Overwhelming. Reflection for marriages. John 18:1–19:42

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From the Gospel according to John. Jn 18:1—19:42

Jesus went out with his disciples across the Kidron valley to where there was a garden, into which he and his disciples entered. Judas his betrayer also knew the place, because Jesus had often met there with his disciples. So Judas got a band of soldiers and guards from the chief priests and the Pharisees and went there with lanterns, torches, and weapons. Jesus, knowing everything that was going to happen to him, went out and said to them, “Whom are you looking for?” They answered him, “Jesus the Nazorean.”He said to them, “I AM.”

Judas his betrayer was also with them.

When he said to them, “I AM, “ they turned away and fell to the ground.

So he again asked them, “Whom are you looking for?”

They said, “Jesus the Nazorean.”

Jesus answered, “I told you that I AM. So if you are looking for me, let these men go.”

This was to fulfill what he had said, “I have not lost any of those you gave me.”

Then Simon Peter, who had a sword, drew it, struck the high priest’s slave, and cut off his right ear. The slave’s name was Malchus.

Jesus said to Peter, “Put your sword into its scabbard. Shall I not drink the cup that the Father gave me?”

So the band of soldiers, the tribune, and the Jewish guards seized Jesus, bound him, and brought him to Annas first. He was the father-in-law of Caiaphas, who was high priest that year. It was Caiaphas who had counseled the Jews that it was better that one man should die rather than the people.

Simon Peter and another disciple followed Jesus. Now the other disciple was known to the high priest, and he entered the courtyard of the high priest with Jesus. But Peter stood at the gate outside. So the other disciple, the acquaintance of the high priest, went out and spoke to the gatekeeper and brought Peter in.

Then the maid who was the gatekeeper said to Peter, “You are not one of this man’s disciples, are you?”

He said, “I am not.”

Now the slaves and the guards were standing around a charcoal fire that they had made, because it was cold, and were warming themselves. Peter was also standing there keeping warm. The high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and about his doctrine.

Jesus answered him, “I have spoken publicly to the world. I have always taught in a synagogue or in the temple area where all the Jews gather, and in secret I have said nothing. Why ask me? Ask those who heard me what I said to them. They know what I said.”

When he had said this, one of the temple guards standing there struck Jesus and said, “Is this the way you answer the high priest?”

Jesus answered him, “If I have spoken wrongly, testify to the wrong; but if I have spoken rightly, why do you strike me?”

Then Annas sent him bound to Caiaphas the high priest.

Now Simon Peter was standing there keeping warm. And they said to him, “You are not one of his disciples, are you?”

He denied it and said, “I am not.”

One of the slaves of the high priest, a relative of the one whose ear Peter had cut off, said, “Didn’t I see you in the garden with him?”

Again Peter denied it. And immediately the cock crowed.

Then they brought Jesus from Caiaphas to the praetorium. It was morning. And they themselves did not enter the praetorium, in order not to be defiled so that they could eat the Passover.

So Pilate came out to them and said, “What charge do you bring against this man?”

They answered and said to him, “If he were not a criminal, we would not have handed him over to you.”

At this, Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves, and judge him according to your law.”

The Jews answered him, “We do not have the right to execute anyone, “in order that the word of Jesus might be fulfilled that he said indicating the kind of death he would die.

So Pilate went back into the praetorium and summoned Jesus and said to him, “Are you the King of the Jews?”

Jesus answered, “Do you say this on your own or have others told you about me?”

Pilate answered, “I am not a Jew, am I? Your own nation and the chief priests handed you over to me. What have you done?”

Jesus answered, “My kingdom does not belong to this world. If my kingdom did belong to this world, my attendants would be fighting to keep me from being handed over to the Jews. But as it is, my kingdom is not here.”

So Pilate said to him, “Then you are a king?”

Jesus answered, “You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.”

Pilate said to him, “What is truth?” When he had said this, he again went out to the Jews and said to them,

“I find no guilt in him. But you have a custom that I release one prisoner to you at Passover. Do you want me to release to you the King of the Jews?”

They cried out again, “Not this one but Barabbas!”

Now Barabbas was a revolutionary.

