First Reading (Isaiah 50: 4-7)
The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, That I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; And I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; My face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame.
Responsorial Psalm (Psalm 22: 8-9, 17-20, 23-24)
Refrain: My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?
1) All who see me scoff at me; they mock me with parted lips, they wag their heads:
"He relied on the Lord; let him deliver him, let him rescue him, if he loves him." (Refrain:)
2) Indeed, many dogs surround me, a pack of evildoers closes in upon me;
They have pierced my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones. (Refrain:)
3) They divide my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots.
But you, O Lord, be not far from me; O my help, hasten to aid me. (Refrain:)
4) I will proclaim your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you:
"You who fear the Lord, praise him; all you descendants of Jacob, give glory to him.
revere him, all you descendants of Israel!" (Refrain:)
Second Reading (Philippians 2: 6-11)
Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.
Jesus took his place at table with the apostles.
He said to them,
I have eagerly desired to eat this Passover with you
before I suffer,
for, I tell you, I shall not eat it again
until there is fulfillment in the kingdom of God.
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and said,
Take this and share it among yourselves;
for I tell you that from this time on
I shall not drink of the fruit of the vine
until the kingdom of God comes.
Then he took the bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them, saying,
This is my body, which will be given for you;
do this in memory of me.
And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying,
This cup is the new covenant in my blood,
which will be shed for you.
And yet behold, the hand of the one who is to betray me
is with me on the table;
for the Son of Man indeed goes as it has been determined;
but woe to that man by whom he is betrayed.
And they began to debate among themselves
who among them would do such a deed.
Then an argument broke out among them
about which of them should be regarded as the greatest.
He said to them,
The kings of the Gentiles Lord it over them
and those in authority over them are addressed as
Benefactors;
but among you it shall not be so.
Rather, let the greatest among you be as the youngest,
and the leader as the servant.
For who is greater:
the one seated at table or the one who serves?
Is it not the one seated at table?
I am among you as the one who serves.
It is you who have stood by me in my trials;
and I confer a kingdom on you,
just as my Father has conferred one on me,
that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom;
and you will sit on thrones
judging the twelve tribes of Israel.
Simon, Simon, behold Satan has demanded
to sift all of you like wheat,
but I have prayed that your own faith may not fail;
and once you have turned back,
you must strengthen your brothers.
He said to him,
Lord, I am prepared to go to prison and to die with you.
But he replied,
I tell you, Peter, before the cock crows this day,
you will deny three times that you know me.
He said to them,
When I sent you forth without a money bag or a sack
or sandals,
were you in need of anything?
No, nothing, they replied.
He said to them,
But now one who has a money bag should take it,
and likewise a sack,
and one who does not have a sword
should sell his cloak and buy one.
For I tell you that this Scripture must be fulfilled in me,
namely, He was counted among the wicked;
and indeed what is written about me is coming to fulfillment.
Then they said,
Lord, look, there are two swords here.
But he replied, It is enough!
Then going out, he went, as was his custom, to the Mount of Olives,
and the disciples followed him.
When he arrived at the place he said to them,
Pray that you may not undergo the test.
After withdrawing about a stones throw from them and kneeling,
he prayed, saying, Father, if you are willing,
take this cup away from me;
still, not my will but yours be done.
And to strengthen him an angel from heaven appeared to him.
He was in such agony and he prayed so fervently
that his sweat became like drops of blood
falling on the ground.
When he rose from prayer and returned to his disciples,
he found them sleeping from grief.
He said to them, Why are you sleeping?
Get up and pray that you may not undergo the test.
While he was still speaking, a crowd approached
and in front was one of the Twelve, a man named Judas.
He went up to Jesus to kiss him.
Jesus said to him,
Judas, are you betraying the Son of Man with a kiss?
His disciples realized what was about to happen, and they asked,
Lord, shall we strike with a sword?
And one of them struck the high priests servant
and cut off his right ear.
But Jesus said in reply,
Stop, no more of this!
Then he touched the servants ear and healed him.
And Jesus said to the chief priests and temple guards
and elders who had come for him,
Have you come out as against a robber, with swords
and clubs?
Day after day I was with you in the temple area,
and you did not seize me;
but this is your hour, the time for the power of darkness.
After arresting him they led him away
and took him into the house of the high priest;
Peter was following at a distance.
They lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard and sat around it,
and Peter sat down with them.
When a maid saw him seated in the light,
she looked intently at him and said,
This man too was with him.
But he denied it saying,
Woman, I do not know him.
A short while later someone else saw him and said,
You too are one of them;
but Peter answered, My friend, I am not.
