweh supports all who
stumble, lifts up those who are bowed down. (Ps 145: 13-14)

Friday, March 19, 2021

Matthew 1: 16, 18-21, 24a
Joseph, the Spouse of Mary, the Mother of Jesus

Season of Lent

LECTIO
Opening Prayer
Spirit who moves over the water, calm in us all discordance, the agitated waves, the
noise of the words, the whirlwind of vanity, and make the Word which recreates, arise
in silence.
Spirit who in a sigh you Whisper to our spirit the Name of the Father, come and gather
together all our desires, make them grow in a beam of light which will be a response to
your light, the Word of the new Day.
Spirit of God, the sap of love of the immense tree on which you graft us, so that all our
brothers will seem to us as a gift in the great Body in which the Word of communion
matures. (Frère Pierre-Yves of Taizé)

Reading of the Gospel: Matthew 1: 16-24

Jacob fathered Joseph the husband of Mary; of her was born Jesus who is called Christ.
The sum of generations is therefore: fourteen from Abraham to David; fourteen from
David to the Babylonian deportation; and fourteen from the Babylonian deportation to
Christ. This is how Jesus Christ came to be born. His mother Mary was betrothed to
Joseph; but before they came to live together, she was found to be with child through
the Holy Spirit. Her husband Joseph, being an upright man and wanting to spare her
disgrace, decided to divorce her informally. He had made up his mind to do this when
suddenly the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, 'Joseph son of
David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because she has conceived
what is in her by the Holy Spirit. She will give birth to a son and you must name him
Jesus, because he is the one who is to save his people from their sins.' Now all this took
place to fulfil what the Lord had spoken through the prophet: Look! the virgin is with
child and will give birth to a son whom they will call Immanuel, a name which means

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'God-is-with-us.' When Joseph woke up he did what the angel of the Lord had told him
to do: he took his wife to his home; he had not had intercourse with her when she gave
birth to a son; and he named him Jesus.

A Moment of Silence:
so that the Word of God may enter into our hearts and enlighten our lives.

MEDITATIO
• A Key to the Reading:
The passage of today’s Gospel is taken from the first chapter of the Gospel of
Matthew which forms part of the section concerning the conception, birth and
infancy of Jesus. The center of all this account is the Person of Jesus around which
are all the events and the persons mentioned. One must keep in mind that the
Gospel reveals a Theology of the history of Jesus, and so getting close to the Word of
God we should get the message which is hidden under the veils of the account
without losing ourselves, as Paul so wisely advises us “in foolish speculations,”
avoiding “those genealogies and the quibbles and disputes about the Law, they are
useless and futile” (Tt 3: 9)
In fact, this text is connected to the genealogy of Jesus, which Matthew arranges
with the intention of stressing the dynastic succession of Jesus, the Savior of his
people (Mt 1: 21). To Jesus are conferred all the rights inherited from the lineage of
David, of “Joseph, son of David” (Mt 1: 20; Lk 2: 4-5) his legal father. For the Biblical and
Hebrew world legal paternity was sufficient to confer all the rights of the lineage in
question (cf.: the law of the levirate and of adoption (Dt 25: 5ff). That is why from the
beginning of the genealogy, Jesus is designed as “Christ the Son of David” (Mt 1: 1)
that is, the anointed one of the Lord Son of David, with whom all the promises of God
to David his servant, are fulfilled (2 Sam 7: 1-16; 2 Cr 7: 18; 2 Cr 21: 7; Ps 89: 30). This is
why Matthew adds to the account of the genealogy and of the conception of Jesus
the prophecy of Isaiah: “All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through
the prophet.: The young woman is with child and will give birth to a son whom she
will call Immanuel, which means God with us” (Mt 1: 21-23 and Is 7: 14).
Let us stop to say something, on the spiritual reality of adoption, we can refer to the
fact that the elected people possess “the glory, the covenants, the legislation, the
cult, the promises”, because “they are Israelites and possess the adoption of sons”
(Rm 9: 4). But we also, the new people of God in Christ receive the adoption of sons
because “when the completion of the time came God sent his Son, born of a woman,
born a subject of the Law, to redeem the subjects of the Law, so that we could receive
adoption as sons” (Gal 4: 4-5). This is the salvation which Jesus has brought to us.
Christ “will save his people from their sins” (Mt 1: 21) because he is the “God with us!”
(Mt 1: 23) who makes adopted sons of God.
Jesus is born from “Mary who was betrothed to Joseph” (Mt 1: 18a)) who “was found
to be with child through the Holy Spirit” (Mt 1: 18b). Matthew does not give the

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 account of the annunciation as Luke does (Lk 1, 26-38), but structures the account
from the point of view of the experience of Joseph the just man. The Bible reveals to
us that God loves the just and many times chooses them for an important mission,
protects them and does not join them to the impious (Gen 18: 23ff). In the Old
Testament we find many persons who are considered just. We think of Noah “a good
man, an upright man among his contemporaries” (Gen 6: 9). Or also Joash who “did
what Yahweh regards as right” (2 Kgs 12: 3).
A constant idea in the Bible is the “dream” as a privileged place where God makes
his projects and designs known, and sometimes reveals the future. The dreams of
Jacob and Betel are well known (Gen 28: 10ff) and Joseph his son, as also those of the
cup bearer and the chief baker imprisoned in Egypt with him (Gen 37: 5ff; Gen 40:
5ff) and the dreams of Pharaoh which revealed the future years of plenty and of
famine and want (Gen 41: 1ff).
“An Angel of the Lord” appeared to Joseph (Mt 1: 20) to reveal to him God’s design. In
the Gospels of the infancy frequently the Angel of the Lord is mentioned as the
heavenly messenger (Mt 1: 20, 24; 2: 13, 19; Lk 1: 11; 2: 9) and also on other occasions the
angel appears to calm down, to reveal the project of God, to heal, to liberate from
slavery (cf. Mt 28: 2; Jn 5: 4; Acts 5: 19; 8: 26; 12: 7, 23). Many are the references to the
Angel of the Lord also in the Old Testament where originally the angel represented
the Lord himself who guided and protected his people being close to them (cf. Gen
16: 7-16; 22: 12; 24: 7; Ex 3: 3; 23: 20; Tb 5: 4).
• Questions to orientate the meditation and make it relevant:
o What has struck you in this passage? Why?
o In the key to the reading, have we given enough consideration to some terms
(adoption, angel, dream, just)? What sentiments or thoughts did these arise in
your heart? What relevance can they have for your journey of spiritual
maturation?
o Which do you think is the central message in this Gospel passage?

ORATIO
Psalm 92
It is good to give thanks to Yahweh, to make music for your name, Most High, to
proclaim your faithful love at daybreak, and your constancy all through the night, on
the lyre, the ten-stringed lyre, to the murmur of the harp.
You have brought me joy, Yahweh, by your deeds, at the work of your hands I cry out,
'How great are your works, Yahweh, immensely deep your thoughts!' Stupid people
cannot realize this, fools do not grasp it.
The wicked may sprout like weeds, and every evil-doer flourish, but only to be eternally
destroyed; whereas you are supreme forever, Yahweh. Look how your enemies perish,
how all evil doers are scattered!

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You give me the strength of the wild ox, you anoint me with fresh oil; I caught sight of
the ambush against me, overheard the plans of the wicked.
The upright will flourish like the palm tree, will grow like a cedar of Lebanon.
Planted in the house of Yahweh, they will flourish in the courts of our God. In old age
they will still bear fruit, will remain fresh and green, to proclaim Yahweh's integrity; my
rock, in whom no fault can be found.

Moments for a prayerful silence

CONTEMPLATIO
The Christian contemplation of God’s dream, of the project which God cherishes for the
history of humanity does not produce alienation but keeps the consciences vigilant
and active and stimulates us to face with courage and altruism the responsibilities
which life gives us.

Saturday, March 20, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Almighty God, when people encountered your Son, he became a source of division: he
affected their lives one way or another. May we accept him fully and empty ourselves to
make room for him in our everyday life, even when it hurts.
Help us, that with him we may always seek and do your will. We ask you this through
Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 7: 40-53

Some of the crowd who had been listening Jesus said, 'He is indeed the prophet,' and
some said, 'He is the Christ,' but others said, 'Would the Christ come from Galilee? Does
not scripture say that the Christ must be descended from David and come from
Bethlehem, the village where David was?' So, the people could not agree about him.
Some wanted to arrest him, but no one actually laid a hand on him. The guards went
back to the chief priests and Pharisees who said to them, 'Why haven't you brought
him?' The guards replied, 'No one has ever spoken like this man.' 'So,' the Pharisees
answered, 'you, too, have been led astray? Have any of the authorities come to believe
in him? Any of the Pharisees? This rabble knows nothing about the Law -- they are
damned.'
One of them, Nicodemus -- the same man who had come to Jesus earlier -- said to
them, 'But surely our Law does not allow us to pass judgement on anyone without first
giving him a hearing and discovering what he is doing?' To this they answered, 'Are you
a Galilean too? Go into the matter, and see for yourself: prophets do not arise in Galilee.'

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They all went home.

Reflection
• In chapter 7, John confirms that there were diverse opinions and much confusion
among the people regarding Jesus. The relatives thought something (Jn 7: 2-5),
people thought something different (Jn 7: 12). Some said: “He is a prophet!” (Jn 7: 40).
Others said: “He leads the people astray!” (Jn 7: 12). Some praised him: “He is a good
man!” (Jn 7: 12). Others criticized him: “He has not been educated, has not studied!”
(Jn 7: 15). Many opinions. Each one had his own arguments, taken from the Bible or
from Tradition. But nobody remembered the Messiah Servant, announced by Isaiah
(Is 42: 1-9; 49: 1-6; 50: 4-9; 52: 13-53: 12; 61: 1-2). Today, also, there is much discussion on
religion, and all take their arguments from the Bible. As in the past, the same thing
today, it happens many times that little ones are deceived by the discourses of the
great ones and, sometimes, even by the discourses of those who belong to the
Church.
• John 7: 40-44: The confusion among the people. The reaction of the people is very
diverse. Some say: he is the prophet. Others: he is the Messiah; the Christ. Others
claim: He cannot be because the Messiah will come from Bethlehem and he comes
from Galilee! These diverse ideas on the Messiah produce division and confrontation.
There were some who wanted to take him, to arrest him, but they did not do it.
Perhaps because they were afraid of the people (cf. Mt 14: 2).
• John 7: 45-49: The arguments of the authority. Previously, before the reaction of the
people who were in favor of Jesus, the Pharisees had sent some guards to arrest him
(Jn 7: 32). But the guards returned without Jesus. They had been greatly impressed
in hearing people speak so well: “No one has ever spoken like this man!” The
Pharisees reacted: “Have you also been led astray?” According to the Pharisees who
said: “This rabble knows nothing about the Law” and allows itself to be deceived by
Jesus. It is as if they said: “No, we the chief priests know things better and we do not
allow ourselves to be led astray!” and they say that the people are “damned”! The
religious authority of that time treated people with great contempt.
• John 7: 50-52: The defense of Jesus by Nicodemus. Before this stupid argument, the
honesty of Nicodemus revolts and he raises his voice to defend Jesus: “But surely our
Law does not allow us to pass judgment on anyone without first giving him a hearing
and discovering what he is doing?” The reaction of the others is that Nicodemus is
mocking them: “Nicodemus are you also from Galilee? Look at the Bible and you will
see for yourself that prophets do not arise in Galilee!” They are sure! Holding the book
of the past, they defend themselves against the future which arrives and disturbs
them. Today, many people continue to do the same thing. They only accept the
novelty if it agrees with their own ideas which belong to the past.

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Personal Questions
• Today, which are the diverse opinions that people have about Jesus? And in your
community, are there different opinions which cause confusion? Which? Say them,
describe them.
• There are persons who accept only the novelty which agrees with their own ideas
and which belongs to the past. And you?

Concluding Prayer
Have mercy on me, O God, in your faithful love, in your great tenderness wipe away my
offences; wash me clean from my guilt, purify me from my sin. (Ps 51: 1-2)

Sunday, March 21, 2021

Fifth Sunday of Lent
We wish to see Jesus
John 12: 20-33

Opening Prayer
Father, hear our prayer: we implore you to send your Spirit abundantly upon us, so that
we may learn to listen to your voice that proclaimed the glory of your Son who gives
himself for our salvation. May this attentive and concerned listening germinate in us a
new hope so that we may follow wholeheartedly our Master and Redeemer, even in
difficult and dark moments. Who lives and reigns forever and ever.

Reading
• The Context:
We have come to the end of the "book of signs," which is the interpretative key that
John uses in his Gospel and is already foreshadowing the deadly conflict between
the ruling class and Jesus. This passage is like a hinge between that which John has
told us up to now and which ends with this appearance of the "peoples" (marked by
the term "Greeks"), and that which is about to take place. John subdivides the next
events into two sections. The first section is the dialogue with the disciples alone, in
the context of the paschal supper (cc. 13-17); the second will be the public scene of
the passion and the apparitions as the risen one (cc. 18-21).
This passage may not be entirely real. It wishes to point out that the opening to the
peoples began with Jesus himself. It is not a question of going to others to convince
them of something, but above all of welcoming their seeking and bringing it to
maturity. This kind of maturity does not happen by itself but requires the
collaboration of others and dialogue with Jesus. John does not tell us whether Jesus
spoke to the Greeks. The text seems to abbreviate the story when it immediately

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 points to the "kind of Jesus" those who seek him must go. It is the Jesus who gives
his life, who bears fruit through his death. Not, therefore, a "philosopher" or "wise"
Jesus, but above all one who is not attached to his own life and who gave his life and
placed himself at the service of everyone else’s life.
Verses 27-33, which show the anguished and troubled soul of Jesus when faced with
his imminent death, are also called "the Gethsemani of the fourth Gospel", in parallel
with the Synoptic Gospels concerning the painful vigil of Jesus in Gethsemani. That
which happens to a grain of wheat, that is, only when it breaks and dies can it free
all its vitality, is also true of Jesus who in dying will show all his love by giving his life.
The story of the grain of wheat is the story of Jesus and of every disciple who wishes
to serve him and have life in him.
• The Text:
20
Now among those who went up to worship at the feast were some Greeks. 21 So
these came to Philip, who was from Bethsaida in Galilee, and said to him, "Sir, we
wish to see Jesus." 22 Philip went and told Andrew; Andrew went with Philip and they
told Jesus. 23 And Jesus answered them, "The hour has come for the Son of man to
be glorified. 24 Truly, truly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth and
dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit. 25 He who loves his life loses it,
and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26 If anyone serves
me, he must follow me; and where I am, there shall my servant be also; if any one
serves me, the Father will honor him.
27
"Now is my soul troubled. And what shall I say? 'Father, save me from this hour?
No, for this purpose I have come to this hour. 28 Father, glorify thy name." Then a voice
came from heaven, "I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again." 29 The crowd standing
by heard it and said that it had thundered. Others said, "An angel has spoken to him."
30
Jesus answered, "This voice has come for your sake, not for mine. 31 Now is the
judgment of this world, now shall the ruler of this world be cast out; 32 and I, when I
am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself." 33 He said this to show by
what death he was to die.

