GOOD FRIDAY

4 Yet ours were the sufferings he was bearing, ours the sorrows he was carrying, while we thought of him as someone being punished and struck with affliction by God;

5 whereas he was being wounded for our rebellions, crushed because of our guilt; the punishment reconciling us fell on him, and we have been healed by his bruises.

6 We had all gone astray like sheep, each taking his own way, and Yahweh brought the acts of rebellion of all of us to bear on him.

7 Ill-treated and afflicted, he never opened his mouth, like a lamb led to the slaughter-house, like a sheep dumb before its shearers he never opened his mouth.

ISAIAH 52: 4-7

'Life's not fair' is one of those general phrases we use constantly. Sometimes life is so painful that we look up to heaven and cry 'WHERE ARE YOU????' I went through a rough patch some years ago: my friends dumped me, my boyfriend and I broke up, I had health problems, I had to drop out of college due to money problems, all of it a midst a very complicated migratory status. And I was very angry with God for letting all that happen to me. I felt like He didn't care, like He had abandoned me. My heart filled with bitterness, sadness, and anger.

So yes, I get it, life isn't fair. 

Where was God in all those dark lonely nights of despair?
Where was God when you were in physical pain?
Where was God when your life was falling apart?

He was on the cross. 

He was on the cross without having to, without deserving to be there. He was watching you suffer from the cross and crying with you and hurting with you. He was pouring out His blood for you. Water and blood came out of His side to heal you and wash you clean. By His wounds we were healed. 

Bring all your sufferings, your worries, your loneliness to the foot of the Cross. Let the Lord of Sorrows take them up to be crucified with Him. 

Behold, behold the wood of the cross  

On which is hung our salvation.  

 O come, let us adore.

HOLY THURSDAY

'You call me Teacher and Lord; and you are right, for so I am. If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet. For I have given you an example, that you also should do as I have done to you.'

JOHN 13:13-15


Here's the thing about Jesus: you might feel like He's constantly asking for too much of his followers (us), right? But everything He asks for He follows by His own example. Look here--the King of Kings, God incarnate, washing some guys' dirty feet! Remember back then they wore sandals everywhere and they had no pavement, so imagine the state of those feet. And He washed them, physically lowering Himself in an act of humility.

And He tells us 'if you love me, you would do as I do! If I am your teacher, then learn from me!'

How many times do we lower ourselves to do such a task? And I'm speaking symbolically here--not necessarily washing another person's feet (unless required) but lowering ourselves to the state of a servant who washes feet. St. Francis of Assisi, for example, used to treat lepers' wounds and hug and kiss them--rotting flesh and all!

Yes, that makes me shudder as well (in a bad way) because we're just not used to going out of our ways to such an extreme for people. But Jesus did it for love. And St. Francis did it for love (he asked Jesus to show Himself in the lepers' faces). What is your love sacrifice?

You can start small, at home, with your friends. But don't limit yourself to those you love--after all, didn't Jesus say that there people who do bad things also just love their loved ones?

I know this is very hard! We have this tendency to wanting to receive when we give and to want to feel all dignified, but humbling yourself at the service of others does not make you less of a person!

I once served in a youth conference where my job was solely to set up chairs and take out the trash. And it was a beautifully enriching experience to know that you are doing your part in God's mission!

And speaking of practice what you preach: what other proof do you need from Jesus? He humbled himself by dying the most horrible death even though He was innocent. But He also humbled himself to become a piece of bread and little bit of wine. In all his power and majesty  He could have just said "no, these people are not worthy of my inhabiting in them". Instead, He said "this is my body, this is my blood, eat me, drink me, so that I may dwell in you!"

The mystery of it all! That the God of all the universe can be chewed on and gulped in by us!!! Not even the angels have that privilege!

Today, meditate on the gift of the Eucharist and ask the Lord to transform you through His body and blood so that you can be that servant He needs you to be. And thank Him for the sacrifice you didn't deserve, and for His love. And you know what? Make sure you don't leave the church without telling Him how much you love Him.

HOLY WEEK--TUESDAY

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.'

JOHN 13: 36-38

Betrayal, betrayal, betrayal. You would think this is a soap opera. Today's Gospel reading features Jesus and a bunch of traitors--a.k.a. his disciples.