About an hour later, still another insisted,
Assuredly, this man too was with him,
for he also is a Galilean.
But Peter said,
My friend, I do not know what you are talking about.
Just as he was saying this, the cock crowed,
and the Lord turned and looked at Peter;
and Peter remembered the word of the Lord,
how he had said to him,
Before the cock crows today, you will deny me three times.
He went out and began to weep bitterly.
The men who held Jesus in custody were ridiculing and beating him.
They blindfolded him and questioned him, saying,
Prophesy! Who is it that struck you?
And they reviled him in saying many other things against him.
When day came the council of elders of the people met,
both chief priests and scribes,
and they brought him before their Sanhedrin.
They said, If you are the Christ, tell us,
but he replied to them, If I tell you, you will not believe,
and if I question, you will not respond.
But from this time on the Son of Man will be seated
at the right hand of the power of God.
They all asked, Are you then the Son of God?
He replied to them, You say that I am.
Then they said, What further need have we for testimony?
We have heard it from his own mouth.
Then the whole assembly of them arose and brought him
before Pilate.
They brought charges against him, saying,
We found this man misleading our people;
he opposes the payment of taxes to Caesar
and maintains that he is the Christ, a king.
Pilate asked him, Are you the king of the Jews?
He said to him in reply, You say so.
Pilate then addressed the chief priests and the crowds,
I find this man not guilty.
But they were adamant and said,
He is inciting the people with his teaching
throughout all Judea,
from Galilee where he began even to here.
On hearing this Pilate asked if the man was a Galilean;
and upon learning that he was under Herods jurisdiction,
he sent him to Herod who was in Jerusalem at that time.
Herod was very glad to see Jesus;
he had been wanting to see him for a long time,
for he had heard about him
and had been hoping to see him perform some sign.
He questioned him at length,
but he gave him no answer.
The chief priests and scribes, meanwhile,
stood by accusing him harshly.
Herod and his soldiers treated him contemptuously and mocked him,
and after clothing him in resplendent garb,
he sent him back to Pilate.
Herod and Pilate became friends that very day,
even though they had been enemies formerly.
Pilate then summoned the chief priests, the rulers, and the people
and said to them, You brought this man to me
and accused him of inciting the people to revolt.
I have conducted my investigation in your presence
and have not found this man guilty
of the charges you have brought against him,
nor did Herod, for he sent him back to us.
So no capital crime has been committed by him.
Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him.
But all together they shouted out,
Away with this man!
Release Barabbas to us.
- Now Barabbas had been imprisoned for a rebellion
that had taken place in the city and for murder. -
Again Pilate addressed them, still wishing to release Jesus,
but they continued their shouting,
Crucify him! Crucify him!
Pilate addressed them a third time,
What evil has this man done?
I found him guilty of no capital crime.
Therefore I shall have him flogged and then release him.
With loud shouts, however,
they persisted in calling for his crucifixion,
and their voices prevailed.
The verdict of Pilate was that their demand should be granted.
So he released the man who had been imprisoned
for rebellion and murder, for whom they asked,
and he handed Jesus over to them to deal with as they wished.
As they led him away
they took hold of a certain Simon, a Cyrenian,
who was coming in from the country;
and after laying the cross on him,
they made him carry it behind Jesus.
A large crowd of people followed Jesus,
including many women who mourned and lamented him.
Jesus turned to them and said,
Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me;
weep instead for yourselves and for your children
for indeed, the days are coming when people will say,
Blessed are the barren,
the wombs that never bore
and the breasts that never nursed.
At that time people will say to the mountains,
Fall upon us!
and to the hills, Cover us!
for if these things are done when the wood is green
what will happen when it is dry?
Now two others, both criminals,
were led away with him to be executed.
When they came to the place called the Skull,
they crucified him and the criminals there,
one on his right, the other on his left.
Then Jesus said,
Father, forgive them, they know not what they do.
They divided his garments by casting lots.
The people stood by and watched;
the rulers, meanwhile, sneered at him and said,
He saved others, let him save himself
if he is the chosen one, the Christ of God.
Even the soldiers jeered at him.
As they approached to offer him wine they called out,
If you are King of the Jews, save yourself.
Above him there was an inscription that read,
This is the King of the Jews.
Now one of the criminals hanging there reviled Jesus, saying,
Are you not the Christ?
Save yourself and us.
The other, however, rebuking him, said in reply,
Have you no fear of God,
for you are subject to the same condemnation?
And indeed, we have been condemned justly,
for the sentence we received corresponds to our crimes,
but this man has done nothing criminal.