Then Pilate took Jesus and had him scourged. And the soldiers wove a crown out of thorns and placed it on his head, and clothed him in a purple cloak, and they came to him and said, “Hail, King of the Jews!” And they struck him repeatedly.

Once more Pilate went out and said to them, “Look, I am bringing him out to you, so that you may know that I find no guilt in him.” So Jesus came out, wearing the crown of thorns and the purple cloak. And he said to them, “Behold, the man!”

When the chief priests and the guards saw him they cried out, “Crucify him, crucify him!”

Pilate said to them, “Take him yourselves and crucify him. I find no guilt in him.”

The Jews answered, “We have a law, and according to that law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.”

Now when Pilate heard this statement, he became even more afraid, and went back into the praetorium and said to Jesus, “Where are you from?”

Jesus did not answer him.

So Pilate said to him, “Do you not speak to me? Do you not know that I have power to release you and I have power to crucify you?”

Jesus answered him, “You would have no power over me if it had not been given to you from above. For this reason the one who handed me over to you has the greater sin.”

Consequently, Pilate tried to release him; but the Jews cried out, “If you release him, you are not a Friend of Caesar. Everyone who makes himself a king opposes Caesar.”

When Pilate heard these words he brought Jesus out and seated him on the judge’s bench in the place called Stone Pavement, in Hebrew, Gabbatha. It was preparation day for Passover, and it was about noon. And he said to the Jews, “Behold, your king!”

They cried out, “Take him away, take him away! Crucify him!”

Pilate said to them, “Shall I crucify your king?”

The chief priests answered, “We have no king but Caesar.”

Then he handed him over to them to be crucified.

So they took Jesus, and, carrying the cross himself, he went out to what is called the Place of the Skull, in Hebrew, Golgotha. There they crucified him, and with him two others, one on either side, with Jesus in the middle. Pilate also had an inscription written and put on the cross. It read, “Jesus the Nazorean, the King of the Jews.” Now many of the Jews read this inscription, because the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Latin, and Greek. So the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write ‘The King of the Jews,’ but that he said, ‘I am the King of the Jews’.”

Pilate answered, “What I have written, I have written.”

When the soldiers had crucified Jesus, they took his clothes and divided them into four shares, a share for each soldier. They also took his tunic, but the tunic was seamless, woven in one piece from the top down. So they said to one another, “Let’s not tear it, but cast lots for it to see whose it will be, “ in order that the passage of Scripture might be fulfilled that says: They divided my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots. This is what the soldiers did.

Standing by the cross of Jesus were his mother and his mother’s sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary of Magdala. When Jesus saw his mother and the disciple there whom he loved he said to his mother, “Woman, behold, your son.” Then he said to the disciple, “Behold, your mother.” And from that hour the disciple took her into his home.

After this, aware that everything was now finished, in order that the Scripture might be fulfilled, Jesus said, “I thirst.” There was a vessel filled with common wine. So they put a sponge soaked in wine on a sprig of hyssop and put it up to his mouth. When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

Now since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and that they be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may come to believe. For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled: Not a bone of it will be broken. And again another passage says: They will look upon him whom they have pierced.

After this, Joseph of Arimathea, secretly a disciple of Jesus for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate if he could remove the body of Jesus. And Pilate permitted it. So he came and took his body. Nicodemus, the one who had first come to him at night, also came bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes weighing about one hundred pounds. They took the body of Jesus and bound it with burial cloths along with the spices, according to the Jewish burial custom.

Now in the place where he had been crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had yet been buried. So they laid Jesus there because of the Jewish preparation day; for the tomb was close by.

The Gospel of the Lord

Overwhelming.

Impressive and overwhelming is the detailed account of the Lord’s Passion. It was necessary for us to know to what extent the Lord loved us. There are even scenes that Jesus Himself must have shared with His disciples, since they could not be present.

All of this to show us His love to the very end.

Applied to married life:

Emily: It’s incredible how much the Lord loved us. Could you love me like that?

Josh: I don’t know… but I’d like to.

Emily: Let’s ask the Lord for it.

Josh: I ask You, Lord.

Mother,

You too loved us like that. Praised be our Redeemer.