A Moment of Silent Prayer

to re-read the text with our heart and to recognize in the words and structure, the
presence of the mystery of the living God.

Some Questions
to see the important points in the text and begin to assimilate them.

• Why is it that precisely Philip and Andrew were the ones approached?
• What were the "Greeks" really seeking?
• Have we sometimes been asked similar questions concerning faith, the Church,
Christian life?

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• Jesus does not seem to have met the "Greeks" but he made reference to his coming
"hour". Why?
• Did Jesus expect them to answer in set forms? Or through their witness?

A Deepening of the Reading

• "Sir we wish to see Jesus"
This is the request some "Greeks" put to Philip. It is told that they "went up to worship
at the feast". They were probably those "who feared God" of whom the New
Testament frequently speaks, people who were sympathizers of the Jewish religion,
even though they were not Jews. They may have been of "Syro-Phoenician origin as
Mark tells us (7: 26), when he speaks of the woman who sought the healing of her
daughter. By their request, we may think that these "Greeks" were just curious to
meet a famous and much talked of person.
But the context within which John places this request shows that they really sought
Jesus with all their heart. Especially since they come immediately after it is written:
"The whole world followed him" (Jn 12: 19). Then Jesus comments on the statement
with "the coming of the hour of the Son of man". The fact that they went to Philip,
and Philip then went to Andrew, is due to the fact that both of them came from
Bethsaida, a city where people came from mixed background and one needed to
understand several languages. These two represent two sensibilities: Philip is more
traditional (as we can see from his words when he meets Jesus (Jn 1: 45); while
Andrew had already participated in John’s movement and was more open to new
things (cfr Jn 1: 41). This is to show that the community that opens itself to pagans,
that welcomes the request of those who seek with a curious heart, is welcomed by a
community that lives in a variety of sensibilities.
• "Unless a grain of wheat falls into the earth…"
Jesus‟ reply seems to be less interested in the Greeks who wish to see him, and more
directed to all, the disciples as well as the Greeks. He sees frontiers opening, hears
the tumultuous following of the peoples, but he wishes to point out that this fame,
which has attracted them, this "glory" that they would like to know more closely, is
quite different from their expectations. His is a life that is about to be destroyed, a
"word" that is about to be silenced, trampled to death, buried in the bowels of hatred
and the earth is as to make it disappear. Thus instead of seeing glory in human form,
they stand before a "glory" that reveals itself through suffering and death.
This is true for them, but it is also true for every Christian community that wishes to
open itself to "Greeks". Such a community must "consult" with the Lord, that is, it
must keep in contact with this facet, this death for life, must give its own
contemplation of the mystery and not just provide ideas. It must live in full
detachment from security and human gratification, so that it may serve the Lord
and, it too, receive honor from the Father. Attachment to one’s life and to worldly
wisdom – and in the Greek world these were important values – is the great obstacle
to a true "knowledge of Jesus". To serve the name of the Lord, welcome the request

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 of those who "seek him", bring these seekers to Jesus, without living according to
the Lord, without above all giving witness to sharing one’s choice of life, one’s gift of
life, is useless.
• "How is my soul troubled"
This "disquiet" of Jesus is another very interesting element. It is not easy to suffer, the
flesh rebels, the natural tendency is to flee from suffering. Jesus too felt this same
repugnance, had the same horror before a death that promised to be painful and
humiliating. His question, "And what shall I say?," reveals this trembling, this fear, this
temptation to avoid such a death. John places this difficult moment before the last
supper; the Synoptics, however, place it at the prayer in Gethsemani (Mk 14: 32-42;
Mt 26: 36-46; Lk 22: 39-46). Anyway, they are all agreed about this trembling and
trouble, which makes him like us, fragile and afraid.
But Jesus deals with this anguish by "entrusting himself" to the Father, reminding
himself that this is his plan, that the whole of his life is directed precisely to this hour,
that it is here that he reveals himself and makes sense. We know well that the theme
of the hour is very important for John: see the first mention at the wedding feast of
Cana (Jn 2: 4) and then frequently (Jn 4: 21; 7: 6, 8, 30; 8: 20; 11: 9; 13: 1; 17: 1). It is not so
much a matter of a precise time as of a decisive circumstance towards which
everything is pointing.
• "I will draw all men to myself"
Seen apart from the homicidal violence of one who felt threatened, the hanging on
the cross becomes a real elevation, that is, the exhibiting of one who is salvation and
blessing for all. From the violence that wanted to marginalize and eliminate, we
move to the centripetal force exercised by that icon of the elevated. This is an
"attraction" generated by curiosity, but which through love will become the source
of discipleship, of allegiance in all those who can go beyond the physical event and
see in him total free gift of self.
It will no longer be seen as the ignominious death that creates distance, but the
source of a mysterious attraction, a way that gives new meanings to life. A life given
that generates life; a life killed that generates hope and new solidarity, new
communion, new freedom.

Psalm 125
When the Lord restored the fortunes of Zion, we were like those who dream. Then our
mouth was filled with laughter, and our tongue with shouts of joy; then they said
among the nations, "The Lord has done great things for them." The Lord has done
great things for us; we are glad. Restore our fortunes, O Lord, like the watercourses in
the Negeb!
May those who sow in tears reap with shouts of joy! He that goes forth weeping,
bearing the seed for sowing, shall come home with shouts of joy, bringing his sheaves
with him.

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Closing Prayer
Lord our God, keep your Son’s disciples from the easy ways of popularity, of cheap
glory, and lead them to the ways of the poor and scourged of the earth, so that they
may recognize in their faces the face of the Master and Redeemer. Give them eyes to
see possible ways of peace and solidarity; ears to hear the requests of sense and
salvation of so many people who seek as by feeling; enrich their hearts with generous
fidelity and a sensitiveness and understanding so that they may walk along the way
and be true and sincere witnesses to the glory that shines in the crucified resurrected
and victorious one. Who lives and reigns gloriously with you, Father, forever and ever.
Amen.

Monday, March 22, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Just and merciful God,
you take pity even on sinners and you continue with them a dialogue of grace and
hope. Help us too never to condemn, never to give up on people, but to be patient,
understanding and forgiving, together with you and Jesus your Son who lives with you
and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.

Gospel Reading - John 8: 1-11

Jesus went to the Mount of Olives. At daybreak he appeared in the Temple again; and
as all the people came to him, he sat down and began to teach them.
The scribes and Pharisees brought a woman along who had been caught committing
adultery; and making her stand there in the middle they said to Jesus, 'Master, this
woman was caught in the very act of committing adultery, and in the Law Moses has
ordered us to stone women of this kind. What have you got to say?'
They asked him this as a test, looking for an accusation to use against him. But Jesus
bent down and started writing on the ground with his finger. As they persisted with
their question, he straightened up and said, 'Let the one among you who is guiltless be
the first to throw a stone at her.' Then he bent down and continued writing on the
ground. When they heard this they went away one by one, beginning with the eldest,
until the last one had gone and Jesus was left alone with the woman, who remained in
the middle. Jesus again straightened up and said, 'Woman, where are they? Has no
one condemned you?' 'No one, sir,' she replied. 'Neither do I condemn you,' said Jesus.
'Go away, and from this moment sin no more.'

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Reflection
• In today’s Gospel, we will meditate on the encounter of Jesus with the woman whom
was going to be stoned. Because of his preaching and his way of acting Jesus
disturbs and troubles the religious authority. Because of this, they tried, by all
possible means, to accuse him and to get rid of him. Thus, they bring before him a
woman, caught committing adultery. Under the appearance of fidelity to the Law,
they use the woman in order to have an argument against Jesus. Today also, under
the appearance of fidelity to the Laws of the Church, many persons are marginalized.
Divorcés/divorcées, prostitutes, sick with AIDS, single mothers, homosexuals, etc. Let
us see how Jesus reacts:
• John 8: 1-2: Jesus and the people. After the discussion on the origin of the Messiah,
described at the end of chapter 7 (Jn 7: 37-52), “They all went home” (Jn 7: 53). Jesus
did not have a house in Jerusalem. This is the reason why he went to the Mount of
Olives. There was a garden there, where he usually spent the night in prayer (Jn 18:
1). The following day, before dawn, before the rising of the sun, Jesus was again in the
Temple. People came very close to him to be able to listen to him. They sat on the
ground, around Jesus and he taught them. What did Jesus teach? It must have been
very beautiful because people went there before sun rise in order to listen to him!
• John 8: 3-6a: The Scribes prepare the ambush. Unexpectedly, the Scribes and
Pharisees arrive, with a woman caught committing adultery. They make her stand
in the middle. According to the law, the woman would have to be stoned (Lv 20: 20;
Dt 22: 22, 24). They ask: “What is your opinion, what do you got to say?” It was a trap.
If Jesus would have said: “Apply the Law”, they would have said: “He is not as good as
he seems, because he has said to kill the poor woman!” If he had said: “Do not kill
her,” they would have said: “He is not as good as he seems, because he does not even
observe the law!” Under appearances of fidelity to God, they manipulate the law
using the person of the woman in order to be able to accuse Jesus.
• John 8: 6b-8: Reaction of Jesus: he writes on the ground. It seemed to be a dead alley
without an outing. But Jesus is not frightened, nor does he get nervous. Rather, all
the contrary. Calmly, as dominating the situation, he bends down and begins to write
on the ground with his finger. His enemies are those who get nervous. They insist
and they want Jesus to give his opinion. Then Jesus rises and says: “Let the one
among you who is guiltless be the first to throw a stone at her!” Then bending down
again he continued to write on the ground. Jesus does not discuss the law. But he
changes the objective of the judgment. Instead of allowing them to place the law
above the woman to condemn her, he asks them to examine themselves in the light
of what the law demands from them. The symbolical action of writing on the ground
clarifies everything. The word of the Law of God has its own consistency. A word
written on the ground has no consistency. The rain and the wind carry it away. The
forgiveness of God takes away sin identified and denounced by the law.
• John 8: 9-11: Jesus and the woman. The gesture and response of Jesus make his
enemies go away, they are conquered. The Pharisees and the Scribes go away full of

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 shame, one after the other, beginning with the eldest. The contrary of what they
expected takes place. The person condemned by the law was not the woman, but
rather they who believed to be faithful to the law. At the end, Jesus remains alone
with the woman who stood in the middle. Jesus straightened up and said: “Woman,
where are they who condemned you? Has no one condemned you?!” She replied:
“No one, Sir!” And Jesus: “Neither do I condemn you! Go away, and from this moment
sin no more!”
• Jesus does not allow anyone to use the Law of God to condemn the brother or the
sister when the person who condemns is himself/herself a sinner. This episode,
better than any other teaching, reveals that Jesus is the light which makes truth
shine. He opens up what exists in the secret of persons, in the intimate depth of each
one of us. In the light of his word, those who seemed to be the defenders of the law
reveal themselves being full of sin and they themselves recognize it, and they leave,
beginning by the eldest. And the woman considered to be guilty and deserving of
death, remains standing up before God, absolved, redeemed and with her dignity
recovered (cf. Jn 3: 19-21).

Personal Questions
• Try to put yourself in the woman’s place: Which were her feelings at that moment?
• Which are the steps which our community can and should take to accept those
excluded?

Concluding Prayer
Yahweh is my shepherd, I lack nothing. In grassy meadows he lets me lie.
By tranquil streams he leads me to restore my spirit.
He guides me in paths of saving justice as befits his name. (Ps 51: 1-3)

Tuesday, March 23, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Our saving, merciful God, wandering in our deserts of injustice and lack of love, we cry
out with fear or are stunned into silence, some into doubt or despair. Give us enough
trusting faith to look up to him who took our evil and doubts upon himself, suffered for
them on a cross, and rose from them, Jesus Christ, our Savior and our Lord.

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Gospel Reading - John 8: 21-30
Jesus said to them: I am going away; you will look for me and you will die in your sin.
Where I am going, you cannot come. So the Jews said to one another, 'Is he going to
kill himself, that he says, "Where I am going, you cannot come?" '
Jesus went on: You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of
this world. I have told you already: You will die in your sins. Yes, if you do not believe
that I am He, you will die in your sins.
So they said to him, 'Who are you?' Jesus answered: What I have told you from the
outset. About you I have much to say and much to judge; but the one who sent me is
true, and what I declare to the world I have learnt from him. They did not recognize
that he was talking to them about the Father.
So Jesus said: When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am He
and that I do nothing of my own accord. What I say is what the Father has taught me;
he who sent me is with me, and has not left me to myself, for I always do what pleases
him. As he was saying this, many came to believe in him.

Reflection
• Last week, the Liturgy led us to meditate on chapter five of the Gospel of John. This
week it confronts us with chapter 8 of the same Gospel. Like chapter 5, chapter 8
also contains profound reflections on the mystery of God which surrounds the
person of Jesus. Apparently, it is a question of dialogue between Jesus and the
Pharisees (Jn 8: 13). The Pharisees want to know who Jesus is. They criticize him
because he gives testimony of himself without any proof or witness to legitimize
himself before the people (Jn 8: 13). Jesus responds by saying that he does not speak
in his own name, but always for the Father and in the name of the Father (Jn 8: 14-
19).
• In reality, the dialogues are also an expression of how the faith was transmitted in
the catechesis in the communities of the beloved disciple toward the end of the first
century. They show the prayerful reading of the word of Jesus that the Christians did,
considering it Word of God. The method of question and answer helped to find the
response to the problems which toward the end of the first century, the Jews raised
to the Christians. It was a concrete way to help the community to deepen its faith in
Jesus and in his message.
• John 8: 21-22: Where I am going, you cannot come. Here John presents a new theme
or another aspect which surrounds the person of Jesus. Jesus speaks about his
departure and says that where he is going the Pharisees cannot follow him. “I am
going away; you will look for me and you will die in your sin.” They will look for Jesus,
but will not find him, because they do not know him and will look for him with
mistaken criteria. They live in sin and will die in sin. To live in sin is to live far away
from God. They imagine God in a certain way, but God is different from what they
imagine. This is why they are not capable to recognize the presence of God in Jesus.