Then he said,
Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom.
He replied to him,
Amen, I say to you,
today you will be with me in Paradise.
It was now about noon and darkness came over the whole land
until three in the afternoon
because of an eclipse of the sun.
Then the veil of the temple was torn down the middle.
Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
Father, into your hands I commend my spirit;
and when he had said this he breathed his last.
Here all kneel and pause for a short time.
The centurion who witnessed what had happened glorified God and said,
This man was innocent beyond doubt.
When all the people who had gathered for this spectacle
saw what had happened,
they returned home beating their breasts;
but all his acquaintances stood at a distance,
including the women who had followed him from Galilee
and saw these events.
Now there was a virtuous and righteous man named Joseph who,
though he was a member of the council,
had not consented to their plan of action.
He came from the Jewish town of Arimathea
and was awaiting the kingdom of God.
He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus.
After he had taken the body down,
he wrapped it in a linen cloth
and laid him in a rock-hewn tomb
in which no one had yet been buried.
It was the day of preparation,
and the sabbath was about to begin.
The women who had come from Galilee with him followed behind,
and when they had seen the tomb
and the way in which his body was laid in it,
they returned and prepared spices and perfumed oils.
Then they rested on the sabbath according to the commandment.
The Gospel of the Lord.
OR
[Copyright 1970, 1986, 1992, 1998, 2001 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. Washington D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
Copyright 1970, 1997, 1998 Contraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc. Washington, D.C. All rights reserved. No part of this work may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by an information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the copyright owner.
The English translation of some Psalm responses, some Alleluia and Gospel verses and the Lenten Gospel Acclamations, some Summaries, and the Titles and Conclusion of the Readings, from the Lectionary for Mass copyright 1968, 1981, 1997, International Committee on English in the Liturgy, Inc., Washington D.C. All rights reserved.
The poetic English translation of the sequences of the Roman Missal are taken from the Roman Missal approved by the National Conference of Catholic Bishops of the United States, copyright 1964 by the National Catholic Welfare Conference, Inc. All rights reserved.]
- Days of the Lord, Volume 2, pp. 210-231. Copyright 1991 by the Order of Saint Benedict. The Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN.
- The Cultural World of Jesus, pp. 64-66. Copyright 1997 by John J. Pilch, the Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN.
- The Passion Narrative, copyright 1975 by William Barclay. Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland.
-True Godhead And True Manhood, Humiliation and Exaltation & All for God. From The Letter to the Philippians, copyright 1975 by William Barclay. Saint Andrew Press, Edinburgh, Scotland.
- Reflections. From Good News. Copyright 1998 by Rev. Joseph T. Nolan. Liturgical Publications, Inc., 2875 South James Drive, New Berlin, WI. 53151.
- A Colt Is Not A Horse. From Dynamic Preaching, Seven Worlds Corporation, 310 Simmons Road, Knoxville, TN. 37922.
- Emptying and Exalting. By Eric S. Ritz, from St. Paul's Letter to the Philippians. Copyright Seven Worlds Corporation, 310 Simmons Road, Knoxville, TN. 37922.
- A Camel On The Roof? (Cycle C) From Still Proclaiming Your Wonders, pp. 55-60. Copyright 1984 by Walter J. Burghardt. Paulist Press, Mahwah, NJ. (Reprinted with permission elsewhere on this site.)
- Passion Sunday (C), by George W. Hoyer. Copyright 1989 by Pueblo Publishing Company, New York, New York and 1991 by the Order of St. Benedict, Collegeville, MN. From Homilies for the Christian People, pp. 439-442, the Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN.
-Passion Sunday (C) by Reginald H. Fuller. Copyright 1984 by the Order of St. Benedict. From Preaching the Lectionary, pp. 416-417, the Liturgical Press, Collegeville, MN.
-Passion Sunday (C), copyright 1996 by Richard Viladesau. From The Word In And Out of Season, pp. 125-127, Paulist Press, Mahwah, NJ 07430.
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-Passion Sunday (C) by Roland J. Faley. Copyright 1994 by the Third Order Regular of St. Francis. From Footprints on the Mountain, pp. 795-800, Paulist Press, Mahwah, NJ 07430.
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(Due to the extended reading of the Lord's Passion, the following homily is shorter than usual.)
