First Reading
Isaiah 49:1-6
Hear me, O islands,
listen, O distant peoples.
The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother’s womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory.
Though I thought I had toiled in vain,
and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,
Yet my reward is with the LORD,
my recompense is with my God.
For now the LORD has spoken
who formed me as his servant from the womb,
That Jacob may be brought back to him
and Israel gathered to him;
And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,
and my God is now my strength!
It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,
to raise up the tribes of Jacob,
and restore the survivors of Israel;
I will make you a light to the nations,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.
Responsorial Psalm
Psalm 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15 and 17
R. (see 15ab) I will sing of your salvation.
In you, O LORD, I take refuge;
let me never be put to shame.
In your justice rescue me, and deliver me;
incline your ear to me, and save me.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
Be my rock of refuge,
a stronghold to give me safety,
for you are my rock and my fortress.
O my God, rescue me from the hand of the wicked.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
For you are my hope, O Lord;
my trust, O God, from my youth.
On you I depend from birth;
from my mother’s womb you are my strength.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
My mouth shall declare your justice,
day by day your salvation.
O God, you have taught me from my youth,
and till the present I proclaim your wondrous deeds.
R. I will sing of your salvation.
Gospel
John 13:21-33, 36-38
Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.
One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,
was reclining at Jesus’ side.
So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.
He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him,
“Master, who is it?”
Jesus answered,
“It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.”
So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,
son of Simon the Iscariot.
After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.
So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.
Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,
“Buy what we need for the feast,”
or to give something to the poor.
So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.
When he had left, Jesus said,
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and he will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,
‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”
Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?”
Jesus answered him,
“Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,
though you will follow later.”
Peter said to him,
“Master, why can I not follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you.”
Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times.”
REFLECTION
SOURCE: One Bread One Body
TITLE: "LAY" MINISTRY
"You will lay down your life for Me, will you?" –John 13:38
Peter promised Jesus he would lay down his life for Him (Jn 13:37). That same night, Peter lay weeping bitterly after realizing he had denied Jesus three times (Lk 22:62). Judas probably didn't intend to betray Jesus when he began following Him. Yet he allowed his love for Jesus to erode to the extent that Satan could enter his heart at the moment when Jesus reached out to him in love (Jn 13:26-27).
We too can deny or betray Jesus if we focus on our own desires rather than His. "When we deny Him by our deeds, we in some way seem to lay violent hands on Him" (Catechism, 598). Jesus showed Peter and all of us how to lay down our lives in love:
Jesus could have enjoyed the bliss of heaven with His Father, but He came to earth to save us. In His public ministry, Jesus had "nowhere to lay His head" (Lk 9:58). However, He focused not on His own comfort, but on laying down His life for us, His helpless sheep (Jn 10:11)."The Lord laid upon [Jesus] the guilt of us all" (Is 53:6). "For the sake of the joy which lay before Him He endured the cross, heedless of its shame" (Heb 12:2). Jesus let a painful crown of thorns and a heavy cross be laid upon His head and shoulders (Jn 19:2, 17). Jesus overlooked the fact that no one was present to lay down their life for Him (see Mk 14:50) and painfully persevered in laying down His life for those He loved (Jn 15:13).
During this Holy Week, allow Jesus to lay bare Your heart. Repent deeply and lay your sins before Him in Confession. Lay your life at Jesus' feet (Lk 17:16) and follow Him to the cross.
PRAYER: Jesus, "I will lay down my life for You!" (Jn 13:37)
PROMISE: "I will make you a light to the nations, that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth." –Is 49:6
PRAISE: Praise Jesus, Who gave up His all to give us all.
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