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 The Pharisees do not understand what Jesus wants to say and they take everything
just literally: “Is he going to kill himself?”
• John 8: 23-24: You are from here below; I am from above. The Pharisees consider
everything according to the criteria of this world. “You are from this world; I am not
from this world!” The framework of reference which guides Jesus in everything
which he says and does is the world above, that is, God, Father, and the mission
which he has received from the Father. The framework of reference of the Pharisees
is the world below, without openness, closed up in its own criteria. This is why they
live in sin. To live in sin is not to have the gaze of Jesus on their life. The look of Jesus
is totally open toward God up to the point that God himself is in him in all his fullness
(cf. Col 1: 19). We say: “Jesus is God”. John invites us to say: “God is Jesus!” This is why
Jesus says: “If you do not believe that I AM HE, you will die in your sins”. I AM is the
affirmation with which God presents himself to Moses at the moment of liberating
his people from the oppression of Egypt (Ex 3: 13-14). This is the maximum expression
of the absolute certainty of the fact that God is in our midst in the person of Jesus.
Jesus is the definitive proof of the fact that God is with us. Emmanuel.
• John 8: 25-26: Who are you? The mystery of God in Jesus does not fit in the criteria
with which the Pharisees look toward Jesus. Once again they ask: “who are you?”
They did not understand because they do not understand Jesus‟ language. Jesus
was very careful to speak to them according to all that he experienced and lived in
union with the Father and for the knowledge and awareness of his mission. Jesus
does not promote himself. He only says and expresses what he hears from the
Father. He is the pure revelation because he is pure and total obedience.
• John 8: 27-30: When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I AM
HE. The Pharisees did not understand that Jesus, in everything he says and does, is
the expression of the Father. They will understand it only after the Son of man will be
lifted up. “Then you will know that I AM HE”. The word lifted up has a double sense,
to be lifted up on the Cross and to be lifted up to the right hand of the Father. The
Good News of the death and resurrection reveals who Jesus is, and they will know
that Jesus is the presence of God in our midst. The foundation of this certainty of our
faith is twofold: on the one side, the certainty that the Father is always with Jesus
and he never remains alone and, on the other side, the radical and total obedience
of Jesus to the Father, which becomes total openness and total transparency of the
Father for us.

Personal questions
• The one who closes up in his own criteria and thinks that he already knows
everything, will never be capable to understand others. This is the way the Pharisees
were before Jesus. And I, how do I behave before others?
• Jesus is radical obedience to the Father and because of this he is total revelation of
the Father. And which is the image of God which I show, which comes from me?

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Concluding Prayer
Yahweh, hear my prayer, let my cry for help reach you. Do not turn away your face from
me when I am in trouble; bend down and listen to me, when I call, be quick to answer
me! (Ps 102: 1-2)

Wednesday, March 24, 2021

John 8: 31-42
Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Lord our God, You call us to be free people. Help us to give You always a response of
freedom.
Set free by Christ’s liberating word and death, may we never again shackle ourselves
with self-made chains, of selfish sin and false attachments. We ask You this through
Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 8: 31-42

Jesus said to those Jews who believed in him, "If you remain in my word, you will truly
be my disciples, and you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." They
answered him, "We are descendants of Abraham and have never been enslaved to
anyone. How can you say, 'You will become free'?" Jesus answered them, "Amen, amen,
I say to you, everyone who commits sin is a slave of sin. A slave does not remain in a
household forever, but a son always remains. So if the Son frees you, then you will truly
be free. I know that you are descendants of Abraham. But you are trying to kill me,
because my word has no room among you. I tell you what I have seen in the Father's
presence; then do what you have heard from the Father." They answered and said to
him, "Our father is Abraham." Jesus said to them, "If you were Abraham's children, you
would be doing the works of Abraham. But now you are trying to kill me, a man who
has told you the truth that I heard from God; Abraham did not do this. You are doing
the works of your father!" So they said to him, "We were not born of fornication. We
have one Father, God." Jesus said to them, "If God were your Father, you would love me,
for I came from God and am here; I did not come on my own, but he sent me."

Reflection
• The reflection on chapter 8 of the Gospel of John continues today. In the form of
concentric circles, John deepens the mystery of God which envelopes the person of
Jesus. It seems like a repetition, because he always goes back to speak of the same
point. In reality, it is the same point, but every time at a more profound level. Today’s
Gospel treats the theme of the relationship of Jesus with Abraham, the Father of the
People of God. John tries to help the communities understand how Jesus places

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 himself within the whole history of the People of God. He helps them to perceive the
difference that existed between Jesus and the Jews, and also the Jews and the
others, as all of us are sons and daughters of Abraham.
• John 8: 31-32: The liberty which comes from fidelity to the word of Jesus. Jesus affirms
to the Jews: “If you make My word your home you will indeed be My disciples; 32 you
will come to know the truth and the truth will set you free”. To be a disciple of Jesus
is the same as opening oneself to God. The words of Jesus are in reality words of God.
They communicate the truth, because they make things known as they are in the
eyes of God and not in the eyes of the Pharisees. Later, during the Last Supper, Jesus
will teach the same thing to the disciples.
• John 8: 33, 38: What is it to be a son or a daughter of Abraham? The reaction of the
Jews is immediate: “We are descended from Abraham and we have never been the
slaves of anyone: what do You mean: You will be set free?” Jesus repeats and
confirms making a distinction between son and slave and says: “Everyone who
commits sin is a slave. The slave has no permanent standing in the household, but a
son belongs to it forever. So, if the Son sets you free, you will indeed be free”. Jesus is
the son and remains in the house of the Father. The slave does not live in the house
of the Father. To live outside the house, outside of God means to live in sin. If they
would accept the word of Jesus, they could become sons and attain liberty. They
would no longer be slaves. And Jesus continues: “I know that you are descended
from Abraham; but you want to kill Me, because My word finds no place in you.” The
distinction is immediately very clear: “What I speak of is what I have seen at My
Father’s side, and you too put into action the lessons you have learnt from your
father.” Jesus denies to them the right to say that they are sons of Abraham, because
their works affirm the contrary.
• John 8: 39-41a: A son of Abraham fulfills the works of Abraham. They insist in
affirming: “Our father is Abraham!” as if they wanted to present to Jesus a document
of their identity. Jesus repeats: “If you are sons of Abraham do the works of Abraham!
Now, instead you are seeking to kill Me, because I have told you the truth heard from
God; Abraham has not done this. 41 You do the works of your father”. Between the
lines, He suggests that their father is Satan (Jn 8: 44). He suggests that they are sons
of prostitution.
• John 8: 41b-42: If God was your Father, certainly, you would love Me, because I have
My origin in God and I come from Him; I did not come of My own accord, but He sent
Me”. Jesus repeats the same truth using diverse words: “Whoever comes from God
listens to the words of God”. The origin of this affirmation is from Jeremiah who says:
“Within them I shall plant My Law, writing it on their hearts. Then I shall be their God
and they will be My people. There will be no further need for everyone to teach
neighbor or brother, saying: ‘Learn to know Yahweh!’ No, they will all know Me, from
the least to the greatest, Yahweh declares, since I shall forgive their guilt and never
more call their sin to mind” (Jr 31: 33-34). But they will not open themselves to this
new experience of God, and because of this they will not recognize Jesus as the one
sent by the Father.

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Personal Questions
• This passage talks about slavery in a new way to the Jews. Even today, we often think
of slavery in a narrow way and not as Jesus is talking about here. In what ways are
we slaves to things of the world which the Father has no need of?
• Which is my deepest experience which leads me to recognize Jesus as the one sent
by God?
• There is a strong statement for us to be put together from this passage. "If God were
your Father, you would love Me” and "If you were Abraham's children, you would be
doing the works of Abraham.” It can then be said: “If God were your Father, you would
be doing the works of God.” Do we actively do the work of God every day as his
children, or just when we have time or when it is convenient?

Concluding Prayer
May You be blessed, Lord, God of our ancestors, be praised and extolled forever.
Blessed be Your glorious and holy name, praised and extolled forever. Blessed on the
throne of Your kingdom, exalted above all, glorified forever. (Dn 3: 52, 54)

Thursday, March 25, 2021

God’s covenant with humanity Mary’s yes and our yes
Luke 1,26-38

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Merciful Father, in this holy time of prayer and of listening to your Word, send also to
me your holy angel that I may receive the proclamation of salvation and that, after
opening my heart, I may offer my yes to Love. Let, I beg you, the Holy Spirit overshadow
me as an overwhelming power. As from now, Father, I do not wish to express anything
other than my “Yes!” and to say to you: “Behold, I am here for you. Do unto me
whatever pleases you.” Amen.

Reading
• The Context of the Passage:
The story of the annunciation takes us from the temple, a holy place par
excellence, to the house, to the intimacy of a personal meeting of God with his
creature; it leads us into ourselves, into the deepest part of our being and our story,
where God alone can reach and touch us. The announcement of the birth of John
the Baptist had opened the sterile womb of Elisabeth, thus overcoming the
absolute powerlessness of humankind and transforming it into the ability to

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 collaborate with God. On the other hand, the announcement of the birth of Jesus,
knocks on the door of a fertile womb of the one who is “full of grace” and awaits a
reply: it is God who waits for our yes so as to work everything in us.
• An Aid to the Reading of this Passage:
o vv. 26-27: The first two verses place us at the time and sacred space of the event
on which we are meditating and which we relive: we are in the sixth month
from the conception of John the Baptist and in Nazareth, a city in Galilee, the
land of the marginalized and unclean. Here God has come down to speak with
a virgin, to speak to our hearts.
The persons involved in this unsettling event are presented to us: Gabriel, the
messenger of God, a young woman called Mary and her spouse Joseph of the
royal house of David. We too are made welcome into this company and are
called to enter into the mystery.
o vv. 28-29: These are the very first words of the dialogue between God and his
creature. Just a few words, a mere breath, but all-powerful words that disturb
the heart, that question deeply the meaning of human life, plans and
expectations. The angel announces joy, grace and the presence of God; Mary
is disturbed and asks herself how can any of this be happening to her. Where
can such a joy come from? How can such a great grace, that can change her
very being, be hers?
o vv. 30-33: These are the central verses of the excerpt: it is the explosion of the
announcement, the manifestation of the gift of God, of his omnipotence in the
life of human beings. Gabriel, the strong, speaks of Jesus: the eternal king, the
Savior, the God made child, the humble all- powerful. He speaks of Mary, of her
womb, of her life that she was chosen to be the gateway to welcoming God in
this world and into the lives of all people. Even at this stage of the events, God
begins to draw near, to knock. He stands, attentive, by the door of the heart of
Mary; and even now by our house, our hearts.
o v. 34: Mary, faced by God’s proposal, allows herself to stand naked, she allows
herself to be read to her very depths. She speaks of herself, her heart, her
wishes. She knows that for God the impossible is possible, she does not doubt
or harden her heart and mind, she does not count the cost; she only wants to
be fully available, open, and allows herself to be reached by that humanly
impossible touch, but one already written, already realized in God. In a gesture
of utter poverty, she places before God her virginity, her not knowing man. This
is a complete and absolute surrender of self, full of faith and trust. It is her
preliminary yes.
o vv. 35-37: God, most humble, gives an answer; the all-powerful bends over the
fragility of this woman, who represents each one of us. The dialogue continues,
the covenant grows and is strengthened. God reveals the how, he speaks of
the Holy Spirit, of the fruitful overshadowing, which does no violence, does not
break, but preserves intact. He speaks of the human experience of Elizabeth,

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 he reveals another impossible thing made possible; almost like a guarantee or
security. And then comes the last word when one must make a choice: to say
yes or no, believe or doubt, dissolve or harden oneself, to open the door or close
it. “Nothing is impossible for God”.
o v. 38: The last verse seems to contain an infinity. Mary says her “Here I am”, she
opens herself wide to God and then the meeting, the union takes place forever.
God enters into the human and the human becomes the place of God: these
are the most sublime Nuptials possible on earth. And yet, the Gospel ends on
a sad and hard note: Mary stays alone, the angel leaves. What remains,
however, is the yes pronounced to God and God’s presence; what remains is
real Life.
• The Text:
In the sixth month the angel Gabriel was sent by God to a town in Galilee called
Nazareth, to a virgin betrothed to a man named Joseph, of the House of David; and
the virgin's name was Mary. He went in and said to her, 'Rejoice, you who enjoy God's
favor! The Lord is with you.' She was deeply disturbed by these words and asked
herself what this greeting could mean, but the angel said to her, 'Mary, do not be
afraid; you have won God's favor. Look! You are to conceive in your womb and bear a
son, and you must name him Jesus. He will be great and will be called Son of the
Most High. The Lord God will give him the throne of his ancestor David; he will rule
over the House of Jacob forever and his reign will have no end.' Mary said to the
angel, 'But how can this come about, since I have no knowledge of man?' The angel
answered, 'The Holy Spirit will come upon you, and the power of the Most High will
cover you with its shadow. And so the child will be holy and will be called Son of God.
And I tell you this too: your cousin Elizabeth also, in her old age, has conceived a son,
and she whom people called barren is now in her sixth month, for nothing is
impossible to God.' Mary said, 'You see before you the Lord's servant, let it happen to
me as you have said.' And the angel left her.

