MONDAY OF THE HOLY WEEK

Monday of the Holy Week

(phophet Isaia)

• April 2, 2012
• First Reading: Isaiah 42:1-7

1 Behold my servant, I will uphold him: my elect, my soul delighteth in him: I have given my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
2 He shall not cry, nor have respect to person, neither shall his voice be heard abroad.
3 The bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4 He shall not be sad, nor troublesome, till he set judgment in the earth: and the islands shall wait for his law.
5 Thus saith the Lord God that created the heavens, and stretched them out: that established the earth, and the things that spring out of it: that giveth breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them that tread thereon.
6 I the Lord have called thee in justice, and taken thee by the hand, and preserved thee. And I have given thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles:
7 That thou mightest open the eyes of the blind, and bring forth the prisoner out of prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.

• Psalm: Psalms 27:1,2,3,13-14

1 The psalm of David before he was anointed. The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I fear? The Lord is the protector of my life: of whom shall I be afraid?
2 Whilst the wicked draw near against me, to eat my flesh. My enemies that trouble me, have themselves been weakened, and have fallen.
3 If armies in camp should stand together against me, my heart shall not fear. If a battle should rise up against me, in this will I be confident.
13 I believe to see the good things of the Lord in the land of the living.
14 Expect the Lord, do manfully, and let thy heart take courage, and wait thou for the Lord.

• Gospel: John 12:1-11

1 Jesus therefore, six days before the pasch, came to Bethania, where Lazarus had been dead, whom Jesus raised to life.
2 And they made him a supper there: and Martha served: but Lazarus was one of them that were at table with him.
3 Mary therefore took a pound of ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of Jesus, and wiped his feet with her hair; and the house was filled with the odour of the ointment.
4 Then one of his disciples, Judas Iscariot, he that was about to betray him, said:
5 Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence, and given to the poor?
6 Now he said this, not because he cared for the poor; but because he was a thief, and having the purse, carried the things that were put therein.
7 Jesus therefore said: Let her alone, that she may keep it against the day of my burial.
8 For the poor you have always with you; but me you have not always.
9 A great multitude therefore of the Jews knew that he was there; and they came, not for Jesus' sake only, but that they might see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead.
10 But the chief priests thought to kill Lazarus also:
11 Because many of the Jews, by reason of him, went away, and believed in Jesus.

Meditation: Extravagant love for Jesus

Do you know the love that knows no bounds? As Jesus dines with his beloved friends, Mary does something which only love can do. She took the most precious thing she had and spent it all on Jesus. Her love was not calculated but extravagant. Mary's action was motivated by one thing, and one thing only, namely, her love for Jesus and her gratitude for God’s mercy. She did something, however, a Jewish woman would never do in public. She loosed her hair and anointed Jesus with her tears. It was customary for a woman on her wedding day to bound her hair. For a married woman to loosen her hair in public was a sign of grave immodesty. Mary was oblivious to all around her, except for Jesus. She took no thought for what others would think, but what would please her Lord. In humility she stooped to anoint Jesus' feet and to dry them with her hair. How do you anoint the Lord’s feet and show him your love and gratitude?
The gospel records that the whole house was filled with the perfume of the ointment. What Mary had done brought sweetness not only in the physical sense, but the spiritual sense as well. Her lovely deed shows the extravagance of love – a love that we cannot outmatch. The Lord Jesus showed us the extravagance of his love in giving the best he had by pouring out his own blood for our sake and by anointing us with his Holy Spirit. The Apostle Paul says that nothing will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus (Romans 8:39). Do you allow the love of Christ to rule in all your thoughts and intentions, and in all your words and deeds?
Why was Judas critical of Mary’s lovely deed? Judas viewed her act as extravagant wastefulness because of greed. A person views things according to what it inside the heart and soul. Judas was an embittered man and had a warped sense of what was precious and valuable, especially to God. Jesus had put Judas in charge of their common purse, no doubt because he was gifted in financial matters. The greatest temptation we can face will often come in the area of our greatest strength or gifting. Judas used money entrusted to him for wrong and hurtful purposes. He allowed greed and personal gain to corrupt his heart and to warp his view of things. He was critical towards Mary because he imputed unworthy motives. Do you examine your heart correctly when you impute wrong or unworthy motives towards others?

"Give us, Lord, a lively faith, a firm hope, a fervent charity, a love of you. Take from us all lukewarmness in meditation, dullness in prayer. Give us fervor and delight in thinking of you and your grace, your tender compassion towards me. The things we pray for, good Lord, give us grace to labor for: through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Prayer of Sir Thomas More, 16th century)

(Don Schwager)

The Lord is my light and my salvation(Isaiah 42:1-7)

‘You will not always have me.’

