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Message of the Day
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In place of our exhaustion and spiritual fatigue, God will give us rest. All He asks is
that we come to Him…that we spend a while thinking about Him, meditating on Him, talking to Him, listening in silence, occupying ourselves with Him—totally and thoroughly lost in the hiding place of His presence. - Charles (Chuck) Swindoll (". . . spend a while . . .")
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Readings of the Day
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Isaiah 49:1-6; Psalm 71:1-2, 3-4a, 5ab-6ab, 15 and
17 John 13:21-33, 36-38 While at supper with his disciples, Jesus was troubled in spirit and declared, ‘I tell you most solemnly, one of you will betray me.’ The disciples looked at one another, wondering which he meant. The disciple Jesus loved was reclining next to Jesus; Simon Peter signed to him and said, ‘Ask who it is he means’, so leaning back on Jesus’ breast he said,
‘Who is it, Lord?’ ‘It is the one’ replied Jesus ‘to whom I give the piece of bread that I shall dip in the dish.’ He dipped the piece of bread and gave it to Judas son of Simon Iscariot. At that instant, after Judas had taken the bread, Satan entered him. Jesus then said, ‘What you are going to do, do quickly.’ None of the others at table understood the reason he said this. Since Judas had charge of the common fund, some of them thought Jesus was telling him, ‘Buy what we need for the
festival’, or telling him to give something to the poor. As soon as Judas had taken the piece of bread he went out. Night had fallen.
When he had gone Jesus said: ‘Now has the Son of Man been glorified,
and in him God has been glorified.
If God has been glorified in him,
God
will in turn glorify him in himself,
and will glorify him very soon. ‘My little children,
I shall not be with you much longer.
You will look for me,
And, as I told the Jews,
where I am going, you cannot come.’ Simon Peter said, ‘Lord, where are you going?’ Jesus replied, ‘Where I am going you cannot follow me now; you will follow me later.’ Peter said to him, ‘Why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you.’ ‘Lay down your life for me?’ answered Jesus. ‘I tell you most solemnly, before the cock crows you will have disowned me three
times.’ USCCB lectionary
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Reflection on the Scripture
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“Jesus,” reclining, “grew deeply troubled.” —John 13:21
During Holy Week, we recall a week of extreme suffering, pain, and trauma for Jesus. As we reflect
on Jesus’ sufferings, we too may be having an extremely difficult week. As we look at our lives, we may feel we have “toiled in vain, and for nothing, uselessly, spent” our strength (Is 49:4). Like Jesus, we may grow “deeply troubled” (Jn 13:21). We are tempted to let Satan enter our hearts (see Jn 13:27), or we are brokenhearted because others have let Satan enter their hearts. Spiritually speaking, we may be going through the night (see Jn 13:30) of spiritual warfare where the prince of
darkness (see Eph 6:12) seems to be reigning.
When Jesus suffered all this distress and Judas had left to betray Him (Jn 13:31), Jesus did not cower in fear or have a pity party. Rather, He proclaimed: “Now is the Son of Man glorified and God is glorified in Him. [If God has been glorified in Him,] God will, in turn, glorify Him in Himself, and will glorify Him soon” (Jn 13:31-32). In the deeper holiness which we are receiving this Holy
Week, let us proclaim with Jesus that, especially in the midst of terrible suffering, God the Father will be glorified through our lives. “In His temple all say, ‘Glory!’ ” (Ps 29:9) Prayer: “Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.” Promise: “I will make you a light to the
nations, that My salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” —Is 49:6 Presentation Ministries
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Spiritual Reading
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The Practice of the Presence of God: The Best Rule of Holy Life, by Brother Lawrence (1611 - 1691). Christian Classics Ethereal Library.
https://ccel.org/ccel/lawrence/practice/practice Fourth Letter Writes of himself as of a third person, and encourages his correspondent to press on to fuller practising of the Presence of God.
I HAVE taken this opportunity to communicate to you the sentiments of one of our society concerning the admirable effects and continual assistances which he receives from the presence of GOD. Let you and me both profit by them.
You must know, his continual care has been, for above forty years past that he has spent in religion, to be always with GOD; and to do nothing, say nothing, and think nothing which may displease Him;
and this without any other view than purely for the love of Him, and because He deserves infinitely more.
He is now so accustomed to that Divine presence, that he receives from it continual succours upon all occasions. For about thirty years, his soul has been filled with joys so continual, and sometimes so great, that he is forced to use means to moderate them, and to hinder their appearing outwardly.
If sometimes he is a little too much absent from that Divine presence, GOD presently makes Himself to be felt in his soul to recall him; which often happens when he is most engaged in his outward business: he answers with exact fidelity to these inward drawings, either by an elevation of his heart towards GOD, or by a meek and fond regard to Him, or by such words as love forms upon these occasions; as for instance, My GOD, here I am all devoted to Thee: LORD, make me
according to Thy heart. And then it seems to him (as in effect he feels it) that this GOD of love, satisfied with such few words, reposes again, and rests in the depth and centre of his soul. The experience of these things gives him such an assurance that GOD is always in the depth or bottom of his soul, and renders him incapable of doubting it, upon any account whatever.
Judge by this what content and satisfaction he enjoys, while he continually
finds in himself so great a treasure: he is no longer in an anxious search after it, but has it open before him, and may take what he pleases of it.
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