Texts taken from the Missal “On Your Word” March-April 2023
Holy Week – Chrism Mass
2nd week psalter
FIRST READING
From the book of the prophet Isaiah (Is 61:1-3a, 6a, 8b-9)
The spirit of the Lord God is upon me, because the Lord has consecrated me with the anointing; he has sent me to bring good news to the poor, to bind up the wounds of the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and release to prisoners, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor, the day of vengeance of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to give those who mourn in Zion a crown instead of ashes, the oil of gladness instead of mourning, a garment of praise instead of a faint spirit. You shall be called priests of the Lord; you shall be named ministers of our God. I will faithfully give them their recompense, and I will make an everlasting covenant with them. Their offspring shall be known among the nations, and their descendants among the peoples. All who see them shall acknowledge that they are a people whom the Lord has blessed. – The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the first reading
This is a clear example of how the same images acquire different meanings as the progressive revelation of the Messiah unfolds. The liberation of prisoners and captives, which suggested those who were prisoners in Babylon, here takes on a broader meaning of liberation from life’s difficulties and injustices. A divine liberation in clear contrast with the various forms of slavery imposed by life’s unexpected events. The day of vengeance and the year of mercy, on the other hand, recall the imprisonment and liberation of the Jewish people, although the prophet goes far beyond these historical events. Authentic happiness has not yet arrived and, looking to the future, he announces a time when the signs of sadness and affliction will be transformed into perfume and a crown of glory. However, the prophet gives way to a triumphalism that sees the Jews as a priestly people, but we know well that, when everything that has been announced is fulfilled in Jesus, this same people will be unable to recognize the fulfillment of the prophecy.
SECOND READING
From the Book of Revelation of Saint John the Apostle (Rv 1:4, 5-8)
Grace to you and peace from Jesus Christ, the faithful witness, the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth. To him who loves us and has freed us from our sins by his blood, who has made us a kingdom, priests for his God and Father, to him be glory and power forever and ever. Amen. Behold, he is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see him, even those who pierced him, and on his account all the tribes of the earth will beat their breasts. Yes, Amen! Says the Lord God: I am the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come, the Almighty! – The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the second reading
The prophecy of the last book of the Bible is proclaimed in the name of Jesus Christ, “the faithful witness (= martyr), the firstborn of the dead and the ruler of the kings of the earth.” This is a Christian characteristic among the religions tolerated in the Roman Empire: Jesus Christ, the founder of those Christian communities, is recognized as the only “Lord.” Another important observation: Christ is presented as God. It might seem that this concerns, as in Greek mythology, certain heroes who were deified after death. No. The Christian God is “the Alpha and the Omega, the one who is and who was and who is to come.” The specifically Christian element is considering God’s presence or “revelation” in history not to be absolutely exhausted. Priests celebrate “in expectation of his coming,” and Christians must always remain alert, since God will always be a mystery and a surprise for them. God’s sovereignty could be manipulated by human beings, reducing it to the realm of the past or present alone, but the surprise of a future brought about by God prevents all human arrogance.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
From the Gospel according to Luke (Lk 4:16-21)
At that time, Jesus came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up, and, as was his custom, he entered the synagogue on the Sabbath and stood up to read. The scroll of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. He unrolled the scroll and found the passage where it was written: “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me; for this reason he has anointed me and sent me to bring good news to the poor, to proclaim liberty to captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free the oppressed and proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” He rolled up the scroll, handed it back to the attendant and sat down. In the synagogue, everyone’s eyes were fixed on him. Then he began to say to them: “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” – The Gospel of the Lord.