A Unique Testimony. Reflection for marriages. John 13:1-15

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From the Gospel according to John, Jn 13:1-15

Before the feast of Passover, Jesus knew that his hour had come to pass from this world to the Father. He loved his own in the world and he loved them to the end. The devil had already induced Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, to hand him over. So, during supper, fully aware that the Father had put everything into his power and that he had come from God and was returning to God, he rose from supper and took off his outer garments. He took a towel and tied it around his waist. Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples’ feet and dry them with the towel around his waist. He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Master, are you going to wash my feet? Jesus answered and said to him, “What I am doing, you do not understand now, but you will understand later.” Peter said to him, “You will never wash my feet.” Jesus answered him, “Unless I wash you, you will have no inheritance with me.” Simon Peter said to him, “Master, then not only my feet, but my hands and head as well.” Jesus said to him, “Whoever has bathed has no need except to have his feet washed, for he is clean all over; so you are clean, but not all.” For he knew who would betray him; for this reason, he said, “Not all of you are clean.”

So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, “Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.”

The Gospel of the Lord

A Unique Testimony

Christ invites us to mutual submission, to become slaves to one another just as He became a slave to us. It’s worth noting that among those whose feet Jesus washed was also Judas… He washed his feet too. This submission must be very important, since for John, the foot washing represents the Eucharist.

It is the only way to be a true Christian witness for other married couples. 

Applied to Married Life:

Tessa: Forgive me, this morning I spoke harshly to you, and yet you were kind to me the whole time. I saw how the greater I made myself, the smaller you made yourself.
Jacob: Tessa, I asked the Holy Spirit for help and He helped me. Above all, I wanted to love you. How could I not love you?
Tessa: I know, but I feel awful for how I acted with you.
Jacob: Let yourself be loved, my darling. That’s what our relationship is about—serving each other. Look at what Jesus says in today’s Gospel: If I do not wash you, you have no part with me. There’s no relationship without that. Sometimes you need me, and other times I need to admit that I need you—so that there is true relationship. And in every act of giving and receiving, Christ is made present through our Sacrament and makes our love grow, transforming it into Marital Charity. Isn’t that amazing?
Tessa: I can’t wait to be the one who welcomes and serves you next time.

 

Mother,

We want to follow the Lord on this path of service. Lord, you are our Master and yet you gird yourself and become our servant. Lord, I want to kneel before my husband and wash his feet. You have placed him in my hands, and me in his.

Worse Than Nothing. Reflection for marriages. Matthew 26:14-25

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From the Gospel according to Matthew. Mt; 26:14-25

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests and said, “What are you willing to give me if I hand him over to you?”
They paid him thirty pieces of silver, and from that time on he looked for an opportunity to hand him over.
On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the disciples approached Jesus and said, “Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He said, “Go into the city to a certain man and tell him, ‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near; in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.””‘ The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered, and prepared the Passover.
When it was evening, he reclined at table with the Twelve. And while they were eating, he said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
Deeply distressed at this, they began to say to him one after another, “Surely it is not I, Lord?” He said in reply, “He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me is the one who will betray me. The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.” Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply, “Surely it is not I, Rabbi?” He answered, “You have said so.”
The Gospel of the Lord

Worse Than Nothing

If my Creator were to regret having created me, that would be an issue—terrible issue, in fact. What dignity would remain to me then? I would be better off having never existed. My goodness—what a sentence.
Judas betrayed the covenant with Jesus. He also betrayed His love and His trust.
When we married, there was a covenant; there was a love that united us, and a trust between us, for we entrusted our lives to one another, each and every day. There was also a covenant with Christ—His love united us, and He placed His trust in us. The question I ask myself is: how many times have I betrayed that covenant? I had better remain faithful to my love from now on, so I never have to hear those dreadful words from the lips of my Lord: “It would have been better for you not to have been born.”

 
Applied to Married Life:

Albert: What gives me dignity is being made in the image of God—being a child of God. If I betray Him by breaking the covenant through which He united me to you, what remains of my dignity?
Lucy: I understand that if our covenant is a sign of Trinitarian Love and shares in Christ’s Love, then by betraying it, we are betraying our very essence.
Albert: It’s true that marriage is something profoundly great and sacred—and for that very reason, to trample upon it is gravely serious.
Lucy: Then the only option left to us is being like Peter: deeply repentant, asking for forgiveness.

