Monday of Holy Week
Psalm
27, verse 3:
Though an army encamp against me, my heart does not fear;
Though war be waged against me, even then do I trust.
In a purer sense an army does
encamp against every follower of Christ; it is the army of the devil and those
under his flag in this world. They do wage a war against us, and our only hope
is to trust in Christ. If we trust all we need say for God’s help is three
simple words: “Come Holy Spirit”. The Holy Spirit coming to sinful men is what
Holy week is all about. It is what Christ’s sacrifice was all about. Mary of
Medjugorje tells us that, “The most important thing is to pray to the Holy Spirit”
Because if one has the Spirit “one has everything.[1]
Therefore,
when the spirit convicts you of an action do not hesitate. Don’t be like the
unfaithful servant, 'Master, I knew you
were a demanding person, harvesting where you did not plant and gathering where
you did not scatter; so out of fear I went off and buried your talent in the
ground.
1733 The more one does
what is good, the freer one becomes. There is no true freedom except in the
service of what is good and just. The choice to disobey and do evil is an abuse
of freedom and leads to "the slavery of sin."
Monday of Holy
Week
Prayer. GRANT, we beseech Thee, Almighty
God, that we, who fail through our infirmity, in so many adversities may be
relieved by the passion of Thy Son, making intercession for us.
EPISTLE. Isaias 1.
5-10.
In
those days Isaias said: The Lord God hath opened my ear, and I do not resist I
have not gone back. I have given my body to the strikers, and my cheeks to them
that plucked them: I have not turned away my face from them that rebuked me,
and spit upon me. The Lord God is my helper, therefore am I not confounded: therefore,
have I set my face as a most hard rock, and I know that I shall not be
confounded. He is near that justifieth me, who will contend with me? let us stand
together, who is my adversary? let him come near to me. Behold the Lord God is
my helper: who is he that shall condemn me?
Lo, they shall
all be destroyed as a garment, the moth shall eat them up. Who is there among
you that feareth the Lord, that heareth the voice of His servant, that hath
walked in darkness, and hath no light? let him hope in the name of the Lord,
and lean upon his God.
GOSPEL. John xii.
1-9.
Six days before
the Pasch Jesus came to Bethania, where Lazarus had been dead, whom Jesus raised
to life. And they made Him -a supper there: and Martha served, but Lazarus was
one of them that were at table with Him. Mary therefore took a pound of
ointment of right spikenard, of great price, and anointed the feet of Jesus,
and wiped His feet with her hair: and the house was filled with the odor of the
ointment. Then one of His disciples, Judas Iscariot, he that was about to
betray Him, said: Why was not this ointment sold for three hundred pence and
given to the poor?
Now he said this,
not because he cared for the poor, but because he was a thief, and having the purse,
carried the things that were put therein. Jesus therefore said: Let her alone,
that she may keep it against the day of My burial. For the poor you have always
with you: but Me you have not always. A great multitude therefore of the Jews
knew that He was there: and they came, not for Jesus’s sake only, but that they
might see Lazarus, whom He had raised from the dead.
The Gospel for the Mass gives an account of Judas'
character, foreshadowing his act of betrayal.
Spring Cleaning
Just as the
Hebrews cleaned and swept the whole house in preparation for the Pasch
(Passover), so too is there an ancient custom in Christianity that the first
three weekdays of Holy Week be a time for the year's most thorough cleaning.
Everything is to be scrubbed and polished, and all work is to be completed by
Wednesday evening (in time for Tenebrae).
Tenebrae consists of the divine office of Matins and Lauds for
Maundy Thursday. It is generally held on the night of "Spy Wednesday"
of Holy Week, so-called because it is believed to be the night on which Judas
Iscariot betrayed our Lord.
·
Jesus curses the fig tree. (Mt 21:18-19; Mk
11:12-14)
·
Jesus cleanses the temple. (Mt 21:10-17; Mk 11:11;
Lk 19:45-46; Jn 2:13-25)
·
Parable of the wicked tenants (Mt 21:33-46; Mk
12:1-12; Lk 20:9-19)
·
Returns to Bethany at night.
On Monday[4],
Jesus returned with his disciples to Jerusalem. Along the way, He cursed a
fig tree because it had failed to bear fruit. Some scholars believe this
cursing of the fig tree represented God's judgment on the spiritually dead
religious leaders of Israel. Others believe the symbolism extended to all
believers, demonstrating that genuine faith
is more than just outward religiosity. True, living faith must bear spiritual
fruit in a person's life. When Jesus arrived at the Temple he found the courts
full of corrupt money changers. He began overturning their tables and clearing the
Temple, saying, "The Scriptures declare, 'My Temple will be a house of
prayer,' but you have turned it into a den of thieves." (Luke 19:46) On
Monday evening Jesus stayed in Bethany again, probably in the home of his
friends, Mary, Martha, and Lazarus.
[1]
Michael H. Brown, Prayer of the Warrior.
[3]https://www.catholicconvert.com/wp-content/uploads/Timeline-of-Holy-Week.pdf
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