Jesus chose him freely (Fr. Patrick van der Vorst)

    Judas was among those Jesus wanted. Jesus chose him freely, just as he chose the others. There is no suggestion that Jesus deliberately selected a betrayer; instead, he believed in Judas’ potential for good and entrusted him with a real share in his mission, just as he did with the others. Jesus wanted Judas, and Judas accepted this call by his own free will... but in the end Judas did not ultimately want Jesus. 

   This dynamic touches our own discipleship. The Lord’s call comes to us again and again throughout our lives: “Come, follow me.” But our response must be freely given, continuously, consistently. He invites us first to companionship, to live close to his heart in prayer. From that friendship springs a mission: he sends us out to share what we have received. The call and response constantly get renewed and refreshed. Like the twelve, we are wanted by Christ; the question becomes whether we want him in return, and whether we consistently say 'yes' to his call at every stage in our life. 

 --Fr. Patrick van der Vorst 

Image source: José Ferraz de Almeida, Jr., The Remorse of Judas (1880),  
https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/d/d1/Almeida_J%C3%BAnior_-_Remorso_de_Judas%2C_1880.jpg
Quotation source and commentary on this painting

Triduum -- THE Kairos event of human history! (Fr. Derek Sakowski)

The Sacred Triduum is
THE kairos event of human history.

—Fr. Derek Sakowski

It's difficult to find the right words to describe the Easter Triduum –– its beauty and solemnity, its pregnant meaning... Those who have experienced it just once find themselves waiting impatiently for these three days throughout all the season of Lent. Triduum is the goal, the culmination, the extraordinary endpoint of our journey through forty days in the Lenten desert. It is unlike any other moment in the Church’s liturgical calendar – it’s almost like stepping over a threshold, out of chronological time and into kairos time, into a sacred space unique in the depth of engagement it offers, and in the beauty of liturgy that graces it. Nothing, nothing, is like the Triduum liturgy, three awed days of total immersion, body, heart, and soul, into the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of our Lord. If you have never participated before, now is the time: you will never forget this incredible experience of time-out-of-time. 

    Join us first on Holy Thursday evening for the Feast of the Lord’s Supper and recall Jesus kneeling humbly before his disciples to wash their feet, then blessing, breaking, and sharing bread – the first Eucharist – with his disciples… Process afterwards with us to O'Brien Hall for Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament… 

    Follow in Jesus’ footsteps on the Way of the Cross Friday afternoon, and venerate the Wood of the Cross in remembrance of his death at the most extraordinary Communion service of the liturgical year… 

    Witness the Light of Christ as it slowly fills Our Lady of Mount Carmel Church on Holy Saturday evening, and hear the story of salvation history, from Genesis to Romans… punctuated with a joyful Gloria that tells us that Resurrection is at hand… 

    And then, at last, on Easter Sunday, join in the joyful proclamation of Jesus Risen and know in the depth of your being God’s faithful and abiding love…. Alleluia! 

Come, step into the sacred space of Triduum! 

Image source: Cave near the Mutnovsky Volcano in Kamchatka, Russia, https://kamchatkaland.com/note/vulcano-mutnovsky
Quotation source

Weren't you with the Galilean? (Elsie Miranda)

   In Matthew 26:56, it is written: “Then all the disciples left him and fled.” 

   But two verses later we read: “Peter was following at a distance, as far as the high priest’s courtyard, and going inside he sat down with the servants to see the outcome.” 

   All the disciples left him and fled, but Peter followed at a distance. Peter finally woke up because he was committed to his call as disciple of Jesus, the Messiah. We often make so much of Peter’s denial— but seldom do we consider the courage that it took to go to the high priest’s courtyard, to sit with the servants “to see the outcome” -- to be able to testify to what he saw: to give an account of the outrageousness of the charge of blasphemy, and to the insidiousness of the mockery, torture, and crucifixion that followed. For Peter, the call of discipleship, demanded a presence that required risking his life for his friend. I’d like to think that when he was asked, “weren’t you with the Galilean?” -- he denied knowing Jesus, because covering for the sake of a deeper truth was more important than admitting a reality that was inconsequential to the outcome of the moment. An affirmative response to the question would only serve to make him a martyr. When his accent gave him away, his denial, and cursing were a foil to buy him time—because he needed to get back to tell the story— of how the scriptures were fulfilled. 

    Peter’s awakening led to him to deny Jesus— as a cover that allowed him to be present to in a new way—this time as a witness. 