 
Mother,

May we respond faithfully to the covenant we have entered into. Through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.

Where Will You Go? Reflection for marriages. John 13:21-33,36-38

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From the Gospel according to John 13:21-33, 36-38

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant. One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,
was reclining at Jesus’ side. So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant. He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him, “Master, who is it?” Jesus answered, “It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.” So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot. After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him. So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.” Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him. Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him, “Buy what we need for the feast,” or to give something to the poor. So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.
When he had left, Jesus said, “Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him. If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and he will glorify him at once. My children, I will be with you only a little while longer. You will look for me, and as I told the Jews, ‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”
Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,
though you will follow later.” Peter said to him, “Master, why can I not follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.”

The Gospel of the Lord

Where Will You Go?

Peter believes he can follow Jesus and lay down his life for Him, relying on his own strength. But Jesus shows him that this is not the way. There is a somewhat ironic tone in Jesus’ reply to Peter: “Will you lay down your life for Me?” As if to say, “Where will you go without Me?” He allows Peter to undergo the humbling experience of acting on his own strength—an experience that leads him to deny Jesus not once, not twice, but three times—so that he might understand clearly that without Him, he can do nothing.

Applied to Married Life:

Patricia: We are a fragile couple. We face temptations and falls. This Sacrament of Marriage is truly a work of God. We must learn to see it with the humility of those who know they are incapable of reaching the heights of Love on their own. Only God is capable, without His help—where shall we go? The one who becomes small, who understands that everything is a gift from God, is the one who comes to live the Sacrament as God intended. So often we try to take the lead in God’s work and demand of the other what only God can give. Forgive me for expecting from you what God has not yet granted you, and for thinking of myself as better than you.
Ray: Forgive me, too! I promised to give my life for you, and lately I’ve been giving it to my work instead. I will strive to do better—but above all, I ask the Lord to do it in me, for you.
Patricia: I, too, have been trying hard to please others and not you. I will strive to do better. How great is the Lord, who promises to make living out our marriage possible—because He is with us.
Ray: Yes. All our efforts must lead us to become smaller, so that He may become greater in us and in our marriage. That is the secret of a love that is being transformed into His Love.

Mother,

You are full of grace. Hear my cry: “I have only You, Mother, only have You, Lord.” Praised be Your name, for I know You never abandon me.

The Most Despised Members. Reflection for marriages John 12:1-11

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Gospel

From the Gospel according to John. Jn 12:1-11

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him.
Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil.
Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?”
He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions.
So Jesus said, “Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me.”
The large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of him, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.

The Gospel of the Lord.

 
The Most Despised Members

Mary anointed the feet of Jesus with perfume. It is indeed curious that she poured the costly perfume on His feet rather than on His head or chest… Who would think to anoint someone’s feet?
Saint Paul says in 1 Corinthians 12:23, “The parts of the body that seem to be weaker are indispensable, and the parts that we think are less honorable we treat with special honor.” He speaks of the members of the Mystical Body of Christ, which is the Church, stating that “God has arranged the parts of the body, giving greater honor to the parts that lacked it,” so that, ultimately, all might receive equal dignity in how they are treated.
What if we applied this divine principle to our spouse when he has fallen into the indignity of sin? Would he not then deserve an even greater effort on our part to treat him with greater honor?

Applied to Married Life:

Jack: I really appreciate how you’ve been treating me with greater respect and dignity lately, especially now that I’ve fallen into sin.
Tess: Oh? You noticed?
Jack: Yes, absolutely. And it’s been incredibly helpful.
Tess: I was simply trying to follow the guidelines given by Saint Paul. But why has it helped you?
Jack: Because when you treat me with more respect, I tend to respond in a more respectful way myself. That, in turn, helps me rise out of the state of indignity in which I found myself. So, thank you.
Tess: You’re welcome. Thanks be to God.

Mother,

Jesus restores our dignity by treating us with dignity, just as the father did with the prodigal son. In this, especially, we desire to follow Jesus. Praise be to Him.