Monday of Holy Week, April 10, 2017
1st Reading: Book of Isaiah 42:1-7.
Thus says the LORD: Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, Upon whom I have put my Spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, Not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, Until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching. Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spreads out the earth with its crops, Who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk on it: I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness. The word of the Lord
Responsorial Psalm: 27(26):1.2.3.13-14.
R/.The Lord is my light and my salvation.
Holy Gospel: John 12:1-11.
Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Then Judas the Iscariot, one (of) his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor? He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions. So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” (The) large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him. The gospel of the Lord.
MONDAY REFLECTIONS:
What a humble and beautiful act of love toward Jesus. This perfume was worth 300 days’ wages. That’s a lot of money! It’s interesting to note that Judas objected to this act by claiming that he thought it should have been sold and the money given to the poor. But the Gospel states clearly that Judas was really only interested in the money himself since he used to steal from the money bag. Of even greater note is Jesus’ response to Judas. Jesus rebukes Judas and states, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.” If anyone else would have said this it would have sounded self-centered. But it was Jesus who said it and He was perfectly selfless in His love. So what was this all about? It was about the fact that Jesus knew what Mary needed. And in saying what He did, He revealed what each one of us needs.
We need to worship Him, honor Him and make Him the center of our lives. We need to humble ourselves before Him and serve Him. Not because He needs us to treat Him this way, but because we need to treat Him this way. Honoring Him in our humility and love is what we need to do for our own holiness and happiness. Jesus knew this, so He honored Mary for this act of love. This story invites us to do the same. It invites us to look to Jesus and to make Him the center of our adoration and love. It invites us to willingly pour out all our labor for Him (symbolized by the perfume worth 300 days’ wages). Nothing is too costly for Jesus. Nothing is worth more than an act of our worship. Worship of God is right to do. Most importantly, it’s an act that will transform us into the person we were made to be. We were made for worship and adoration of God and this is accomplished when we humbly honor our Lord with our whole selves.
Pray with me: Lord, may I follow the example of this holy woman, Mary. Help me to humble myself before You and honor You with my whole life. Dear Lord, nothing in life is more important than You and my total adoration of You. Draw me in, dear Lord, humble me before Your glory and help me to love and worship You with my whole being. Jesus, I trust in You that You alone will heal our sick brethren and set them free. May the souls of our faithful departed brethren rest in perfect peace, amen.