Friends in the Lord, in the Gospel today, we find ourselves with Christ at the Last Supper. The scripture scholar, Alfred Edershein, says, that the house where Christ had the Last Supper, is none other than the home of the parents of St. Mark! How can he claim this?

.

Well, Jesus sends Peter and John to prepare for the Passover. He says: Go into the city to a certain man carrying a water pitcher; follow him, and he will show you the place for the Passover. Now that man with the water pitcher, he was very pleased to permit the Passover in his house. This tells us that he must have been a follower of Christ.

.

Now why did Jesus do it this way?   – it was because he did not want to give away the location to Judas. He wanted to offer the First Mass – the Passover – in peace. So he probably told the rest of the Apostles the location of the Supper, just before it was to be, so that Judas would have no time to inform the authorities.

.

During the Last Supper, Judas went out, and he went straight-away to the authorities to tell them where Christ was. But when he brought the soldiers to the house, they had already left for the Garden of Gethsemane. So they went to the Garden, Judas knew it was Jesus’ custom to go there.

.

Ederschein then speculates that a young boy living in that house, whose father was a follower of Christ, must have heard all of this, and it being night time, he wrapped himself quickly with a cloth, and followed after to see what would happen.

.

Now when Jesus was arrested, and the disciples fled, scripture says: ‘a certain young man was following him, having a linen cloth wrapped about his body, and they seized him, but leaving the linen cloth behind, he fled away from them naked. Most scholars believe that this boy was in fact St. Mark who eventually wrote the gospel.

.

So the Last Supper must have been offered in St. Mark’s parent’s house.

The day Jesus sent them to prepare the Last Supper, he knew exactly what would happen. He knew Judas would betray him. He knew Peter would deny him, and he knew St. Mark would even give up his clothes, rather than himself have to suffer. Jesus knew all their failings and sins, and he knew ours. He could see them all. But he nevertheless continued, by his own choice, because he wanted to rescue us from our sins.

And when he had left, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.’

.

The glory of Christ has arrived, and that glory is the cross.

As Judas left the Upper Room, Jesus knew exactly how the events of that night would unfold. The Cross was awaiting the Savior.

.

In this life, if we look at history – we will see that glory always comes with sacrifice. In war, the glory is not so much to those who come home from war, rather, the glory is really given to those who laid down their lives, with the greatest courage.

.

In daily life, if you wish to find someone who is sincere, who is wise, who is able to appreciate your struggle – you need to speak to someone who has suffered in life, who has been through a lot. Sacrifice leads to greatness.

.

But embracing suffering, making sacrifices – this is not an end in itself. There is something supernatural, some type of power in sacrifice, that we know at some deep level. It is because sacrifices made willingly – well, these are, in a mysterious way, united to the Eternal Sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross, and somehow deep down, we know that doing something very difficult, because it is ‘the right thing to do’ – we know at some level that it will be rewarded, it will be to our glory.

.

This week it becomes clear, that what we sense to be true, really is true. Our Lord will make the supreme act of sacrifice, greater than any that has ever been made – an explosion in history. Not because he suffered more than anyone physically, but because upon himself he literally took all the guilt of every person. His interior suffering is incomprehensible.

.

Yet we see that this great act will be rewarded. Christ will be raised up and he will conquer death and sin and the devil, for all of us. This power comes from this infinite sacrifice.

.

All of our own sacrifices and noble actions are united to that of Christ, in particular at Holy Mass. And this is why Jesus says to us, through the priest:  ‘Pray that my Sacrifice and yours, will be acceptable to God, the Almighty Father.’

And it is why we reply to Jesus: ‘May the Lord accept this Sacrifice at your hands, for the praise and glory of his name, for our good, and the good of all his holy Church.’

.

Everything we have that is good is offered with Christ, for God’s glory.

Friends in Christ,

here at the beginning of Holy Week, we read in the Gospel of the events leading up to the Passover. Because of Passover and the great crowds going to the Feast,  it would have been difficult to find a place to stay in Jerusalem.  Lodging would be very hard to find.  

.

Jesus therefore goes to Bethany, just outside the boundaries of Jerusalem; he goes to his friends’ home, the home of Martha, Mary, and Lazarus.  It was there, that we see this scene played out, in which Mary anoints Jesus’ feet and wipes them with her long hair.  There is a tradition that believes this Mary to be Mary Magdalene, who once again anoints Jesus’ feet as she had when she was forgiven by the Lord. But this time, she does it to prepare him for his death.  

.

At the time of Christ, no respectable woman would ever appear in public with her hair down. On the day a girl was married, her hair was bound up,  and she would never show it loose and flowing in public again.  Yet we see Mary, anointing Jesus’ feet and wiping them with her hair –  her love is so strong, that she doesn’t even think of what might be said of it, at all.  She is carried away by love. This is how people are when they are lost in love.  

.

It was Jesus, whose mercy forgave her, and gave her a new life; in the same way, the hearts of Christians should also be this way.   

.

The Venerable John Leonard one day saw Jesus appear to him as a hunter, passing through the woods with an arrow in his hand. ‘Lord, what are you doing?’, he asked.  Jesus answered, ‘I am hunting after hearts.’  

.

St. Alphonsus says, ‘If Jesus gains our heart, we shall gain Jesus. And the advantage is all on our side.’  

.