A Moment of Prayerful Silence

I have read and listened to the words of the Gospel. Now I stand in silence … God is
present, at the door, and asks for shelter, yes, even from me and from my poor life …

A few questions
• God‟s announcement, his angel, enters my life, stands before me and speaks to me.
Am I prepared to welcome him, to give him space, to listen to him attentively?
• Suddenly I receive an upsetting announcement; God speaks to me of joy, grace and
presence. All the things that I have been seeking for so long, always. Who can make
me really happy? Am I willing to trust in his happiness and his presence?
• Not much is needed, just a movement of the heart, of my being; He is already aware
of this. He is already overwhelming me with light and love. He says to me: “You have

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 found favour in my sight”. So, I please God? He finds me pleasant, loveable? Yes, that
is how it really is. Why is it that I would not believe it before? Why have I not listened
to him?
• The Lord Jesus wants to come into this world also through me; he wants to reach my
brothers and sisters through the paths of my life, of my being. Would I lead him
astray? Would I refuse him, keep him at a distance? Would I wipe him out of my
story, my life?

A Key to the Reading

Some important and strong words that resonate in this passage of the Gospel.

• Rejoice!
This is a really strange greeting from God to his creature; it seems hard to explain
and perhaps even senseless. And yet, for centuries it resonated in the pages of
Sacred Scripture and thus also on the lips of the Hebrew people. Rejoice, be glad,
exult! Many times the prophets had repeated this gentle breath of God and had
shouted the silent beat of his heart for his people, his remnant. I read this in Joel:
“Land, do not be afraid; be glad, rejoice, for Yahweh has done great things… (2: 21-23);
in Zephaniah: “Shout for joy, daughter of Zion, Israel, shout aloud! Rejoice, exult with
all your heart, daughter of Jerusalem! Yahweh has repealed your sentence” (3: 14); in
Zechariah: “Sing, rejoice, daughter of Zion, for now I am coming to live among you –
Yahweh declares!” (2, 14). I read and listen to it, today, I say it also in my heart, in my
life; a joy is announced to me, a new happiness, never before experienced. I
rediscover the great things that the Lord has done for me; I experience the freedom
that comes from his pardon: I am no longer sentenced, but graced forever; I live the
experience of the presence of the Lord next to me, in me. Yes, He has come to dwell
in our midst; He is once more setting up his tent in the land of my heart, of my
existence. Lord, as the Psalm says, you rejoice in your creatures (Ps 104: 31); and I too
rejoice in you, thanks to you, my joy is in you (Ps 104: 34).
• The Lord is with you
These simple and enlightened words pronounced by the angel to Mary, liberate an
all-powerful force; I realize that these words alone would suffice to save my life, to lift
me up again from whatever fall or humiliation, to bring me back when I go astray.
The fact that He, my Lord, is with me, keeps me alive, gives me courage and trust to
go on being. If I am, it is because He is with me. Who knows but that the experience
of Isaac told in Scripture might not be valid for me, the most beautiful thing
imaginable that could happen to a person who believes in and loves God, when one
day Abimelech came to Isaac with his men to tell him: “It became clear to us that
Yahweh was with you” (Gen 26: 28) and then asked to become friends and form an
alliance. Would that the same thing might be said of me; would that I could show
that the Lord is truly with me, in my life, in my desires, in my affections, in my choices
and actions; would that others might meet Him through me. Perhaps for this, it is
necessary for me to absorb more the presence of God, for me to eat and drink of Him.

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 Let me go to the school of Scripture, to read and re-read some passages where the
voice of the Lord tells me again and again of this truth and, while He speaks, to be
transformed, ever more in- dwelt. “Remain for the present in that country; I shall be
with you and bless you” (Gen 26: 3). “To Joshua son of Nun, Yahweh gave this order:
Be strong and stand firm, for you are to be the one to bring the Israelites into the
country which I have promised them on oath, and I myself shall be with you” (Dt 31:
23). “They will fight against you but will not overcome you, because I am with you to
save you and rescue you” (Jer 15: 20). “The angel of Yahweh appeared to him and said:
Yahweh is with you, valiant warrior!” (Judges 6: 12). “Yahweh appeared to him the
same night and said: I am the God of your father Abraham. Do not be afraid, for I am
with you. I shall bless you and multiply your offspring for my servant Abraham’s sake”
(Gen 26: 24). “Be sure, I am with you; I shall keep you safe wherever you go, and bring
you back to this country, for I shall never desert you until I have done what I have
promised you” (Gen 28: 15). “Do not be afraid, for I am with you; do not be alarmed,
for I am your God. I give you strength, truly I help you, truly I hold you firm with my
saving right hand” (Is 41: 10)
• Do not be afraid
The Bible is packed with this pronouncement full of kindness; like a river of mercy,
these words are found throughout the sacred books, from Genesis to the
Apocalypse. It is the Father who repeats to his children not to be afraid, because He
is with them, he will not abandon them, he will not forget them, He will not leave
them in the hands of their enemies. It is like a declaration of love from God to
humanity, to each one of us; it is a pledge of fidelity that is relayed from hand to hand,
from heart to heart, and finally comes down to us. Abraham heard these words and
after him his son Isaac, then the patriarchs, Moses, Joshua, David, Solomon and, with
them, Jeremiah and all the prophets. No one is excluded from this embrace of
salvation that the Father offers his children, even those furthest from him, most
rebellious against him. Mary knows how to listen to these words and knows how to
believe full of faith, in an attitude of absolute surrender; She listens and believes,
welcomes and lives for us too. She is the strong and courageous woman who opens
herself to the coming of God, letting go of all fears, incredulity and a closed spirit. She
repeats these same words of God in our lives and invites us to believe like her.
• You enjoy God’s favor
“Lord, if I enjoy favor in your sight ….” This is the prayer that time and time again
comes out of the lips and hearts of those who seek refuge in the Lord; the Scriptures
tell us about such people, we come across them in our crossroads when we know
not where to go, when we feel hounded by solitude or by temptation, when we
experience abandonment, betrayals, heavy defeats of our own existence. When we
no longer have anyone and we fail to find even ourselves, then we too, like them, find
ourselves praying by repeating these same words: “Lord, if I enjoy favor in your sight.”
Who knows how often we have repeated these words, even alone and in silence. But
today, here, in this simple passage of the Gospel, we are forestalled, we are welcomed
in anticipation; we need no longer plead, because we have already found everything

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 that we always sought and much more. We have received freely, we are
overwhelmed and now we can overflow.
• Nothing is impossible for God
I have nearly come to the end of this strong journey of grace and liberation; I now
come across a word that shakes me in my depths. My faith is being sifted; the Lord
is testing me, scrutinizing me, testing my heart. What the angel says here in front of
Mary, had already been proclaimed many times in the Old Testament; now the time
has come for the fulfilment, now all the impossible things come to pass. God
becomes man; the Lord becomes friend, brother; the distant is very close. And I, even
I, small and poor as I am, am given to share in the immensity of this gift, this grace; I
am told that in my life too the impossible becomes possible. I only have to believe,
to give my consent. But this means that I have to allow myself to be shattered by the
power of God; to surrender to Him, who will transform me, free me and renew me.
Not even this is impossible. Yes, I can be reborn today, here and now, by the grace of
the voice that has spoken to me, that has reached me even to the very depths of my
heart. I seek and transcribe the passages of Scripture that repeat this truth. And as I
write them, as I re-read them and say them slowly, devouring every word, and what
they say takes place in me… Genesis 18: 14; Job 42: 2; Jeremiah 32: 17; Jeremiah 32: 27;
Zechariah 8: 6; Matthew 19: 26; Luke 18: 27.
• Here I am
Now I cannot escape, nor can I avoid the conclusion. I knew from the beginning that
here, in this word, so small and yet so full, so final, that God was waiting for me. The
appointment of love, of the covenant between Him and me had been fixed precisely
on this word, just a gentle voice, just a kiss. I am unsettled by the richness of the
presence I feel in this “Here I am!”; I need not make much effort to recall the number
of times that God first pronounced and repeated these words to me. He is the “Here
I am” made man, absolutely faithful, unforgettable. I only need to tune into him, only
find his footprints in the sand of my poverty, of my desert; I only need to welcome
his infinite love that never ceases to seek me, to stay close to me, to walk with me
wherever I go. The “Here I am” has already been pronounced and realized, it is
already real. How many before me and how many today have experienced this! I am
not alone. I still remain silent, listening before I reply.
“Here I am!” (Is 65: 1) God repeats; Mary replies, “Here I am, I am the servant of the
Lord”; and Christ says, “I come to do your will.” (Ps 39: 8)

A Time of Prayer: Psalm 138

Father, into your hands I commend my life. Yahweh, you examine me and know me,
you know when I sit, when I rise, you understand my thoughts from afar. You watch
when I walk or lie down, you know every detail of my conduct.
A word is not yet on my tongue before you, Yahweh, know all about it.
You fence me in, behind and in front, you have laid your hand upon me.

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Such amazing knowledge is beyond me, a height to which I cannot attain.
Where shall I go to escape your spirit? Where shall I flee from your presence? If I scale
the heavens you are there, if I lie flat in Sheol, there you are. You created my inmost self,
knit me together in my mother's womb. For so many marvels I thank you; a wonder am
I, and all your works are wonders. You knew me through and through,
How hard for me to grasp your thoughts, how many, God, there are!
If I count them, they are more than the grains of sand; if I come to an end, I am still with
you. God, examine me and know my heart, test me and know my concerns.
Make sure that I am not on my way to ruin, and guide me on the road of eternity.

Closing Prayer
Father, you came down to me, you have come to me, you have touched my heart, you
have spoken to me and promised joy, presence and salvation. By the grace of the Holy
Spirit, who overshadows me, I, together with Mary, have been able to say to you yes, the
“Here I am‟ of my life for you. Now there remains only the force of your promise, of your
truth: “You are to conceive and bear Jesus”. Lord, here is the womb of my life, of my
being, of all that I am and have, open before you. I place all things in you, in your heart.
Enter, come, come down again, I beg you, and make me fruitful, make me one who
gives birth to Christ in this world. May the overflowing love I receive from you find its
fullness and truth in touching the brothers and sisters that you place beside me. May
our meeting, Father, be open, a gift to all. May Jesus be the Savior. Amen.

Friday, March 26, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you are a loyal God, ever faithful to your promises. Strengthen our faith, that with Jesus
we may always keep trusting in you in spite of prejudices, ridicule or contradiction.
Give us the firm conviction that you are irrevocably committed to us in Jesus Christ our
Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 10: 31-42

The Jews fetched stones to stone him, so Jesus said to them, 'I have shown you many
good works from my Father; for which of these are you stoning me?'
The Jews answered him, 'We are stoning you, not for doing a good work, but for
blasphemy; though you are only a man, you claim to be God.' Jesus answered: Is it not
written in your Law: I said, you are gods? So, it uses the word 'gods' of those people to
whom the word of God was addressed -- and scripture cannot be set aside. Yet to

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someone whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world you say, 'You are
blaspheming' because I said, 'I am Son of God.' If I am not doing my Father's work,
there is no need to believe me; but if I am doing it, then even if you refuse to believe in
me, at least believe in the work I do; then you will know for certain that the Father is in
me and I am in the Father.
They again wanted to arrest him then, but he eluded their clutches.
He went back again to the far side of the Jordan to the district where John had been
baptizing at first and he stayed there. Many people who came to him said, 'John gave
no signs, but all he said about this man was true'; and many of them believed in him.

Reflection
• We are close to Holy Week, during which we commemorate and update the Passion,
Death and Resurrection of Jesus. Beginning with the fourth week of Lent, the texts
of the Gospel of every day are texts taken almost exclusively from the Gospel of John,
two chapters which stress the dramatic tension between the progressive revelation,
on the one side, which Jesus makes of the mystery of the Father which fills him
completely, and on the other side, the progressive closing up of the Jews who always
become more impenetrable to the message of Jesus. The tragic aspect of this
closing up is that they claim it is in fidelity to God. They refuse Jesus in the name of
God.
• This way in which John presents the conflict between Jesus and the religious
authority is not only something which has taken place in the far past. It is also a
mirror which reflects what happens today. In the name of God, some persons
transform themselves into bombs and kill other persons. In the name of God, we,
members of the three religions of the God of Abraham, Jews, Christians and Muslims,
mutually condemn one another, fight among ourselves, throughout history.
Ecumenism is difficult among us, and at the same time it is necessary. In the name
of God, many horrible things have been committed and we continue to commit
them every day. Lent is an important period of time to stop and to ask ourselves:
Which is the image of God which I have within me?
• John 10: 31-33: The Jews want to stone Jesus. The Jews prepare stone to kill Jesus and
Jesus asks: “I have shown you many good works from my Father, for which of these
are you stoning me?” The answer: “We are stoning you, not for doing a good work,
but for blasphemy; though you are only man, you claim to be God”. They want to kill
Jesus because he blasphemes. The law ordered that such persons should be stoned.
• John 10: 34-36: The Bible calls all sons of God. They want to kill Jesus because he says
he is God. Jesus responds in the name of the law of God itself. “Is it not perhaps
written in your Law: I said you are gods? Now, if the Law has called gods those to
whom the Word of God was addressed (and Scripture cannot be set aside), to those
whom the Father has consecrated and sent into the world, and you say: You
blaspheme, because I have said: I am the Son of God?”

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• Strangely, Jesus says “your law”. He could have said: “our Law.” Why does he speak in
this way? Here appears again the tragic division between Jews and Christians,
brothers, sons of the same father Abraham, who became irreconcilable enemies to
the point that the Christians say “your law,” as if it were not our law.
• John 10: 37-38: At least believe in the works. Jesus again speaks of the works that he
does and which are the revelation of the Father. If I do not do the works of the Father,
there is no need to believe in me. But if I do them, even if you do not believe in me,
at least believe in the works I do, so that you will believe that the Father is in me and
I am in the Father. These are the same words that he said at the Last Supper (Jn 14:
10-11).
• John 10: 39-42: Once again they want to kill him, but he flees from their clutches.
There was no sign of conversion. They continue to say that Jesus blasphemes and
insist on killing him. There is no future for Jesus. His death has been decided, but as
yet his hour has not arrived. Jesus goes out and crosses the Jordan going toward the
place where John had baptized. In this way he indicates the continuity of his mission
with the mission of John. He helped people to become aware of how God acts in
history. The people recognize in Jesus the one whom John had announced.

