Evening Mass of the Lord's Supper - Holy Thursday

First reading: Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 116
Second reading: 1 Corinthians 11:23-26
Gospel reading: John 13:1-15

"As I have done, so you must do."

The gospel for the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper is a story
on what Jesus did during the last meal He had with His apostles:
He rose from the meal table, took off His cloak, picked up a towel
to tie it around Himself, poured water into a basin, and began to
wash His disciples' feet. When He came to Simon Peter, Peter did
not accede at first. Since he knew Jesus to be his Master, he
refused to be washed. When Jesus however explained that this
action will give Peter a share in His heritage, Peter overreacted
and now wanted his hands and his head washed as well! Knowing
Peter well, Jesus told him plainly that only his feet needed to
be washed. So, Jesus finished this prophetic action, and put His
cloak back on, then reclined at table once more.

This act of washing the apostles' feet, is a concrete expression
of what Jesus had been preaching to His people: "that the Son of
Man came not to be served, but to serve." What is also moving in
this washing of the feet is that Jesus had integrated the truth
of humble service in His institution of the Eucharist. As we will
soon celebrate the evening Mass of the Lord's Supper, the priest-
presider will also do what Jesus did: he will wash the feet of
twelve selected members of his parish. He will follow Jesus'
command: "As I have done, so you must do."

What does "washing each other's feet" mean for us today? As we
celebrate the Eucharist more often, we receive more frequently the
Body and Blood of Jesus - the very life-force of God which makes
us all act in humble service towards each other, especially to
the members of our family, the people we work with, and the people
we interact daily as we go about the tasks and responsibilities of
everyday. It is in these interactions with people that will call
us to obey the command of Jesus that we do as He has done. In
imitation of Jesus, we forget our self and see what would be good
to the significant persons in our state of life, and especially
to the poor whom we know in our neighborhood.

Wednesday in Holy Week

First reading: Isaiah 50:4-9a
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 69
Gospel reading: Matthew 26:14-25

"You have said so."

Wednesday in Holy Week is traditionally called "Spy Wednesday"
because we are given a narration of who the betrayer of Jesus will
be.

The gospel begins with Judas Iscariot asking the chief priests
what he will get in return for handing Jesus over to them. And the
chief priests said, 'thirty pieces of silver'. With that answer,
Judas then sought an opportunity to hand Jesus over to them.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples
asked Jesus where He wants the celebration of the Passover to be.
Jesus gave instructions to His disciples and they did as He
ordered. As night time approached, they were all reclined at
table. Jesus then revealed to all, that one of them would betray
Him. One after another they began to say to Jesus, "Surely it is
not I, Lord?" When it was Judas Iscariot's turn to say, "Surely it
is not I, Rabbi?", and Jesus said, "You have said so."

"You have said so." All of the apostles said one after another,
"Surely, it is not I, Lord?". But when it was Judas who said the
same to Jesus, Jesus knew what was in his heart. Jesus can
discern clearly and see through the hidden intentions of Judas.
By Judas' own words, his heart and the darkness of his soul was
revealed.

Loyalty is not perfect. And we see this even among the apostles
of Jesus. When Jesus was arrested, his apostles all fled. Peter
denied Him three times. And Judas was the cause of all this chaos
and commotion. If all had been perfectly loyal to Jesus, then we
might have an entirely different story altogether. But our human
flesh is weak (and Judas was tempted to disloyalty because of
money). And the words we speak betray what is in our heart. Have
you ever experienced saying something to another person and then
suddenly realizing that what you said betrays an inner anger,
envy, jealousy, or enmity? Our words can betray our soul. Let
us therefore take the message of the gospel to examine ourselves:
"In what ways have I betrayed the Lord Jesus? What have I said to
others that has led me to make Jesus suffer?"

Tuesday in Holy Week

First reading: Isaiah 49:1-6
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 71
Gospel reading: John 13:21-33, 36-38

"And it was night."

The gospel account for Tuesday in Holy Week portrays a scene where
Jesus was at table with His disciples. There are many revelations
made in this gospel passage:

• Judas will betray Jesus to the chief priests
• The imminent passion, death and resurrection of Jesus
• Peter denying Jesus three times

With these revelations, we can reflect on the sinful nature of our
humanity - as expressed in the persons of Judas and Peter.

Sin is often equated with darkness. That is why when Satan
entered Judas, Judas left the table were Jesus and His disciples
were reclining, and walked away into the night. Judas left the
source of Light, journeyed during the night - leading himself into
the direction of sin. The sin of Judas even led him to despair -
making him lose all sense of hope.

On the other hand, Peter's denial of Jesus occured just before the
cock crowed three times - a time when the darkness of night was
soon to turn into the light of dawn. Could this be symbolic of
the truth that Peter's denial of Christ would eventually lead him
to repentance and thus follow the direction of the Light? Whatever
truth this symbol means, what is important is Peter never lost
hope in the forgiveness and mercy of Jesus. He repented.

In our lives as Christians, our sinful nature may sometimes lead
us to be tempted to betray Christ by our sinful actions, and to
deny Christ by our sinful words. What is important is that we
always acknowledge with humility our sinfulness before God and
the Church through the sacrament of penance and reconciliation,
and never lose hope in God's mercy. If we follow this direction,
we will be led to greater fidelity in doing God's will and follow
Him as we deny ourselves, take up the crosses of our state of
life, and imitate Christ's sense of self-sacrificing service to
our family and community.