Judas consummated his betrayal and Jesus is apprehended. This happens after the Lord had accepted in Gethsemane the suffering from the hands of his Father and had given his ‘yes’ to all that was before him.
A YES that had to go through anguish and agony; a YES, after having asked his Father that, if possible, that cup might pass without his having to drink it (cf. Mt 26:39-44); a YES that expresses unconditional surrender to the Father; a YES out of love for us men. Read More
“During supper, Jesus got up from table, removed His outer garments and, taking a towel, wrapped it round his waist; he then poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and to wipe them with the towel he was wearing.” (Jn 13:4-5) Read More
Judas Iscariot went to the chief priests and said, ‘What are you prepared to give me if I hand Him over to you?’ They paid him thirty silver pieces. (Mt 26:14-15)
The betrayal of God in exchange for unjust money… How often this story is repeated! How often people sell themselves at the price of money, of honour, of disorderly pleasures, of power! Read More
“In all truth I tell you, one of you is going to betray me.” (Jn 13:21b)
Betrayal! Here the most terrible depths of the human heart are revealed. Betraying a friend, betraying the Master and Lord, betraying love… Read More
“Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard, and with it anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair.” (Jn 12:3)
What a tender gesture on Mary’s part this Gospel passage tells us! It is a tenderness that corresponds to the being of a woman, and which reflects something of her beauty and her capacity for self-giving. Read More
“Hosanna to the son of David! Blessed is he who is coming in the name of the Lord! Hosanna in the highest heavens!” (Mt 21:9)
The people are gathered, and for a short time that which corresponds to the reality of the coming of the Son of God is happening: He is received with rejoicing and joy, the people receive their true King, their Messiah, the one long promised! Read More
We are now on the threshold of Holy Week. From tomorrow, daily meditations, accompanied by a video and many songs, will lead us through the events of this week, which is rightly called the “Great Week” of the year.
The time has come to look back on the path we have travelled, to look at the fruits that have come from it and to give thanks to the Lord. Read More
As we come to the end of our Lenten itinerary, we do not want to miss a glance at the Virgin Mary, the Mother of God. What creature could better understand the suffering of her Son than the one who received the unspeakable grace of being His Mother and disciple? The traditional calendar dedicates the Friday before Holy Week to contemplating Mary’s sorrows. Read More
We are just 3 days away from the beginning of Holy Week, and our Lenten itinerary is coming to an end. I would like to dedicate today’s meditation to the theme of how to deal with suffering in the right way, which is undoubtedly one of the most difficult lessons in our journey of following Christ.
To address this issue, we will draw on an excellent meditation of Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalene, O.C.D., from his book “Divine Intimacy”. Read More
We have already travelled a long way on our Lenten itinerary and now we are almost at the gates of Holy Week.
During the last five days we have been dealing with the serious subject of the Antichrist, who is to come at the End of Time, but whose spirit is already manifesting itself beforehand in various guises. Here we are confronted with the abyss of iniquity, a dark personification of the alienation from the living God. But in the end, as St. John’s Revelation describes, the Beast (often interpreted as an image of the Antichrist) and the False Prophet will be cast into the lake of fire (cf. Rev 20:9-10). Read More