--Elsie Miranda 

Image source: Georges de La Tour, The Denial of St. Peter (1650), https://narrativepainting.net/george-de-la-tour-the-denial-of-st-peter-1650/. Can you identify the figure of St. Peter?
Quotation source

Christ on a Donkey (Henri Nouwen)

    Christ on a Donkey, in the Augustiner Museum in Freiburg, is one of the most moving Christ figures I know… 

    Christ’s long, slender face with a high forehead, inward-looking eyes, long hair, and a small forked beard expresses the mystery of his suffering in a way that holds me spellbound. As he rides into Jerusalem surrounded by people shouting “hosanna,” “cutting branches from the trees and spreading them in his path” (Matt. 21:8), Jesus appears completely concentrated on something else. He does not look at the excited crowd. He does not wave. He sees beyond all the noise and movement to what is ahead of him: an agonizing journey of betrayal, torture, crucifixion, and death. His unfocused eyes see what nobody around him can see; his high forehead reflects a knowledge of things to come far beyond anyone’s understanding. There is melancholy, but also peaceful acceptance. There is insight into the fickleness of the human heart, but also immense compassion. There is deep awareness of the unspeakable pain to be suffered, but also a strong determination to do God’s will. Above all, there is love, an endless, deep, and far-reaching love born from an unbreakable intimacy with God and reaching out to all people, wherever they are, were, or will be. There is nobody whom he does not fully love. 

    Every time I look at this Christ on the donkey, I am reminded again that I am seen by him with all my sins, guilt, and shame and loved with all his forgiveness, mercy, and compassion. 

    Just being with him in the Augustiner Museum is a prayer. I look and look and look, and I know that he sees the depths of my heart; I do not have to be afraid. 

PRAYER 

 Almighty God,
today we pay homage to Christ in his victory.
With songs of praise
we accompany him into his holy city;
grant that we may come
 to the heavenly Jerusalem through him
who lives and reigns with you to all eternity. 

--Henri Nouwen

Image source: Christus auf dem Palmesel, Upper Rhine (1350-1360). For this and a further collection of Palmesel, go to:  https://artandtheology.org/2026/03/13/the-palmesel-palm-donkey-a-holy-week-tradition-from-medieval-germany/
Quotation source

Choosing love (Elizabeth Scalia)

   Choosing love in any given moment requires a consciousness of Christ as being continually before one’s eyes, and a conscientiousness of service-as-love for the sake of being united to the vast ocean of mercy that helps to heal and sustain the world. 

--Elizabeth Scalia 

Image source: Fra Angelico, Deposition from the Cross, Pala di Santa Trinità (1432-1434), http://www.travelingintuscany.com/art/fraangelico/depositionfromthecross.htm
Quotation source

God is in the midst of you (St. Andrew of Crete)

  Behold, your king is coming to you, the Holy One, the Savior 

   Let us say to Christ: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, the king of Israel. Let us wave before him like palm branches the words inscribed above him on the cross. Let us show him honor, not with olive branches but with the splendor of merciful deeds to one another. Let us spread the thoughts and desires of our hearts under his feet like garments, so that entering with the whole of his being, he may draw the whole of our being into himself and place the whole of his in us. Let us say to Zion in the words of the prophet: Have courage, daughter of Zion, do not be afraid. Behold, your king comes to you, humble and mounted on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden. 

   He is coming who is everywhere present and pervades all things; he is coming to achieve in you his work of universal salvation. He is coming who came to call to repentance not the righteous but sinners, coming to recall those who have strayed into sin. Do not be afraid then: God is in the midst of you, and you shall not be shaken. 

--St. Andrew of Crete 

Image source: The Entry into Jerusalem, St. Seraphim of Sarov Orthodox Cathedral, Santa Rosa, CA, https://saintseraphim.com/
Quotation source

Sunday Gospel Reflection, March 29, 2026: Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord…

Will we choose love? 

   When, in Matthew’s Gospel, Jesus enters into Jerusalem upon a simple beast of burden, he does so as a king who is meek and humble. For all that his procession is triumphal – Hosanna to the Son of David, the very large crowd shouts to honor him, Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord! – Jesus himself holds to the humility he embraced when, as the Letter to the Philippians tells us, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness. Emptying himself of all rights of divinity in order to be human, Jesus seeks not to control but to love humanity with a love that is merciful, that forgives, a love that includes even us. 

   And so, as Jesus enters into his Passion, though he may be degraded like the Suffering Servant of Isaiah, his back beaten, his beard plucked derisively, and also scoffed at and mocked, in fulfillment of Psalm 22, yet love is still at work. Jesus has benefitted from many gifts; he knows how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them, and he knows how to listen, ears open, that he might hear all that God expects of him. Like the Suffering Servant, Jesus has confidence in the ability of God’s love to transcend all things… even the worst that we as human beings can come up with. 

   Thus, even from the Cross, Jesus remains a witness to God’s love, enduring the torture and pain out of love for humankind, love even for those who are visiting pain upon him, love even for those close friends who betray him, as all do, one after another. Judas never sees that Jesus’ love is greater than his own betrayal of his Master. Yet, at the Last Supper, Jesus’ disciples all drink of his forgiveness and mercy and love, taking that love into themselves, preparing to bring his love to the world. We do the same in Eucharist, participating in his sacrifice, that we too – though we sin – might know God’s deep and abiding love for us, and bring it to bear upon our world. In the midst of pain, Jesus chooses love. Will we?

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com