Yes, I am being really harsh. But you know what, these men knew Jesus, they lived with him, ate with him, witnessed all the marvels and miracles he did. And at the end of the day, they all turned their backs on Him.

and Peter, PETER!! The rock, the one upon whom the Church would be built-- He's all talk, telling Jesus that he's willing to die for Him. But Jesus knows what will happen: Peter, the coward, will deny Him three times.

Well, let me tell you... I am Peter. I am a traitor, a coward. I have a personal relationship with Christ yet constantly find myself denying Him through my actions (and sometimes even by my words). I tell Jesus that I love Him and that I surrender my life to Him but when the time comes, I chicken out. And so do you. If the apostles, who were to become the representatives of Christ on earth, were weak enough to leave him and flee when the time of hardness came, imagine how much at a disadvantage we are!!

We make such a big deal about Judas being such a traitor and we just hate on the guy all the time. Of course we have reason to be mad at him--but what is the difference between Judas and Peter, after all? Moreover.... what is the difference between Judas and I? At first, nothing really. BUT--

What Peter did that Judas didn't was to believe that the Jesus he had betrayed was the God of love and mercy and could forgive him if he repented from the heart. Judas, meanwhile, doubted that he could be forgiven, thus rejecting God's grace and separating himself eternally from God. 

Peter, the coward, the traitor, the broken man who had sworn and cursed when confronted about being a follower of Jesus, wept bitterly in contrition. And you know what? Ultimately, Peter (and the rest of the disciples) left all his fear and his doubts behind and surrendered himself to God to the point of losing his life for the Gospel.

So are you a Peter? Or a Judas?

Lord, I know I am like Peter: fearful, doubting, stubborn, and flawed. But You still love me and forgive me. I am so sorry for constantly denying you and for constantly crucifying you with my inequity. Wash me with Your most precious blood. Give me the grace and strength to offer my life up to you fully. Please put my weak heart inside your Sacred Heart. 

You're Peter, so? He can work with that. May you hear His voice in the silence of your heart, may you be forgiven, healed, and strengthened in Him.

DAY 40--PALM SUNDAY

'But he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, becoming as human beings are; and being in every way like a human being, he was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross. And for this God raised him high, and gave him the name which is above all other names; so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father.'

PHILIPPIANS 2:7-11

It is the fortieth day of our countdown--but guess what? Lent ain't over yet! The best is yet to come! 

Today is Palm Sunday, also known as the mass with the longest Gospel reading ever. But in all seriousness, today we had the pleasure of living through Jesus' triumphant entrance to Jerusalem, being hailed as a king, only to be murdered a few days later in the most horrifying way, alone and forsaken by His followers. It is absolutely heart-wrenching, especially if you consider that the Christ is, throughout His passion, paying off for those sins we've committed. I sit there and think... 'Lord, when you were being spitted on, it was to pay off for my arrogance, and when you were being scourged it was because of all the times I've heard others with my words...' If we take a moment and analyse the passion we can see the punishment for our own personal sins being taken on by Jesus.

Since we will have another opportunity to meditate on the passion on Good Friday, I would like to concentrate instead on today's second reading (see above). Let's see if you can grasp the reality that God the Son, Jesus, chose to leave his comfortable spot to the right of the Father to become a human and therefore a slave to his own humanity (minus sin). This means that everything Jesus experienced in His passion hurt Him as much as it would have hurt us regular human beings. He LOWERED Himself not only to be human but to die on a cross (which, as we've said before, was the most humiliating and excruciating method of torture of the time). He didn't have to do it. Did He do it because we deserve it? Heck no. Now way. He did it because---drum-roll---He. Loves. Us. That. Much.

'God raised Him on high'---yes He did... high up in that cross. It is in that cross that Jesus wins the victory for us, so that's why at the name of JESUS every knee shall bow in heaven, on earth, and in the underworld (because even demons must bow down to Jesus) and declare that HE IS LORD!!!!!!

Is Jesus lord of your life?

If He is not... then you're missing out on the greatest love story there is. May He always sit on the throne of our hearts.

Day 39--The Blood of the Covenant

'They will no longer defile themselves with their foul idols, their horrors and any of their crimes. I shall save them from the acts of infidelity which they have committed and shall cleanse them; they will be my people and I shall be their God.'

