Commemorating the suffering of Jesus. Highlight of the Church year.
Last days of Lent
Invitation
May I ask for your attention for
the daily reading of the Gospel?
This invitation is to share the joy
of the gospel. Everyone, without exception,
can experience that joy by opening their heart
to the healing power of God’s word.
Available every day
Consideration
After John, we have the betrayal in Matthew’s version. Judas is clearly quoted as ‘one of the twelve’, this is a chosen one of the Lord, who ‘surrenders’ his master. Throughout the history of Christianity, this has been the greatest possible scandal. What was the motive? Greed? John suggests that Judas was a thief and Matthew also writes: ‘What will you give me if I hand him over to you?’ But Judas may also have been disappointed in a Messiah who did not seize power and drive out the Romans. Whatever the case, the fact of the betrayal is there, you can’t invent something like that. Woe to the disciple who betrays his master.
FIRST READING: Isaiah 50:4-9a
I have not turned my face away from those who revile and spurn me.
From the prophet Isaiah
The Lord has given me
the tongue of a good disciple,
so that I may know how to give a word in season to the weary.
In the morning, he wakes me to speak,
in the morning he stirs me to listen,
so that I may hear like a disciple.
The Lord God has spoken to me,
and I have not withheld my consent;
I have not backed away.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
I did not turn away my face
from those who reviled and spat upon me.
God the Lord will help me:
Therefore I shall not be put to shame.
He stands beside me, my defender!
Who dares to accuse me?
Let us face each other!
Who is my opponent? He approaches me!
The Lord is my helper!
Who convinces me of guilt?
INTERLUDIUM Ps. 69(68), 8-10, 21bcd-22, 31, 33-34
Hear me because You are merciful, Lord,
now is the time of grace.
For You I have endured every reproach,
though I was red with shame.
I became a stranger to my own kin,
my own brothers no longer know me.
The care of your house has worn me out,
I bore the scorn of those who scorned you.
Reproach has broken my heart,
their reviling is unbearable.
I waited in vain for pity,
for comfort, but I found none.
They put poison in my food,
they quenched my thirst with vinegar.
I will praise God’s name in my song,
praise Him gratefully everywhere.
Behold, you lowly ones, and be glad,
take heart, all you who seek God.
God listens to the cry of the poor
; he does not forget his prisoners.
VERSE FOR THE GOSPEL
Let us give thanks to our King,
for he alone has shown mercy
for our guilt.
GOSPEL Mt. 26:14-25
The Son of Man will go as it is written about him,
but woe to that man by whom He is betrayed!
From the holy gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ according to
Matthew
In those days, one of the twelve,
named 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 came to Jesus and asked him:
‘Where do you want us to make preparations for you to eat the Passover?’
He answered:
‘Go into the city and tell those who live there:
’The Master says:
My hour has come;
I wish to eat the Passover with my disciples in your house.‘
The disciples did as Jesus had instructed them
and prepared the Passover meal.
When evening had come
He was reclining at the table with the twelve disciples.
During the meal He said:
’Amen, I say to you,
one of you will betray me.’
Deeply affected, one after the other began to ask Him:
‘It is not me, is it, Lord?’
He replied:
‘He who dips his hand into the dish
with me will betray me.
’The Son of Man will go just as it is written about him,
but woe to that man
by whom the Son of Man is betrayed!
“It would be better for him
if he had not been born, that man!‘
Judas, his betrayer, also took the floor and said:
’It is not me, Rabbi, is it?‘
He replied:
’You say so.”
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Fratelli tutti
Encyclical of
POPE FRANCIS
On fraternity and social friendship
Forgiving without forgetting
250. Forgiveness does not imply forgetting. Or, to put it another way, while
there are some things that cannot be ignored, relativised or concealed,
we can still forgive. There are some things that cannot be
tolerated, justified or excused, but we can still forgive. There are some
things that we cannot
forget, we can nevertheless forgive. Free and sincere forgiveness
is a grandeur that reflects the immensity of divine forgiveness.
If the forgiveness is selfless, then you can even forgive those
who have trouble repenting and are unable to
ask for forgiveness.
To be continued
Every day at 1 am
The Bible text in this edition is taken from The New Bible Translation,
©Nederlands Bijbelgenootschap 2004/2007.
Considerations from Liturgical suggestions for weekdays and Sundays
Fratelli tutti Official English translation ________________________________________________________________