Origen says, if it be that Jesus Christ has given himself to each one,  what great thing will a man do if he give himself wholly to Jesus Christ?

.

Our Lord shows us his love in this Holy Week, pouring out every drop of his blood for you and for me.  He wishes more than anything, to press us to his heart, but it is also necessary for us, like Mary Magdalene, to give our heart to Jesus.   

Friends in Christ,

a week from Saturday, we will celebrate the greatest Liturgy of the year, the Easter Vigil. The new fire will be blessed, just outside the church at dusk. And from the new fire, will be lit the Easter Candle. This Easter candle represents the Light of the World: Jesus, and as it is carried into the dark church, we will chant: ‘Lumen Christi!’ – Christ our light.

.

This light, shining in the darkness, represents Jesus. He is risen, he has conquered the darkness of death. As father lights that Easter candle from the new fire, he says: ‘Christ yesterday and today, the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega. All time belongs to him and all the ages.’

.

Jesus Christ, in himself, is the meeting of time and eternity; the joining of heaven and earth, of God and Man. ‘Christ yesterday and today, the beginning and the End.’ As Our Lord walked the earth, he kept a certain shroud of mystery about his origin – for most of his life. But as his Passion nears, he begins to reveal more.

.

In today’s Gospel he drops the bomb – the unvarnished truth. They said to him, ‘You claim to have seen Abraham, yet you are not even 50 years old!’ And he said: ‘Amen, amen, I say to you, before Abraham came to be, I AM.’ This is the bombshell.

.

Abraham at that time was long dead, and so he was in the ‘Limbo of the fathers,’ waiting with the others, for the gates of heaven to be opened. How could Jesus have seen him? He could have seen him if he sees the other world, if he’s been there, if he is – God. And this is what Christ proclaims, he uses the Divine Name: ‘Before Abraham came to be, I AM.’ Literally, before Abraham was made, I already existed.

.

According to St. Augustine, Jesus said ‘before Abraham came to be,’ because Abraham was a creature – a man – created. He used the Divine Name: he said, ‘I AM,’ because the Son of God exists ‘Yesterday and today, he is the Beginning and the End, the Alpha and the Omega. All time belongs to him.’

.

Jesus reveals that in himself, God has visited his people, and he has come to save us. To him be glory and power forever and ever.

‘I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin.’

.

Friends in Christ, today Our Lord is saying to the Pharisees that he is going away, and that after he is gone, they will realize what they have done, and they will discover their mistake too late.

.

It is true that some who crucified the Lord later realized their mistake and turned to Him and become followers of Christ. But for many, they were hardened in their heart – to their grave.

.

William Barclay tells us that Our Lord’s words call to mind three things about our human life:

First, there are certain opportunities which come and which do not return. Every person is given the opportunity in this life to decide for Christ or not. But it is an opportunity that can be refused and lost.

.

In speaking as he does, Jesus is also implying that life and time are limited. No one has all the time in the world. No one has unlimited life; therefore it is within that allotted time that we must make this decision for Christ or not. No one knows how much time he has.

.

Finally, just as we have an opportunity to choose the Lord in this life, there is also in the end, Judgment. The lost opportunity involves an unfavorable Judgment, and the greater was the opportunity that we had, the greater the time we had, or the more graces we were given – the greater the Judgement will be, if it these opportunities were refused.

.

‘I am going away, and you will search for me, and you will die in your sin.’ Jesus Christ gives each person enough time and enough opportunities to choose him in this life; but the time and the opportunities are limited.

Friends in Christ,

the Book of Wisdom speaks today of how evil people react when goodness is placed in their midst. The result is often envy. This is the sin that prompts bullies in the school to harass good children, and it is the sin that led to the crucifixion of Our Lord.

.

It is no coincidence that it is the central sin of the devil, who having thrown away his own salvation, seeks to destroy the most precious thing of God’s: His people. As St. Paul says, it is through the envy of the devil, that death entered the world.

.

What are the types of envy? Well, when we see another have something good, or an honor, or receive a compliment – we can envy – we wish to surpass them, in honor or reputation, and that person becomes our rival. Notice that we don’t envy those who are far above us; we never feel threatened or consider as a rival, the governor or a senator, because we could not surpass them.

.

But those who are close to us, our colleagues and peers, these are the ones we are tempted to envy. We wish to be thought more honorable than our peers. Therefore, those who love honors are easily envious. Those who are cowardly and weak, they too can easily become envious, because to them all things achieved seem great.

.

Sometimes the old envy the young, and those who have worked hard to achieve something, envy those who have done it with less effort.

.

The most sinful form of envy is spiritual envy. we feel sadness because another person is closer to Christ or has found peace in their life. This is the envy of the devil and of the Chief priests who crucified Christ. Thomas Aquinas considers spiritual envy to be a sin against the Holy Spirit.

.

Now envy is a capital sin, also called a deadly sin. Why? Because from it springs a multitude of others sins and evils. The offspring of envy are many. By envy we plan to lower another’s reputation, and this leads to gossip, detraction, ridicule, and ultimately hatred which could lead to violence.

.

Now if, in seeing what another has achieved or acquired, we are inspired to work at achieving the same, that is not envy, but rather zeal, because the person is not a rival but an inspiration to us. Charity rejoices in our neighbor’s success, while envy is sad over our neighbor’s success. So let us leave envy to small minds, and instead work hard to achieve what we can, and rejoice in our neighbor’s success.