Just a few weeks ago, we were considering a passage from Luke's gospel which begged an answer to the question for which mankind has sought an answer since Cain first murdered Abel: why do bad things happen to good people. At that time, we discussed how we are subject to what the philosophers call "contingency", which means that our lives are dependent at every moment on many other forces, things or people over which we have little or no control. A building can fall down (which is what we were discussing in Luke's passage that week) or governments can make decisions that have tragic consequences for the whole world, as we are currently seeing in the Ukraine. The actions of terrorists have created incredible tragedies not only in our own country but throughout the whole world, and natural disasters, such as floods, fires, tornadoes and hurricanes, can take a heavy toll in life and property.
When things like these happen, or when someone commits an act of violence against someone else as we have seen all too often in the news recently, we might ask ourselves "Why did God let this happen?" There are no easy answers to this question. But what we just heard in today's gospel is THE ultimate example of bad things happening to a good person. But consider what happened in that gospel: our Lord endured the worst that humanity could do to him and, in one week, we will celebrate his victory over all of those evils. He had lived his public life overcoming the evils that afflicted others, but submitted himself to suffering, pain and, ultimately, death, and made no effort whatsoever to resist or escape them.
As we begin the most solemn week in the liturgical calendar, I think we need to immerse ourselves in these events: from the washing of the disciples' feet on Holy Thursday, through the sorrow of Good Friday to the joy of the Easter Vigil and Easter Sunday. And if we do this, we will come to realize the incredible love that God has for us. All too many years ago, I read a book called A Doctor At Calvary which had a profound effect on me. The author, Pierre Barbet, was a doctor who studied the Shroud of Turin from a medical point of view to determine what the person whose image was on it had suffered. I remember that when I first read it, I could not read more than three or four pages before I had to stop since I just couldn't deal with it.
[I have posted on my web site some reflections on the Lord's Passion called The Healing Wounds of Christ. It is a collection of revelations to the saints by our Lord or his blessed Mother about his passion. They are quite revealing, without being as graphic as A Doctor At Calvary.]
So I think we need to consider two things this week: first of all, how much our Lord so willingly suffered in his Passion and death. And these facts of his Passion should not turn our stomachs, but our hearts. They should turn our hearts to realize the enormity of God's love for us. Which brings us to the second point: no matter how great the enormity of evil, greater still is the enormity of God's love and his goodness. And this love is reflected in the heroism of his children, inasmuch as we are all God's children. All we need to do to remind ourselves of fact is to consider the actions of some people over the years in Colombine, CO, Sandy Hook, CT, in Christ Church, NZ, etc. who were willing to sacrifice their lives to save the lives of others, just as our Lord sacrificed his life to save all of his children. Would it be any wonder that Jesus would meet them all at the gates of heaven and speak to them the words which he spoke to Dismus, the Good Thief, from the cross: "This day you will be with me in paradise."
(Copyright 2019 by the Spirit through Deacon Sil Galvan, with a little help from the friend noted above. Permission is freely granted for use, in whole or in part, in oral presentations. For permission to use in writing, please contact the human intermediary at deaconsil@comcast.net.)
Lord Jesus, you willingly emptied yourself and became one like us. Lord, have mercy.
Christ Jesus, you humbled yourself and obediently accepted death on a cross for our sake. Christ, have mercy.
Lord Jesus, through your suffering and death, you revealed the enormity of God's love for us. Lord, have mercy.
Celebrant: Jesus Christ was obedient even to a death on a cross. Now reigning at the right hand of God, he continues to intercede for us. Therefore, in confidence that he will hear us, we bring our prayers to him.
Deacon/Lector: Our response is "Lord, hear our prayer."
That the leaders of all churches will seek reconciliation with one another, we pray to the Lord.
That the leaders of all nations will turn from segregation, prejudice and hatred to reconciliation with one another, we pray to the Lord.
That we will come to see Christ in all those who suffer, especially those suffering from poverty, hunger and sickness, we pray to the Lord.
That the imminent reception into the faith by all of those preparing for their Easter sacraments will provide us all with a renewed devotion to our own faith, we pray to the Lord.
That all of our brothers and sisters will be treated as our equals in the sight of God regardless of their race, color, nationality or religion, we pray to the Lord.
That all of those whose lives have been affected by natural disasters and by man-made tragedies including the war in Ukraine, may be strengthened in their efforts to rebuild their lives, heal from their injuries and overcome their grief, we pray to the Lord.
For all of the intentions we hold in our hearts and which we now recall in silence. (Pause) For all of these intentions, we pray to the Lord.
Celebrant: Loving Father, the prayer of your Son brought forgiveness to those who crucified him, and the prayer of the thief brought him a place with Christ at your side. Hear the prayers we now make to you, and sustain your people in their need. We make our prayer through Christ, our crucified Lord. Amen.