Personal Questions
• The Jews condemn Jesus in the name of God, in the name of the image that they
have of God. Sometimes, have I condemned someone in the name of God and then
I have discovered that I was mistaken?
• Jesus calls himself “Son of God.” When in the Creed I say that Jesus is the Son of God,
which is the content that I give to my profession of faith?

Concluding Prayer
Yahweh is my rock and my fortress, my deliverer is my God.
I take refuge in him, my rock, my shield, my saving strength, my stronghold, my place
of refuge. (Ps 18: 2)

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Season of Lent

Opening Prayer
Lord God, creator and Father of all, your sons and daughters are still scattered and
divided: Christians and non-Christians, various Churches and sects claiming exclusive
rights on your Son, and each of them full of factions.
Make us dream again the dream which you alone can make possible: that we can all be
one if we believe and follow him who died to unite all that is scattered, Jesus Christ, our

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Lord forever.

Gospel Reading – John 11: 45-57

Many of the Jews who had come to visit Mary, and had seen what he did, believed in
him, but some of them went to the Pharisees to tell them what Jesus had done.
Then the chief priests and Pharisees called a meeting. 'Here is this man working all
these signs,' they said, 'and what action are we taking? If we let him go on in this way
everybody will believe in him, and the Romans will come and suppress the Holy Place
and our nation.'
One of them, Caiaphas, the high priest that year, said, 'You do not seem to have
grasped the situation at all; you fail to see that it is to your advantage that one man
should die for the people, rather than that the whole nation should perish.' He did not
speak in his own person, but as high priest of that year he was prophesying that Jesus
was to die for the nation and not for the nation only, but also to gather together into
one the scattered children of God.
From that day onwards they were determined to kill him. So Jesus no longer went
about openly among the Jews, but left the district for a town called Ephraim, in the
country bordering on the desert, and stayed there with his disciples. The Jewish
Passover was drawing near, and many of the country people who had gone up to
Jerusalem before the Passover to purify themselves were looking out for Jesus, saying
to one another as they stood about in the Temple, 'What do you think? Will he come to
the festival or not?'

Reflection
• The Gospel today gives the last part of the long episode of the resurrection of Lazarus
in Bethany, in the house of Martha and Mary (Jn 11: 1-56). The resurrection of Lazarus
is the seventh sign (miracle) of Jesus in John’s Gospel and is also the high and
decisive point of the revelation which he made of God and of himself.
• The small community of Bethany, where Jesus liked to go, mirrors the situation and
the life- style of the small community of the Beloved Disciple at the end of the first
century in Asia Minor. Bethany means “The House of the poor.” They were poor
communities, poor people, Martha means “Lady” (coordinator): a woman
coordinated the community. Lazarus means “God helps”: the community which was
poor expected everything from God. Mary means “loved by Yahweh: she was the
beloved disciple, image of the community. The episode of the resurrection of Lazarus
communicated this certainty: Jesus is the source of life for the community of the
poor. Jesus is the source of life for all those who believe in Him.
• John 11: 45-46: The repercussion of the Seventh Sign among the people. After the
resurrection of Lazarus (Jn 11: 1-44), there is the description of the repercussion of this
sign among the people. The people were divided; “many of the Jews who had come
to visit Mary, and had seen what he did, believed in him.” But some of them went to
the Pharisees to tell them what Jesus had done.

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 The latter denounced him. In order to be able to understand this reaction of one part
of the population it is necessary to become aware that half of the population of
Jerusalem depended completely on the Temple so as to be able to live and to survive.
Because of this, it would have been difficult for them to support an unknown
prophet from Galilee who criticized the Temple and the authority. This also explains
why some even were ready to inform the authority.
• John 11: 47-53: The repercussion of the Seventh Sign among those in authority. The
news of the resurrection of Lazarus increased the popularity of Jesus. This is why the
religious leaders convoked a council meeting, the Synedrium, the maximum
authority, to discern getting rid of him; because “this man works many signs. If we
let him go on this way everybody will believe in him and the Romans will come and
suppress the Holy Place and our nation”. They were afraid of the Romans. And this
because in the past it had been shown many times by the Roman invasions in the
year 64 before Christ until the time of Jesus, that the Romans repressed with great
violence any attempt of popular rebellion. (Cf. Ac 5: 35-37). In the case of Jesus, the
Roman reaction could have led to the loss of everything, even of the Temple and of
the privileged position of the priests. Because of this, Caiaphas, the High Priest,
decides: “It is better that one man should die for the people, rather than that the
whole nation should perish”. And the Evangelist comments: “He did not speak this
in his own person, but as high priest of that year, he was prophesying that Jesus was
to die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but also to gather together into one
the scattered children of God”. Thus, beginning at that moment, the chief priests
concerned because Jesus’ authority was growing and motivated by the fear of the
Romans, decided to kill Jesus.
• John 11: 54-56: The repercussion of the seventh sign in the life of Jesus. The final result
is that Jesus had to live as a clandestine. “So, Jesus no longer went about openly
among the Jews; he left the district and went to a region near the desert, to a city
called Ephraim and stayed there with his disciples”. The Jewish Passover was
drawing near. At this time of the year, the population of Jerusalem tripled because
of the great number of pilgrims. The conversation was all around Jesus: "What do
you think, will he come to the festival or not?” In the same way, at the time that the
Gospel was written at the end of the first century, the time of the persecution of the
Emperor Domitian (from 81 to 96), the Christian communities who lived in the service
of others were obliged to live as clandestine.
• A key to understand the seventh sign of the resurrection of Lazarus. Lazarus was sick.
His sisters Martha and Mary sent someone to call Jesus: “The one whom you love is
sick!” (Jn 11: 3, 5). Jesus responds to the request and explains to the disciples: “This
sickness will not end in death, but it is for God’s glory so that through it the Son of
God may be glorified” (Jn 11: 4) In John’s Gospel, the glorification of Jesus comes
through his death (Jn 12: 23; 17: 1). One of the causes of his condemnation to death
was the resurrection of Lazarus (Jn 11: 50; 12: 10). Many Jews were in the house of
Martha and Mary to console them because of the loss of their brother. The Jews,
representatives of the Ancient Covenant, only know how to console. They do not give
new life.... Jesus is the one who brings new life! Thus, on one side, the threat of death

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 against Jesus! On the other, Jesus who overcomes death! In this context of conflict
between life and death the seventh sign of the resurrection of Lazarus takes place.
Martha says that she believes in the resurrection. The Pharisees and the majority of
the people say that they believe in the Resurrection (Ac 23: 6-10; Mk 12: 18). They
believed, but they did not reveal it. It was only faith in the resurrection at the end of
time and not in the present resurrection in history, here and now. This ancient faith
did not renew life. It is not enough to believe in the resurrection which will come at
the end of time, but it is necessary to believe in the Resurrection already present here
and now in the person of Jesus and in those who believe in Jesus. On these people,
death no longer has any power, because Jesus “is the resurrection and the life”. Even
without seeing the concrete sign of the resurrection of Lazarus, Martha confesses
her faith: “I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of the living God who was to come
into the world” (Jn 11: 27).
• Jesus orders that the stone be removed. Martha reacts: "Lord, by now he will smell!”
This is the fourth day since he died!” (Jn 11: 39). Once again Jesus presents the
challenge asking to believe in the resurrection, here and now, as a sign of the glory
of God: "Have I not told you that if you believe you will see the glory of God?” (Jn 11:
40). They removed the stone. Before the open tomb and before the unbelief of the
persons, Jesus addresses himself to the Father. In his prayer, first of all, he gives
thanks: “Father, I thank you for hearing my prayer. I myself knew that you hear me
always!” (Jn 11: 41-42). Jesus knows the Father and trusts him. But now he asks for a
sign because of the multitude which is around him, so that the people can believe
that he, Jesus, has been sent by the Father. Then he cried out in a loud voice:
“Lazarus, come out!” Lazarus came out (Jn 11: 43-44). This is the triumph of life over
death, of faith over unbelief. A farmer commented: "It is up to us to remove the stone.
And it is up to God to resurrect the community. There are people who do not know
how to remove the stone, and because of this their community has no life!”

Personal Questions
• What does it mean concretely, for me to believe in the resurrection?
• Part of the people accepted Jesus, and part did not. Today part of the people accept
the renewal of the Church and part do not. And you?

Concluding Prayer
For you are my hope, Lord, my trust, Yahweh, since boyhood. On you I have relied since
my birth, since my mother's womb you have been my portion, the constant theme of
my praise. (Ps 71: 5-6)

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Sunday, March 28, 2021
The Passion and Death of Jesus according to Mark
The final defeat as a new call
Mark 14: 1 – 15: 47

Palm Sunday

Opening Prayer
Lord Jesus, send your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that
you read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written
in the Bible, you helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events
of your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope
became for them the source of life and of resurrection.
Create in us silence so that we may listen to your voice in Creation and in the
Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May your word
guide us so that we too, like the two disciples from Emmaus, may experience the force
of your resurrection and witness to others that you are alive in our midst as source of
fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of you, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed to us
the Father and sent us your Spirit. Amen.

A Reading of the Passion and Death of Jesus

According to Mark
• A Key to the Reading:
Generally, when we read the story of the passion and death, we look at Jesus and the
suffering he had to endure. But it is worthwhile, at least once, to also look at the
disciples and see how they reacted to the cross and how the cross impacted on their
lives, for the cross is the measure for comparison!
Mark writes for the communities of the 70s. Many of these communities, whether in
Italy or Syria, were going through their own passion. They were faced with the cross
in many ways. They had been persecuted at the time of Nero in the 60‟s and many
had died devoured by wild beasts. Others had betrayed, denied or abandoned their
faith in Jesus, like Peter, Judas and other disciples. Others asked themselves: “Can I
bear persecution?” Others were tired after persevering through many trials without
any results. Among those who had abandoned their faith, some asked themselves
whether it was possible to rejoin the community. They wanted to start their journey
again, but did not know if it was possible to rejoin. A cut branch has no roots! They
all needed new and strong reasons to restart their journey. They were in need of a
renewed experience of the love of God, one that surpassed their human errors.
Where could they find this?
For them, as for us, the answer is in chapters 14 to 16 of Mark‟s Gospel, which describe
the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, the time of the greatest defeat of the

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 disciples and, in an hidden way, their greatest hope. Let us look into the mirror of
these chapters to see how the disciples reacted to the Cross and how Jesus reacts to
the infidelity and weaknesses of the disciples. Let us try to discover how Mark
encourages the faith of the community and how he describes the one who is truly a
disciple of Jesus.
Looking into the Mirror of the Passion to Know How to be a Faithful Disciple
• Mark 14: 1-9: Introduction to the Story of the Passion and Death of Jesus
1
It was two days before the Passover and the feast of Unleavened Bread, and the
chief priests and the scribes were looking for a way to arrest Jesus by some trick and
have him put to death. 2 For they said, 'It must not be during the festivities, or there
will be a disturbance among the people.' 3 He was at Bethany in the house of Simon,
a man who had suffered from a virulent skin-disease; he was at table when a woman
came in with an alabaster jar of very costly ointment, pure nard. She broke the jar
and poured the ointment on his head. 4 Some who were there said to one another
indignantly, 'Why this waste of ointment? 5 Ointment like this could have been sold
for over three hundred denarii and the money given to the poor'; and they were
angry with her. 6 But Jesus said, 'Leave her alone. Why are you upsetting her? What
she has done for me is a good work. 7 You have the poor with you always, and you
can be kind to them whenever you wish, but you will not always have me. 8 She has
done what she could: she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial. 9 In truth I
tell you, wherever throughout all the world the gospel is proclaimed, what she has
done will be told as well, in remembrance of her.'
+ Mark 14: 1-2: The conspiracy against Jesus.
At the end of his missionary activity, Jesus goes to Jerusalem and is expected by
those who hold power: the Priests, Elders, Scribes, Pharisees, Sadducees, Herodians
and Romans. They control the situation.... they will not allow Jesus, a carpenter
farmer from the interior of Galilee, to provoke disorder. They had already decided to
put Jesus to death (Mk 11:18; 12:12). Jesus was a condemned man. Now will take place
that which he himself had foretold to his disciples: “The Son of Man is destined to be
put to death” (cf. Mk 8: 31; 9: 31; 10: 33). This is the background to the story of the
passion that follows.
The story of the passion will show that the true disciple who accepts to follow Jesus,
the Messiah Servant, and who accepts to dedicate his or her life to the service of his
or her brothers and sisters, must take up his or her cross and follow Jesus. If the story
of the passion emphasizes defeat and failure, this is not so as to discourage the
readers. On the contrary, it is rather to stress that the welcoming and loving of Jesus
is stronger than the defeat and failure of the disciples!
+ Mark 14: 3-9: A faithful disciple.
A woman, whose name is not mentioned, anoints Jesus with an expensive perfume
(Mk 14: 3). The disciples criticise this gesture. They think it is a waste (Mk 14: 4-5). But
Jesus defends her: “Why are you upsetting her? What she has done for me is a good
work; she has anointed my body beforehand for its burial” (Mk 14: 6, 8). In those days,