EZEKIEL 37:23

The history of salvation consists on God making covenants with His people and His people going around and screwing up, only to suffer the consequences of their wrongs and ultimately turn back to God, who then establishes a new covenant. It's the same old, same old throughout the whole of the Old Testament. But here, God, through the prophet Ezekiel, is promising a kingdom in which His people will be cleansed and well, his once again... but this time forever. 

God would establish these covenants with men like Adam, Noah, Abraham, Jacob, Moses, David, etc. But every time, His people would eventually turn away and break the alliance. So what did He do? Well, He became man. 

Jesus' blood is the new covenant, as we hear in mass everyday. His sacrifice is the covenant of covenants and we don't need another contract/agreement with God after this because His is the ultimate sacrifice. It is through the passion and resurrection that we may be God's people again, that we are purified, forgiven, brought back to life. 

Yet, isn't it confusing that, even after Jesus' sacrifice, we still sin, we still have idols (money, friends, fame, drugs) and we are still unfaithful to God? Yup, that's pretty messed up. But remember that God doesn't force us to anything. He might have died on the cross to redeem us, but sometimes we reject this redemption, this grace, by committing sins and putting other things before God. We still have our free-will, so the ultimate decision to be God's people is ours. God's invitation is there: 'Be mine, I love you, look what I've done so that we may be together'. How will you respond?

Our lives are a struggle to live up to the covenant--and we will fail every single day. But it's all about truly trying to be that holy people of God. Ask the Lord to give you a pure heart and to help you sin no more! We are all in this together, remember that. 

Day 38--Praise Him in the Storm!

'Sing to Yahweh, praise Yahweh, for he has delivered the soul of one in need from the clutches of evil doers.'

JEREMIAH 20:13

The world won't like it when you follow the Lord, when you refuse to do things that everyone else seems to be doing. But take courage! You have your own personal superhero: God himself. When people want to harm you, when you are persecuted because of the Gospel, remember that the Lord won't give you more than you can take--and yes, He will allow these things to happen--such is life--but hang on to Him with all your strength and He will get you through. He will deliver you in His own time. DO NOT LET GO. Sometimes it feels like it would be easier and more convenient to just forget about God and live a 'normal' life in the world. In fact, there are 'Christians' out there that will tell you God wants you to have everything you ever wanted--money, prestige, fame--and that if you don't have it then you must be doing something wrong or your relationship with Christ is not real. Well, newsflash: that's not what Jesus said. Jesus said to us 'if you want to follow me, you must take up your cross!' Now, who wants to do that when the world is so much more luring and comfortable (at first glance)? Who wants to take on unnecessary suffering just to be in the way with Christ? 

Well, no one does it out of sheer pleasure. Do you really think Jesus thought 'YAAAAAAAY, CRUCIFIXION!!!'? He went through with it out of love for us, not because it seemed fun or awesome to do it. And the thing is, once you have a profound experience of the love of Christ and initiate a relationship with Him, you can't help but to love Him and you can't see a life without Him. So you will take up your cross and follow. It might not be the path to riches and fame, but it will be the path that will satisfy the deepest desires of your soul. Besides, life will have challenges anyway, so why not go through it with the hope that at the end of it you get to be welcomed into heaven by your lover, your best friend, Jesus.

So, if you are in a very difficult situation at the moment, trust that He will get you through, sing and exalt His name for He is good.

Day 35--the Bronze Serpent

'Moses then made a serpent out of bronze and raised it as a standard, and anyone who was bitten by a serpent and looked at the bronze serpent survived.'

NUMBERS 21:9

Yes, this one is pretty odd. So the Jews were walking around the desert for a very long time after Moses got them out of Egypt, and they became impatient and began speaking against God, so God sent snakes to them and many died. So the Jews tell God 'oh no, we're really sorry, please stop this!' and what does God do? He commissions Moses to make a bronze serpent, just like the ones that were biting the people, and lift it up on a pole, and those who looked at it were healed.

Symbolism much? Just to give you an idea...

Does it look familiar? Ringing any bells? Anyone? Anyone?

LET ME GIVE YOU A HINT--

BOOM!