The anointing of Jesus at Bethany indicates the decision each one of us must make concerning God’s offer of salvation. 

Why did Mary ‘waste’ this perfume on Jesus rather than keep it for herself, or better still, sell it and give the money to the poor? She must have come to understand deep within her heart the truth of Jesus that he is the image of the invisible God, the first born of all creatures; that all was created through him and for him. Out of this knowledge grew her desire to give everything back to God, the giver of all good things. Nothing, as far as Mary was concerned, was worth more than Jesus. 

Holy Spirit, during this Holy Week open our eyes and hearts to see the truth of who Jesus is. Give us the desire to waste our lives on him.

(Daily Prayer Online)

MINUTE MEDITATIONS 

Utilizing Time Wisely
If you avoid unnecessary talk and aimless visits, listening to news and gossip, you will find plenty of suitable time to spend in meditation on holy things. –Thomas à Kempis
— from Help Me Pray

April 2
Blessed Elisabetta Vendramini
(1790-1860)

"The love of Christ urges us on" (2 Corinthians 5:14) was Elisabetta’s guiding star.

Born in Bassano del Grappa near Treviso, at age 27 Elisabetta broke off an engagement to marry and decided to alleviate the moral and material sufferings of the poor. She began working at a girls’ orphanage in her hometown in 1820 and joined the Secular Franciscan Order the following year. After moving to Padua in 1828, she continued working with children. In 1830 she founded the Franciscan Tertiary Sisters of Saint Elizabeth of Hungary. Until her death Elisabetta guided this community, which dedicated itself to teaching as well as caring for the elderly, orphans and the sick. She united her physical sufferings with those of Christ and the Sorrowful Mother Mary. Elisabetta was beatified in 1990.

Comment:

Saintly people show us that love of God and love of neighbor are two sides of the same coin. Love of God strengthens us as we take small but concrete steps to express our love of neighbor. Our inability to do everything needed should not stop us from doing what we can.

Quote:

During his homily for her beatification, Pope John Paul II said that from her prayer Elisabetta drew "the dynamism of the Incarnation of the Word, in order to give praise and admiration to the Poor and Crucified Christ, whom she recognized and served in her beloved poor." Later he pointed out: "Blessed Elisabetta teaches us that wherever faith is strong and sure, our charitable outreach to our neighbor will be more daring. Wherever our sense of Christ is more acute, our sense of the needs of our brothers and sisters will be more correct and on target" (1990, vol. 46, no. 1).

April 2
St. Francis of Paola

(1416-1507)

Francis of Paola was a man who deeply loved contemplative solitude and wished only to be the "least in the household of God." Yet, when the Church called him to active service in the world, he became a miracle-worker and influenced the course of nations.

After accompanying his parents on a pilgrimage to Rome and Assisi, he began to live as a contemplative hermit in a remote cave near Paola, on Italy's southern seacoast. Before he was 20, he received the first followers who had come to imitate his way of life. Seventeen years later, when his disciples had grown in number, Francis established a Rule for his austere community and sought Church approval. This was the founding of the Hermits of St. Francis of Assisi, who were approved by the Holy See in 1474
In 1492, Francis changed the name of his community to "Minims" because he wanted them to be known as the least (minimi) in the household of God. Humility was to be the hallmark of the brothers as it had been in Francis's personal life. Besides the vows of poverty, chastity and obedience, Francis enjoined upon his followers the fourth obligation of a perpetual Lenten fast. He felt that heroic mortification was necessary as a means for spiritual growth.
It was Francis's desire to be a contemplative hermit, yet he believed that God was calling him to the apostolic life. He began to use the gifts he had received, such as the gifts of miracles and prophecy, to minister to the people of God. A defender of the poor and oppressed, Francis incurred the wrath of King Ferdinand of Naples for the admonitions he directed towards the king and his sons.
Following the request of Pope Sixtus IV, Francis traveled to Paris to help Louis XI of France prepare for his death. While ministering to the king, Francis was able to influence the course of national politics. He helped to restore peace between France and Brittany by advising a marriage between the ruling families, and between France and Spain by persuading Louis XI to return some disputed land.
Francis died while at the French court.

Comment:

The life of Francis of Paola speaks plainly to an overactive world. He was a contemplative man called to active ministry and must have felt keenly the tension between prayer and service. Yet in Francis's life it was a productive tension, for he clearly utilized the fruits of contemplation in his ministry, which came to involve the workings of nations. He responded so readily and so well to the call of the Church from a solid foundation in prayer and mortification. When he went out to the world, it was not he who worked but Christ working through him—"the least in the household of God."

Patron Saint of:

Sailors