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 those who died crucified were neither buried nor could they be embalmed. Knowing
this, the woman anticipates and anoints the body of Jesus before his sentence and
crucifixion. This gesture shows that she accepts Jesus as the Messiah Servant who
will die on the cross. Jesus understands the gesture of the woman and approves of
it. Earlier, Peter had rejected the idea of a Crucified Messiah (Mk 8:32). This
anonymous woman is the faithful disciple, model for his disciples who had
understood nothing. This model is for all, “throughout all the world” (Mk 14: 9).
• Mark 14: 10-31: The Disciples‟ Attitude towards the Cross
10
Judas Iscariot, one of the Twelve, approached the chief priests with an offer to hand
Jesus over to them. 11 They were delighted to hear it, and promised to give him
money; and he began to look for a way of betraying him when the opportunity
should occur. 12 On the first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was
sacrificed, his disciples said to him, 'Where do you want us to go and make the
preparations for you to eat the Passover?' 13 So he sent two of his disciples, saying to
them, 'Go into the city and you will meet a man carrying a pitcher of water. Follow
him, 14 and say to the owner of the house which he enters, "The Master says: Where
is the room for me to eat the Passover with my disciples?" 15 He will show you a large
upper room furnished with couches, all prepared. Make the preparations for us
there.' 16 The disciples set out and went to the city and found everything as he had
told them, and prepared the Passover. 17 When evening came, he arrived with the
Twelve. 18 And while they were at table eating, Jesus said, 'In truth I tell you, one of
you is about to betray me, one of you eating with me.' 19 They were distressed and
said to him, one after another, 'Not me, surely?' 20 He said to them, 'It is one of the
Twelve, one who is dipping into the same dish with me. 21 Yes, the Son of man is going
to his fate, as the scriptures say he will, but alas for that man by whom the Son of
man is betrayed! Better for that man if he had never been born.' 22 And as they were
eating he took bread, and when he had said the blessing he broke it and gave it to
them. 'Take it,' he said, 'this is my body.' 23 Then he took a cup, and when he had given
thanks he handed it to them, and all drank from it, 24 and he said to them, 'This is my
blood, the blood of the covenant, poured out for many. 25 In truth I tell you, I shall
never drink wine any more until the day I drink the new wine in the kingdom of God.'
26
After the psalms had been sung they left for the Mount of Olives. 27 And Jesus said
to them, 'You will all fall away, for the scripture says: I shall strike the shepherd and
the sheep will be scattered; 28 however, after my resurrection I shall go before you
into Galilee.' 29 Peter said, 'Even if all fall away, I will not.' 30 And Jesus said to him, 'In
truth I tell you, this day, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will have
disowned me three times.' 31 But he repeated still more earnestly, 'If I have to die with
you, I will never disown you.' And they all said the same.
+ Mark 14: 10-11. Judas decides to betray Jesus.
In complete contrast with the woman, Judas, one of the twelve, decides to betray
Jesus and conspires with the enemies who promise him money. Judas goes on living
with Jesus, with the sole objective of finding an occasion to hand Jesus over. When
Mark was writing his Gospel, there were disciples who were waiting for the right

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 moment to leave the community that was the cause of their persecution. Or,
perhaps, they were waiting for the moment to draw some advantage by handing
over their companions. And we today?
+ Mark 14:12-16. Preparation for the Paschal Supper.
Jesus knows that he will be betrayed. But, in spite of the betrayal by a friend, he lives
the Paschal Supper in a fraternal atmosphere with his disciples. He must have spent
a lot of money for the hall, “the large upper room furnished with couches” (Mk 14: 15),
because this was the eve of Easter. The city was full of people because of the feast. It
was difficult to find and reserve a place.
+ Mark 14: 17-21. The Announcement of Judas’ Betrayal.
Together for the last time, Jesus announces that one of his disciples will betray him,
“one of you eating with me!” (Mk 14: 18). This manner of speaking by Mark emphasizes
the contrast. For Jews, eating together, the sharing of the table, was the greatest
expression of intimacy and trust. Thus, in three lines, Mark conveys the following
message to his readers: the betrayal will take place at the hands of a close friend, but
the love of Jesus is greater than the betrayal!
+ Mark 14: 22-25. The Eucharist, the Celebration of the Paschal Supper.
During the celebration, Jesus shares something. He shares bread and wine, an
expression of the giving of himself and invites his friends to take his body and his
blood. The Evangelist places this gesture of giving (Mk 14:22-25) between the
announcement of the betrayal (Mk 14:17-21) and the flight and the denial (Mk 14:26-
31). Thus, he emphasizes the contrast between the gesture of Jesus and that of the
disciples, he brings out for the community of his time and for all of us the immense
gratuitousness of the love of Jesus that overcomes the betrayal, the denial and the
flight of his friends.
+ Mark 14: 26-28. The announcement of the flight of all.
After supper, as he was on his way with the disciples to the mount of Olives, Jesus
announces that they would all abandon him. They will flee and disperse! But even
then he says: “After my resurrection I shall go before you into Galilee!” (Mk 14: 28) They
fall away from Jesus, but Jesus does not fall away from them. He goes on waiting for
them in the same place, in Galilee, where three years before he had first called them.
The certainty of the presence of Jesus in the life of a disciple is stronger than
abandonment or flight! It is always possible to come back.
+ Mark 14:29-31. The Announcement of Peter’s Denial.
Simon, called Cephas (rock), is anything but rock. He already had been “a stumbling
block” (Mt 16: 23) and Satan for Jesus (Mk 8: 33), and now he pretends to be the most
faithful disciple of all. “Even if all fall away, I will not!” (Mk 14: 29). But Jesus says: Peter,
you will be the first to deny me, even before cockcrow!
• Mark 14:32-52: The Attitude of the Disciples in the Garden of Olives
They came to a plot of land called Gethsemane, and he said to his disciples, 'Stay
32

here while I pray.' 33 Then he took Peter and James and John with him. 34 And he

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 began to feel terror and anguish. And he said to them, 'My soul is sorrowful to the
point of death. Wait here, and stay awake.' 35 And going on a little further he threw
himself on the ground and prayed that, if it were possible, this hour might pass him
by. 36 'Abba, Father!' he said, 'For you everything is possible. Take this cup away from
me. But let it be as you, not I, would have it.' 37 He came back and found them
sleeping, and he said to Peter, 'Simon, are you asleep? Had you not the strength to
stay awake one hour? 38 Stay awake and pray not to be put to the test. The spirit is
willing enough, but human nature is weak.' 39 Again he went away and prayed, saying
the same words. 40 And once more he came back and found them sleeping, their
eyes were so heavy; and they could find no answer for him. 41 He came back a third
time and said to them, 'You can sleep on now and have your rest. It is all over. The
hour has come. Now the Son of man is to be betrayed into the hands of sinners. 42
Get up! Let us go! My betrayer is not far away.' 43 And at once, while he was still
speaking, Judas, one of the Twelve, came up and with him a number of men armed
with swords and clubs, sent by the chief priests and the scribes and the elders. 44
Now the traitor had arranged a signal with them saying, 'The one I kiss, he is the man.
Arrest him, and see he is well guarded when you lead him away.' 45 So when the
traitor came, he went up to Jesus at once and said, 'Rabbi!' and kissed him. 46 The
others seized him and arrested him. 47 Then one of the bystanders drew his sword
and struck out at the high priest's servant and cut off his ear. 48 Then Jesus spoke.
'Am I a bandit,' he said, 'that you had to set out to capture me with swords and clubs?
49
I was among you teaching in the Temple day after day and you never laid a hand
on me. But this is to fulfil the scriptures.' 50 And they all deserted him and ran away.
51
A young man followed with nothing on but a linen cloth. They caught hold of him,
52
but he left the cloth in their hands and ran away naked.
+ Mark 14: 32-42. The Attitude of the Disciples during Jesus’ Agony.
In the Garden, Jesus begins his agony and asks Peter, James and John to pray for
him. He is sad and begins to be afraid, He seeks the support of his friends. But they
fall asleep. They are not able to watch an hour with him. And this three times! Again,
we see an immense contrast between the attitude of Jesus and that of the three
disciples! It is here in the Garden and at the time of the agony of Jesus that the
courage of the disciples disintegrates. There is nothing left!
+ Mark 14:43-52. The Attitude of the Disciples when Jesus was Arrested
When night fell, the soldiers led by Judas come. The kiss, a sign of friendship and
love, becomes the sign of betrayal. Judas lacks the courage to face his betrayal. He
hides it! During his arrest, Jesus stays calm, master of the situation. He tries to read
the meaning of what is happening: “This is to fulfil the scriptures!” (Mk 14: 49) But all
the disciples left him and fled (Mk 14: 50). No one stayed. Jesus was alone!
• Mark 14: 53-15: 20: The Trial: Different Conflicting Views of the Messiah
53
They led Jesus off to the high priest; and all the chief priests and the elders and the
scribes assembled there. 54 Peter had followed him at a distance, right into the high
priest's palace, and was sitting with the attendants warming himself at the fire. 55 The
chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus in

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 order to have him executed. But they could not find any. 56 Several, indeed, brought
false witness against him, but their evidence was conflicting. 57 Some stood up and
submitted this false evidence against him, 58 'We heard him say, "I am going to
destroy this Temple made by human hands, and in three days build another, not
made by human hands." 59 But even on this point their evidence was conflicting. 60
The high priest then rose before the whole assembly and put this question to Jesus,
'Have you no answer to that? What is this evidence these men are bringing against
you?' 61 But he was silent and made no answer at all. The high priest put a second
question to him saying, 'Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?' 62 'I am,' said
Jesus, 'and you will see the Son of man seated at the right hand of the Power and
coming with the clouds of heaven.' 63 The high priest tore his robes and said, 'What
need of witnesses have we now? 64 You heard the blasphemy. What is your finding?'
Their verdict was unanimous: he deserved to die. 65 Some of them started spitting at
his face, hitting him and saying, 'Play the prophet!' And the attendants struck him
too. 66 While Peter was down below in the courtyard, one of the high priest's servant-
girls came up. 67 She saw Peter warming himself there, looked closely at him and
said, 'You too were with Jesus, the man from Nazareth.' 68 But he denied it. 'I do not
know, I do not understand what you are talking about,' he said. And he went out into
the forecourt, and a cock crowed. 69 The servant- girl saw him and again started
telling the bystanders, 'This man is one of them.' 70 But again he denied it. A little later
the bystanders themselves said to Peter, 'You are certainly one of them! Why, you
are a Galilean.' 71 But he started cursing and swearing, 'I do not know the man you
speak of.' 72 And at once the cock crowed for the second time, and Peter recalled
what Jesus had said to him, 'Before the cock crows twice, you will have disowned me
three times.' And he burst into tears.
15:1 First thing in the morning, the chief priests, together with the elders and scribes
and the rest of the Sanhedrin, had their plan ready. They had Jesus bound and took
him away and handed him over to Pilate. 2 Pilate put to him this question, 'Are you
the king of the Jews?' He replied, 'It is you who say it.' 3 And the chief priests brought
many accusations against him. 4 Pilate questioned him again, 'Have you no reply at
all? See how many accusations they are bringing against you!' 5 But, to Pilate's
surprise, Jesus made no further reply. 6 At festival time Pilate used to release a
prisoner for them, any one they asked for. 7 Now a man called Barabbas was then in
prison with the rebels who had committed murder during the uprising. 8 When the
crowd went up and began to ask Pilate the customary favor, 9 Pilate answered them,
'Do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?' 10 For he realized it was out
of jealousy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over. 11 The chief priests, however,
had incited the crowd to demand that he should release Barabbas for them instead.
12
Then Pilate spoke again, 'But in that case, what am I to do with the man you call
king of the Jews?' 13 They shouted back, 'Crucify him!' 14 Pilate asked them, 'What
harm has he done?' But they shouted all the louder, 'Crucify him!' 15 So Pilate, anxious
to placate the crowd, released Barabbas for them and, after having Jesus scourged,
he handed him over to be crucified. 16 The soldiers led him away to the inner part of
the palace, that is, the Praetorium, and called the whole cohort together. 17 They

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 dressed him up in purple, twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on him. 18 And
they began saluting him, 'Hail, king of the Jews!' 19 They struck his head with a reed
and spat on him; and they went down on their knees to do him homage. 20 And when
they had finished making fun of him, they took off the purple and dressed him in his
own clothes. They led him out to crucify him.
+ Mark 14: 53-65. Jesus is Condemned by the Supreme Court
Jesus is led before the court of the High Priests, of the Elders and the Scribes, called
the Sanhedrin. False accusations were made against him. He keeps quiet. Without
any defense, he is handed over to his enemies. He thus fulfils what Isaiah said about
the Servant Messiah, who was taken prisoner, judged and condemned like a lamb
he never opened his mouth (cf. Is 53: 6-8). When interrogated, Jesus accepts the fact
that he is the Messiah: “I am!”, but he accepts this under the title of Son of Man (Mk
14: 62). Finally, he is slapped by people who laugh at him calling him Messiah Prophet
(Mk 14: 65).
+ Mark 14: 66-72. Peter’s Denial
Peter is recognized by a servant girl as one of those who was in the Garden. Peter
denies this. He denies this swearing and cursing. Not even this time is he capable of
accepting Jesus as Messiah Servant who gives his life for others. But when the cock
crows for the second time, he remembers the words of Jesus and begins to cry. This
is what happens to those who are close to people but whose head is lost in the
ideology of the Herodians and the Pharisees. This was probably the situation of many
in the communities of the time when Mark was writing his Gospel. And we today?
+ Mark 15: 1-20. Jesus is Sentenced by the Roman Powers
The trial goes on. Jesus is handed over to the Roman powers and accused of being
Messiah King (Mk 15: 2; cf. Mc 15: 25). Others suggest the alternative of Barabbas, “in
prison with the rebels.” (Mk 15: 7) They see Jesus as an anti-Roman Warring Messiah.
After he is sentenced, they spit on Jesus, but he will not open his mouth. Here again
we see the Messiah Servant announced by Isaiah (cf Is 50: 6-8).
• Mark 15: 21-39: Before the Cross of Jesus on Calvary
21
They enlisted a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, father of Alexander and Rufus, who was
coming in from the country, to carry his cross. 22 They brought Jesus to the place
called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull. 23 They offered him wine mixed
with myrrh, but he refused it. 24 Then they crucified him, and shared out his clothing,
casting lots to decide what each should get. 25 It was the third hour when they
crucified him. 26 The inscription giving the charge against him read, 'The King of the
Jews'. 27 And they crucified two bandits with him, one on his right and one on his left.
[28] 29
The passers-by jeered at him; they shook their heads and said, 'Aha! So you
would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days! 30 Then save yourself; come
down from the cross!' 31 The chief priests and the scribes mocked him among
themselves in the same way with the words, 'He saved others, he cannot save
himself. 32 Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, for us to
see it and believe.' Even those who were crucified with him taunted him. 33 When the