The bronze snake is lifted up so the people  could be healed of the attack of the snake. The Son of God, Jesus, is lifted up on a cross so that we can be healed of the attack of the snake--the devil, sin. And why is a snake the cure for snake bite? Well, it's not that the snake is the cure--it's that the snake up in the pole is rendered powerless. And our sins, nailed up in that cross, are rendered  powerless!! Jesus, the Lamb, the blameless victim, is covered in our sins--he rips them away from us and takes them up on his shoulders and up to be crucified with Him. 

This is why, in today's gospel, Jesus tells the Jews 'When you have lifted up the Son of man, then you will know that I am He' (John 8:28). When we look up at the crucified Christ, lifted up in humiliation, we see how great is His love! A symbol of death,  the most horrible method of torture and humiliation became to us the biggest demonstration of the most pure, beautiful, overwhelming love of God, stretching up His arms towards us, shedding every drop of His blood for us, who can never possibly deserve it. Breaking our chains, setting us free, healing our wounds, giving us the peace we so long for. That is the awful and awe-striking truth of the cross.

Day 13--Give and Take

36 'Be compassionate just as your Father is compassionate.

37 Do not judge, and you will not be judged; do not condemn, and you will not be condemned; forgive, and you will be forgiven.

38 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.'

LUKE 6:36-38

Don't you just want to be like:

'Dear God,

please stop asking for things that are so hard to do.

Okay, bye.'

I get it... be compassionate, do not judge, give... too.. much... work...

But the thing is--why should we expect compassion, or a fair judgment, or to receive things from God? Do we deserve any of that? NO.  Yet He still does all these things for us. But there's the condition, per usual: do unto others as you would have it do unto you.  If you are judgmental, of course God is going to hold you to a stricter standard (because being judgmental implies we think ourselves better/smarter/holier than others), and if you are compassionate, of course God is going to be like "aawwww, this one has a good, loving heart, let's give her/him a break!"

You know, a few years back I found an old journal that I kept in high school and read a few pages. I was so appalled--- my writing reflected how judgmental and self-righteous I was! Reading that made me feel so ugly, it was sickening! Because being judgmental means lacking love. And a person who lacks love is an unhappy person. I don't want to be that person, do you?

And you know the thing about giving---it might hurt at first, but the joy that it begets makes up for any loss. Like St. Francis of Assisi says, 'it is in giving that we receive'. That's what Jesus is saying in the gospel! 

So don't be afraid to love until it hurts--but truly love, not in a romantic type of way, but in the way of The Passion: to give yourself entirely to others. Don't be afraid to give--He will reward you a hundred-fold!!

Day 5--The battle has already been won!!

'One man's offence brought condemnation on all humanity; and one man's good act has brought justification and life to all humanity. Just as by one man's disobedience many were made sinners, so by one man's obedience are many to be made upright.'

ROMANS 5:18-19

We've talked a lot about God wanting you, loving you, calling you by name despite your brokenness. But as if that wasn't enough--God became man so that he could pay your and my debt for our sins. You see, if Jesus wouldn't have died for us, we would have to pay our sin with death--and I'm talking about spiritual death, eternal damnation. Sin came into the world through Adam, and salvation, redemption, reconciliation with the Father came into the world through Jesus of Nazareth, the new Adam, God made flesh. God could have come up with a billion ways of fixing the problem, don't you think? He is, after all, God. AND YET... He became man, was born in humility, and went through the most horrendous death at the time--a punishment that belonged to us--so that we could be made whole again. 

In today's gospel, Jesus and Satan have an epic battle, and at the end, Jesus says 'AWAY WITH YOU, SATAN!!' Jesus wins. He always does. He always will.

What you have to understand is that this war between death and life, salvation and damnation, good and evil, has already been won by the Blood of Jesus!

In the movie The Passion of the Christ, there is a scene right after Jesus draws his last breath and then dies on the cross and the earth starts shaking where the devil is shown SCREAMING and just losing it. You know why? Because that's when the devil realized that he had lost!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! In that cross, Jesus had given himself, out of love, for the expiation of our sins.

So, if the battle is already won, what's there to do? Well, you and I need to choose a side! And tell me, who's dumb enough to choose the loser side? Exactly. However, sometimes people choose the loser side because they don't know or understand what Christ did for them or how He won the battle for them. You have no excuse though--I've just told you ;)