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 sixth hour came there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. 34 And
at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, 'Eloi, eloi, lama sabachthani?' which
means, 'My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?' 35 When some of those who
stood by heard this, they said, 'Listen, he is calling on Elijah.' 36 Someone ran and
soaked a sponge in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it to him to drink saying,
'Wait! And see if Elijah will come to take him down.' 37 But Jesus gave a loud cry and
breathed his last. 38 And the veil of the Sanctuary was torn in two from top to bottom.
39
The centurion, who was standing in front of him, had seen how he had died, and
he said, 'In truth this man was Son of God.'
+ Mark 15: 21-22. Simon Carries the Cross
As Jesus was being led to the place of crucifixion, Simon of Cyrene, the father of a
family, was forced to carry the Cross. Simon is the ideal disciple who walks along the
way that Jesus walks. He literally carries the cross behind Jesus up to Calvary.
+ Mark 15: 23-32. The crucifixion.
Jesus is crucified as one marginalized, between two thieves. Again, the Gospel of
Mark recalls the image of the Messiah Servant, of whom Isaiah says: “He was given a
grave with the wicked” (Is 53: 9). The crime ascribed to him is “King of the Jews!” (Mk
15: 25) The religious authorities ridicule and insult Jesus and say: “come down from
the cross now, for us to see and believe!” (Mk 15: 32). They are like Peter. They would
accept Christ as Messiah, if he came down from the cross. As the hymn says: “They
wanted a great king who would be strong, dominating, and for this they did not
believe in him and killed the Savior”.
+ Mark 15:33-39. Jesus’ Death.
Abandoned by everyone, Jesus lets out a great cry and dies. The centurion, a pagan,
who was keeping guard, makes a solemn profession of faith: “In truth this man was
Son of God!” A pagan discovers and accepts what the disciples were not able to
discover and accept, that is to see the presence of the Son of God in this tortured,
excluded and crucified human being. Like the anonymous woman at the beginning
of these two chapters (Mk 14: 3-9), so at the end there appears another model
disciple, the centurion, a pagan!
• Mark 15: 40-16: 8: At the Sepulchre of Jesus
40
There were some women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary of
Magdala, Mary who was the mother of James the younger and Joseph, and Salome.
41
These used to follow him and look after him when he was in Galilee. And many
other women were there who had come up to Jerusalem with him. 42 It was now
evening, and since it was Preparation Day -- that is, the day before the Sabbath - 43
there came Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent member of the Council, who himself
lived in the hope of seeing the kingdom of God, and he boldly went to Pilate and
asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate, astonished that he should have died so soon,
summoned the centurion and enquired if he had been dead for some time. 45 Having
been assured of this by the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph 46 who
bought a shroud, took Jesus down from the cross, wrapped him in the shroud and

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 laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone
against the entrance to the tomb. 47 Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of Joseph
took note of where he was laid.
When the Sabbath was over, Mary of Magdala, Mary the mother of James, and
16: 1

Salome, bought spices with which to go and anoint him. 2 And very early in the
morning on the first day of the week they went to the tomb when the sun had risen.
3
They had been saying to one another, 'Who will roll away the stone for us from the
entrance to the tomb?' 4 But when they looked they saw that the stone -- which was
very big -- had already been rolled back. 5 On entering the tomb they saw a young
man in a white robe seated on the right-hand side, and they were struck with
amazement. 6 But he said to them, 'There is no need to be so amazed. You are looking
for Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified: he has risen, he is not here. See, here is the
place where they laid him. 7 But you must go and tell his disciples and Peter, "He is
going ahead of you to Galilee; that is where you will see him, just as he told you." 8
And the women came out and ran away from the tomb because they were
frightened out of their wits; and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.
+ Mark 15: 40-47. The Burial of Jesus
A group of women watch from a distance: Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of
James and Salome. They do not run away. They remain faithful to the end. They
witness the death of Jesus. It is from this little group that the new announcement on
Easter Sunday will come. They go with Joseph of Arimathaea who has asked
permission to bury Jesus. After that, two of them, Magdalene and Mary, stay near the
closed sepulchre. They also witness the burial of Jesus.
+ Mark 16: 1-8. The Announcement of the Resurrection
The first day of the week, early in the morning, these same women go to embalm
the body of Jesus. They find the sepulchre open. They are witnesses of the
resurrection. An angel says to them that Jesus is risen and gives them an order: “go
and tell his disciples and Peter, „He is going ahead of you to Galilee; that is where you
will see him, just as he told you‟” (Mk 16:7). In Galilee, on the shores of the lake, where
everything had begun, there also everything will begin again. It is Jesus who invites!
He will not give up, not even in the face of the abandonment of his disciples! He calls
again! He always calls!
• The Final Failure as a New Call to be Disciple
This is the story of the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus seen from the point
of view of the disciples. The frequency with which this story speaks of the
incomprehension and failure of the disciples, most probably corresponds to a
historical fact. But the main interest of the Evangelist is not to tell that which took
place in the past, rather he wants to provoke a conversion in the Christians of his
time and to arouse in them and us a new hope, capable of overcoming
discouragement and death. There are three things that stand out and need to be
considered deeply:

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 o The failure of those chosen: The twelve who were specially called and chosen by
Jesus (Mk 3: 13-19) and sent in mission by him (Mk 16: 7-13), fail. Fail completely.
Judas betrays, Peter denies, all run away, no one stays. Total dispersion!
Seemingly, there is not much difference between them and the authorities
who decree the death of Jesus. Like Peter, they too want to eliminate the cross
and want a glorious Messiah, king, blessed son of God. But there is one deep
and real difference! The disciples, in spite of all their faults and weaknesses,
hold no malice. They do not have any evil intention. They are an almost faithful
replica of all of us who walk the way of Jesus, falling all the time but always
getting up again!
o Fidelity of those not chosen: As a counterpoint to the failure of some, the strength
of faith of others is presented, those who were not part of the chosen twelve:
1. An anonymous woman from Bethania. She accepted Jesus as Messiah
Servant and, thus, she anoints him in anticipation of his burial. Jesus praises
her. She is a model for all. 2. Simon of Cyrene, father of a family. He is forced by
the soldiers to do that which Jesus had asked of the twelve who ran away. He
carries the cross behind Jesus to Calvary. 3. The centurion, a pagan. At the
moment of death, he makes his profession of faith and recognizes the Son of
God in the tortured and crucified man, one cursed according to Jewish law. 4.
Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Salome, “and many other
women were there who had come up to Jerusalem with him” (Mk 15: 41). They
did not abandon Jesus, but determinedly stayed at the foot of the cross and
close to the tomb of Jesus. 5. Joseph of Arimathaea, a member of the
Sanhedrin, who risked everything by asking for the body of Jesus to bury him.
The twelve failed. The continuation of the message of the Kingdom did not
pass through them, but through others, particularly the women, who will be
given a clear order to go call back those failed men (Mk 16: 7). And today,
through whom does the message pass on?
o The attitude of Jesus: The manner in which the Gospel of Mark presents the
attitude of Jesus during the telling of the passion is meant to give hope even
to the most discouraged and failed of the disciples! Because no matter how
great the betrayal of the Twelve was, the love of Jesus was always greater!
When Jesus announces that the disciples will run away, he already tells them
that he will wait for them in Galilee. Even though he knew of the betrayal (Mk
14: 18), the denial (Mk 14: 30) the flight (Mk 14: 27), he goes on with the gesture
of the Eucharist. And on the morning of Easter, the angel, through the women,
sends a message to Peter who had denied him, and to all the others who had
fled, that they must go to Galilee. The place where everything had begun is the
place where everything will begin again. The failure of the twelve does not
bring about a break in the covenant signed and sealed in the blood of Jesus.
• The Model of the Disciple: Follow, Service, Go up
Mark emphasizes the presence of the women who follow and serve Jesus from the
time he was in Galilee and who go up to Jerusalem with him (Mk 15: 40-41). Mark uses

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 three words to define the relationship of the women with Jesus: Follow! Serve! Go
up! They "followed and looked after" Jesus and together with many other women
“went up with him to Jerusalem" (Mk 15: 41). These are the three words that define
an ideal disciple. They are the models for the other disciples who had fled!
o Follow describes the call of Jesus and the decision to follow him (Mk 1: 18). This
decision implies leaving everything and running the risk of being killed (Mk 8:
34; 10: 28).
o Serve says that they are true disciples, for service is the characteristic of the
disciple and of Jesus himself (Mk 10: 42-45).
o Go up says that they are qualified witnesses of the death and resurrection of
Jesus, because as disciples they will go with him from Galilee to Jerusalem
(Acts 13: 31).
Having witnessed the resurrection of Jesus, they will also witness to what they have
seen and experienced. It is the experience of our baptism. "So, by our baptism into
his death we were buried with him, so that as Christ was raised from the dead by the
Father’s glorious power, we too should begin living a new life" (Rm 6: 4). Through
baptism, we all share in the death and resurrection of Jesus.

An Aid to Reflection
• What touched me most in the attitude of the twelve apostles and in the attitude of
the women during the passion and death of Jesus? What would you have done were
you present? Would you have acted like the men or the women?
• What touched you most in the attitude of Jesus concerning his disciples in the
narration of his passion and death? Why?
• What is the special message of the narration of the passion and death in Mark’s
Gospel? Have you worked out the differences between the narration of the passion
and death in the Gospel of Mark and that in the other Gospels? What are these
differences?

Prayer of a Psalm: Psalm 22 (21)

The Psalm that Jesus Prayed on the Cross

My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? The words of my groaning do nothing to
save me.
My God, I call by day but you do not answer, at night, but I find no respite.
Yet you, the Holy One, who make your home in the praises of Israel, in you our
ancestors put their trust, they trusted and you set them free.
To you they called for help and were delivered; in you they trusted and were not put to
shame. But I am a worm, less than human, scorn of mankind, contempt of the people;
all who see me jeer at me, they sneer and wag their heads, 'He trusted himself to

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Yahweh, let Yahweh set him free!
Let him deliver him, as he took such delight in him.'
It was you who drew me from the womb and soothed me on my mother's breast. On
you was I cast from my birth, from the womb I have belonged to you. Do not hold aloof,
for trouble is upon me, and no one to help me!
Many bulls are encircling me, wild bulls of Bashan closing in on me.
Lions ravening and roaring open their jaws at me. My strength is trickling away, my
bones are all disjointed, my heart has turned to wax, melting inside me.
My mouth is dry as earthenware, my tongue sticks to my jaw.
You lay me down in the dust of death. A pack of dogs surrounds me, a gang of villains
closing in on me as if to hack off my hands and my feet. I can count every one of my
bones, while they look on and gloat; they divide my garments among them and cast
lots for my clothing.
Yahweh, do not hold aloof!
My strength, come quickly to my help, rescue my soul from the sword, the one life I
have from the grasp of the dog! Save me from the lion's mouth, my poor life from the
wild bulls' horns!
I shall proclaim your name to my brothers, praise you in full assembly: 'You who fear
Yahweh, praise him! All the race of Jacob, honor him! Revere him, all the race of Israel!'
For he has not despised nor disregarded the poverty of the poor, has not turned away
his face, but has listened to the cry for help.
Of you is my praise in the thronged assembly, I will perform my vows before all who
fear him.
The poor will eat and be filled, those who seek Yahweh will praise him, 'May your heart
live forever.'
The whole wide world will remember and return to Yahweh, all the families of nations
bow down before him. For to Yahweh, ruler of the nations, belongs kingly power!
All who prosper on earth will bow before him, all who go down to the dust will do
reverence before him. And those who are dead, their descendants will serve him, will
proclaim his name to generations still to come; and these will tell of his saving justice to
a people yet unborn: he has fulfilled it.

Final Prayer
Lord Jesus, we thank for the word that has enabled us to understand better the will of
the Father. May your Spirit enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice
that which your Word has revealed to us. May we, like Mary, your mother, not only
listen to but also practice the Word. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity
of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

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Monday, March 29, 2021
Holy Week

Opening Prayer
Lord our God,
you have called your people to be the servant of one another in the cause of justice and
mercy. You showed us in Jesus, your Son, what it means to serve and how much this
may cost us. Fill us with the Spirit of Jesus, that we too may not break those who are
weak nor repel those groping in the dark.
Let him teach us to serve and to love with compassion for the helpless and respect for
the least and the poorest, together with Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 12: 1-11

Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom he had
raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there; Martha waited on them and
Lazarus was among those at table. Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment,
pure nard, and with it anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair; the house
was filled with the scent of the ointment. Then Judas Iscariot -- one of his disciples, the
man who was to betray him-said, 'Why was this ointment not sold for three hundred
denarii and the money given to the poor?'
He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he was
in charge of the common fund and used to help himself to the contents. So, Jesus said,
'Leave her alone; let her keep it for the day of my burial. You have the poor with you
always, you will not always have me.'
Meanwhile a large number of Jews heard that he was there and came not only on
account of Jesus but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. Then the
chief priests decided to kill Lazarus as well, since it was on his account that many of the
Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.

Reflection
• We have entered into Holy Week, the week of the Passover of Jesus, of his passing
from this world to the Father (Jn 13: 1). Liturgy today places before us the beginning
of chapter 12 of the Gospel of John, which serves as a link between the Book of the
Signs (cc 1-11) and the Book of the Glorification (cc 13-21). At the end of the “Book of
Signs” there appears, very clearly the tension between Jesus and the religious
authority of the time (Jn 10: 19-21, 39) and the danger which Jesus was facing. Several
times they had tried to kill him (Jn 10: 31; 11: 8, 53; 12: 10). So much it was like this that
Jesus was obliged to lead a clandestine life, because he could be arrested at any
moment (Jn 10: 40; 11: 54).

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• John 12: 1-2: Jesus persecuted by the Jews, goes to Bethany. Six days before the
Passover, Jesus went to Bethany to the house of his friends Martha and Mary and of
Lazarus. Bethany means, House of Poverty. The police was looking for him (Jn 11: 57).
They wanted to kill him (Jn 11: 50). But even now that the police was looking for Jesus,
Mary, Martha and Lazarus received him in their house and offered him something to
eat. Because love overcomes fear.
• John 12: 3: Mary anoints Jesus. During the meal, Mary anoints the feet of Jesus with a
pound of perfume of pure spikenard (cf. Lk 7: 36-50). It was a very costly perfume, so
very expensive that it cost three hundred denarii. Then she dried his feet with her
hair. The whole house was filled with the scent of the ointment. Mary does not speak
during this whole episode. She only acts. The gesture filled with symbolism speaks
for itself. In washing the feet, Mary becomes a servant. Jesus will repeat the gesture
at the Last Supper (Jn 13: 5).
• John 12: 4-6: Reaction of Judas. Judas criticizes the gesture of Mary. He thinks that it
is a waste. In fact, three hundred denarii were the wages of three hundred days! The
wages of almost a whole year spent in one time alone! Judas thinks that the money
should have been given to the poor. The Evangelist comments and says that Judas
had no concern at all for the poor, but that he was a thief. They had a common fund
and he stole the money. A strong judgment which condemns Judas. It does not
condemn the concern for the poor, but the hypocrisy which uses the poor for self-
promotion and to enrich oneself. Judas, in his own egoistic interests, thought only
about money. This is why he was not aware of what Mary kept in her heart. Jesus
reads in the heart and defends Mary.
• John 12: 7-8: Jesus defends the woman. Judas thinks only of the waste and criticizes
the woman. Jesus thinks of the gesture and defends the woman: “Leave her alone;
so that she can keep it for the day of my burial!” And immediately Jesus says: “You
have the poor with you always; you will not always have me!” Which of the two lived
closer to Jesus: Judas or Mary? Judas, the disciple, lived together with Jesus for
almost three years, twenty-four hours a day. He was part of the group. Mary saw him
once or twice a year, on the occasion of some feast, when Jesus went to Jerusalem
and visited her in her house. But to live together with, not having any love does not
help us to know others. Rather it blinds people. Judas was blind. Many people live
together with Jesus and praise him even with many hymns, but do not truly know
him and do not reveal him (cf. Mt 7: 21). Two affirmations of Jesus merit a more
detailed comment: (a) “You have the poor with you always” and (b) let her keep it for
the day of my burial.”
o “You have the poor with you always.“ Is it perhaps that Jesus wants to say
that we should not be concerned about the poor, given the fact that there will
always be poor? Or does he want to say that poverty is the destiny imposed by
God? How is this phrase to be understood? At that time, persons knew the Old
Testament by heart. It sufficed for Jesus to begin quoting a phrase of the Old
Testament and persons already knew the rest. The beginning of the phrase
said: “There will never cease to be poor people in the country.” (Dt 15: 11ª) The

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 rest of the phrase which people already knew and which Jesus wants to
remind is the following: “And this is why I am giving you this command: always
be open handed with your brother, and with anyone in your country who is in
need and is poor!” (Dt 15: 11b). According to this Law, the community should
accept the poor and share its goods with them. But Judas instead of “opening
his hand to help the poor” and to share his goods with them, wanted to do
charity with the money of others! He wanted to sell the perfume of Mary for
three hundred denarii and use it to help the poor. Jesus quotes the Law of God
which taught the contrary. Anyone who, like Judas, carries out a campaign
with the money of the sale of the goods of other does not disturb or trouble.
But, the one who, like Jesus, insists on the obligation to accept the poor and to
share with them one’s own goods, this one disturbs, troubles and runs the risk
of being condemned.
o John 12: 9-11: The crowds and the authority. To be the friend of Jesus could be
dangerous. Lazarus is in danger of death because of the new life received from
Jesus. The Jews had decided to kill him. Lazarus alive was a living proof that
Jesus was the Messiah. This is why the crowd was looking for him, because
people wanted to experience closely the living proof of the power of Jesus. A
living community runs the risk of its life because it is the living proof of the
Good News of God!

Personal Questions
• Mary was misinterpreted by Judas. Have you been misinterpreted sometimes?
• What does this text of Mary teach us? What does the reaction of Judas say to us?

Concluding Prayer
Yahweh is my light and my salvation, whom should I fear?
Yahweh is the fortress of my life, whom should I dread? (Ps 27: 1)

Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Holy Week

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.

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Keep us faithful to you and to one another through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - John 13: 21-33, 36-38

Having said this, Jesus was deeply disturbed and declared, 'In all truth I tell you, one of
you is going to betray me.' The disciples looked at each other, wondering whom he
meant. The disciple Jesus loved was reclining next to Jesus; Simon Peter signed to him
and said, 'Ask who it is he means,' so leaning back close to Jesus' chest he said, 'Who is
it, Lord?' Jesus answered, 'It is the one to whom I give the piece of bread that I dip in
the dish.' And when he had dipped the piece of bread he gave it to Judas son of Simon
Iscariot. At that instant, after Judas had taken the bread, Satan entered him. Jesus then
said, 'What you are going to do, do quickly.'
None of the others at table understood why he said this. Since Judas had charge of the
common fund, some of them thought Jesus was telling him, 'Buy what we need for the
festival,' or telling him to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the
piece of bread he went out. It was night. When he had gone, Jesus said: Now has the
Son of man been glorified, and in him God has been glorified. If God has been glorified
in him, God will in turn glorify him in himself, and will glorify him very soon. Little
children, I shall be with you only a little longer. You will look for me, and, as I told the
Jews, where I am going, you cannot come.
Simon Peter said, 'Lord, where are you going?' Jesus replied, 'Now you cannot follow
me where I am going, but later you shall follow me.' Peter said to him, 'Why can I not
follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.' 'Lay down your life for me?' answered
Jesus. 'In all truth I tell you, before the cock crows you will have disowned me three
times.'

Reflection
• This is the third day of Holy Week. The texts of the Gospel of these days place before
us the terrible facts which will lead to the imprisonment and condemnation of Jesus.
The texts not only present the decisions of the religious and civil authority against
Jesus, but also the betrayal and the negotiations of the disciples which rendered
possible for the authority to arrest Jesus and contributed enormously to increase the
suffering of Jesus.
• John 13: 21: The announcement of the betrayal. After having washed the feet of the
disciples (Jn 13: 2-11) and having spoken about the obligation that we have of washing
each other’s feet (Jn 13: 12-16), Jesus is profoundly touched. And it is no wonder. He
was fulfilling that gesture of service and total gift of self, while at his side one of the
disciples was planning how to betray him that same night. Jesus expresses his
emotion saying: “In all truth I tell you one of you is going to betray me!” He does not
say: “Judas will betray me,” but “one of you.” It is one of his group who will betray him.
• John 13: 22-25: The reaction of the disciples. The disciples are frightened. They did not
expect that declaration, that is, that one of them would be the traitor. Peter makes a
sign to John to ask Jesus which of the twelve would be the traitor. This is a sign that

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 they did not know one another well, they could not succeed in understanding who
could be the traitor. A sign, that is, that the friendship among them had not as yet
reached the same transparency that Jesus had with them (cf. Jn 15: 15). John reclined
near Jesus and asked him: “Who is it?”
• John 13: 26-30: Jesus indicates Judas. Jesus says: It is the one to whom I give the piece
of bread that I dip in the dish. He took a piece of bread, dips it in the cup and hands
it over to Judas. This was a common and normal gesture which the participants at a
supper used to do among themselves. And Jesus tells Judas: “What you are going to
do, do quickly!” Judas had charge of the common fund. He was in charge of buying
things and of giving the alms to the poor. This is why no one perceived anything
special in the gesture and in the words of Jesus. In this description of the
announcement of the betrayal is evoked the Psalm in which the psalmist complains
about the friend who betrays him: “Even my trusted friend on whom I relied, who
shared my table takes advantage of me” (Ps 41: 10; cf. Ps 55: 13-15). Judas becomes
aware that Jesus knew everything (cf. Jn 13: 18). But even knowing it, he does not
change his mind but keeps the decision to betray Jesus. This is the moment in which
the separation between Judas and Jesus takes place. John says at this moment
Satan entered him. Judas rises and leaves. He places himself at the side of the enemy
(Satan). John comments: “It was night.” It was dark.
• John 13: 31-33: The glorification of Jesus begins. It is as if history had waited for this
moment of separation between light and darkness. Satan (the enemy) and darkness
entered into Judas when he decides to carry out what he was planning. In that
moment the light was made in Jesus who declares: “Now the son of man has been
glorified, and in him God has been glorified also. If God has been glorified in him, God
will in turn glorify him in himself, and will glorify him very soon!” Everything which
will happen from now on will be in the regressive way. The decisions had already
been taken by Jesus (Jn 12: 27-28) and now by Judas. The facts follow one another
hastily. And, Jesus announces it: “Little children, I will be with you only a little longer.
You will look for me, and, as I told the Jews, where I am going you cannot come”.
There is little time left before the Passover.
• John 13: 34-35: The new commandment. Today’s Gospel omits these two verses on
the new commandment of love, and begins to speak about the announcement of
the denial of Peter.
• John 13: 36-38: Announcement of the denial of Peter. Together with the betrayal of
Judas, the Gospel also speaks of the denial of Peter. These are the two facts which
contribute the most to Jesus suffering and pain. Peter says that he is ready to give
his life for Jesus. Jesus recalls and reminds him of reality: “You are ready to lay down
your life for me? In all truth I tell you, before the cock crows you will have disowned
me three times”. Mark had written: “Before the cock crows twice, you will have
disowned me three times” (Mk 14: 30). Everybody knows that the cock crows rapidly.
When in the morning the first cock begins to sing, almost at the same time all the
cocks crow together. Peter is more rapid in his denial than the cock in crowing.

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Personal Questions
• Judas, the friend, becomes the traitor. Peter, the friend, denies Jesus. And I?
• I place myself in Jesus‟ situation and I think: how does he face the denial and the
betrayal, the contempt and the exclusion?

Concluding Prayer
You are my hope, Lord, my trust, Yahweh, since boyhood. On you I have relied since my
birth, since my mother's womb you have been my portion, the constant theme of my
praise. (Ps 71: 5-6)

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Holy Week

Opening Prayer
God our Father, when the hour of Your Son Jesus had come to accept suffering and
death out of love of You and His saving love for us, He did not refuse that suffering and
deep pain.
In the hour of trial that we may have to pass through, do not let us become rebellious
but keep us trusting in You, for You save us through Jesus Christ our Lord.

Gospel Reading - Matthew 26: 14-25

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said,
"What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?" They paid him thirty pieces
of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over. On the
first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said,
"Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?" He said, "Go into the
city to a certain man and tell him, 'The teacher says, my appointed time draws near; in
your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples."' The disciples then did as
Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover. When it was evening, he reclined at
table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, "Amen, I say to you, one of
you will betray me." Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after
another, "Surely it is not I, Lord?" He said in reply, "He who has dipped his hand into the
dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written
of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for
that man if he had never been born." Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, "Surely it is
not I, Rabbi?" He answered, "You have said so."

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Reflection
• Yesterday the Gospel spoke of the betrayal of Judas and of the denial of Peter. Today,
it speaks once again of the betrayal of Judas. In the description of the Passion of
Jesus in the Gospel of Matthew, the failure of the disciples is strongly stressed. In
spite of having lived three years together with Jesus, not one of them defends Jesus.
Judas betrays Him, Peter denies Him, and the others flee. Matthew narrates
everything, not to criticize or to condemn, neither to discourage the readers, but in
order to underline that acceptance and the love of Jesus exceed the defeat and the
failure of the disciples! This way of describing the attitude of Jesus was a help for the
Communities at the time of Matthew. Because of the frequent persecutions, many
were discouraged and had abandoned the community and asked themselves: “Will
it be possible to return? Will God accept and forgive us?” Matthew responds by
suggesting that we can break the relationship with Jesus, but Jesus never breaks it
with us. His love is greater than our infidelity. This is a very important message which
we get from the Gospel during Holy Week.
• Matthew 26: 14-16: The Decision of Judas to betray Jesus. Judas took the decision
after Jesus did not accept the criticism of the disciples concerning the woman who
wastes a very expensive perfume only to anoint Jesus (Mt 26: 6-13). He went to the chief
priest and asked: “What are you prepared to give Me if I hand Him over to you?” They
agreed on the sum of thirty silver pieces. Matthew recalls the words of the Prophet
Zechariah to describe the price agreed upon (Zc 11: 12). At the same time, the betrayal
of Jesus for thirty silver coins recalls the sale of Joseph by his brothers, decided by
the buyers for twenty coins (Gn 37: 28). It also is reminiscent of the price of thirty coins
to be paid for the wounding of a slave. (Ex 21: 32)
• Matthew 26: 17-19: The preparation for the Passover. Jesus was coming from Galilee.
He did not have a house in Jerusalem. He spent the night in the Garden of Olives (cf.
Jn 8: 1). In the days of the feast of the Passover the people of Jerusalem increased
three times in number because of the enormous number of pilgrims who went there
from all parts. For Jesus it was not easy to find a big room to celebrate the Passover
together with the pilgrims coming from Galilee. He ordered His disciples to find a
person in whose house He had decided to celebrate the Passover. The Gospel does
not offer any other information and allows the imagination to complete what is
missing in the information. Was this a person known by Jesus? A relative? A disciple?
Throughout the centuries the imagination of the Apocrypha has tried to complete
this information, but with little credibility.
• Matthew 26: 20-25: The announcement of the betrayal of Judas. Jesus knew that He
will be betrayed. In spite of the fact that Judas did things secretly. Jesus knew. But
in spite of that, He wants to act fraternally with the group of friends to which Judas
belongs. When all were together for the last time, Jesus announces who is the traitor
“Someone who has dipped his hand into the dish with Me will betray Me.” This way of
announcing the betrayal renders even clearer the contrast. For the Jews, the
communion around the table, to dip the hand together in the same dish, was the
maximum expression of intimacy and trust. In this way, Matthew suggests that in

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 spite of the betrayal made by someone who was a friend, the love of Jesus is greater
than the betrayal!
• What strikes us in the way in which Matthew describes these facts? Between the
denial and the betrayal there is the institution of the Eucharist (Mt 26: 26-29): the
betrayal of Judas first (Mt 26: 20-25); the denial of Peter and the flight of the disciples,
afterwards (Mt 25: 30-35). Thus, he stressed for us the incredible love of Jesus, which
exceeds the betrayal, the denial, and the flight of the friends. His love does not
depend on what others do for Him.

Personal Questions
• It seems obvious that Judas will betray Jesus from our reading the Gospel, but put
yourself there at the time. Would you have suspected one of your close group to do
this? How would you interpret the indications Jesus was giving at the time?
• In Holy Week it is important to reserve some moments to become aware of the
unbelievable gratuity of God’s love for me.

Concluding Prayer
Sing to God, play music to His name, build a road for the Rider of the Clouds, rejoice in
Yahweh, dance before Him.
Father of orphans, defender of widows, such is God in His holy dwelling. (Ps 68: 4-5)

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