Commentary on the Gospel of the day
This is an important moment in Jesus’ public life. There is the power of the Holy Spirit, the enthusiasm of the people who draw near to him, and his fame spreading everywhere. Jesus is the Messiah awaited by the people, but not recognized by everyone. In Nazareth itself, where he grew up and where the Gospel places him today, there will be those who have doubts, to the point of preventing him from performing miracles. Nevertheless, in the synagogue he reads and interprets Isaiah’s prophecy, applying it to himself and making it the programmatic manifesto of all his messianic activity. With Jesus, in fact, the year of favor begins; with him, the Spirit of God has descended upon the earth and will bring salvation to humanity, especially to the poor, the oppressed, prisoners and the blind; that is, to those who recognize their own weakness, because they are more open than others to the announcement of salvation and to the action of the Spirit. Jesus’ word is “good news” of new life; it is a demanding word that includes the cross and resurrection. We are all called to bear witness to it through the integrity of our lives, especially priests, who today renew the promises made on the day of their priestly ordination.
EVENING MASS
Easter Triduum – Holy Thursday “The Lord’s Supper”
proper
FIRST READING
From the Book of Exodus (Ex 12:1-8, 11-14)
In those days, the Lord said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt: “This month shall mark for you the beginning of months; it shall be the first month of the year for you. Speak to the whole community of Israel and say: ‘On the tenth of this month each of them shall procure a lamb for their family, one lamb per household. If a family is too small for a lamb, it shall join its nearest neighbor according to the number of persons; you shall reckon the lamb in proportion to what each household shall eat. Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male, one year old; you may take it from the sheep or from the goats. You shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, and then the whole assembly of the community of Israel shall slaughter it at twilight. They shall take some of its blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it. That night they shall eat its roasted flesh with unleavened bread and bitter herbs. This is how you shall eat it: with your loins girded, your sandals on your feet and your staff in your hand; you shall eat it in haste. It is the Passover of the Lord! For on that night I will pass through the land of Egypt and strike down every firstborn in the land of Egypt, human being and animal alike; and I will execute judgment on all the gods of Egypt. I am the Lord! The blood on the houses where you are shall be a sign in your favor: when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no destructive plague will come upon you when I strike the land of Egypt. This day shall be a memorial feast for you; you shall celebrate it as a festival of the Lord. Throughout your generations you shall celebrate it as a perpetual institution.’” – The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the first reading
This text has a prescriptive character: the historical event of the Jews’ last supper in Egypt, awaiting the Lord’s passage that frees them from slavery, is recalled here in a liturgical key so that it may become a “perpetual rite.” Memory thus becomes memorial: the saving efficacy of what God accomplished once and for all is made present through the liturgy for every generation. Hence the concern to establish concrete and detailed norms for the celebration. The Jewish rite fuses originally distinct elements and historicizes them. The ritual sacrifice of the lamb with the sprinkling of the blood becomes a sign of the Lord’s protection for the Israelites. The offering of the first fruits, now associated with liberation from Egypt, recalls the hurried departure from that land of slavery. At a precise moment in the history of an oppressed people, God intervenes with power: that moment, therefore, does not belong only to the passage of time, but to God’s dimension. It is consequently an “today” always offered to those who wish to enter that history of salvation through the celebration of the memorial.
SECOND READING
From the First Letter of Saint Paul the Apostle to the Corinthians (1 Cor 11:23-26)
Brothers and sisters, I received from the Lord what I also handed on to you: that the Lord Jesus, on the night he was betrayed, took bread and, after giving thanks, broke it and said: “This is my body that is for you. Do this in remembrance of me.” In the same way, after supper, he took the cup, saying: “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.” For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the death of the Lord until he comes. – The word of the Lord.
Commentary on the second reading
To the memorial of liberation from slavery in Egypt, of which the previous reading spoke to us, Jesus substitutes his memorial celebrated at the Last Supper in this land of exile. The fulfillment of the Law and the Prophets, he brings the ancient rite to its fullness through his sacrifice of love. “For us,” his people, he allowed himself to be handed over to death, where the term “handed over” alludes to the entire paschal mystery and not only to the moment of the betrayal. The covenant with God is therefore “new”: ratified in the blood of the true Lamb, who through his sacrifice frees us from the slavery of evil. This covenant is consummated in communion with the bread of offering which, broken in death, gives us true life. Therefore, the conduct of those who follow Christ must also become new: whenever a Christian eats this bread and drinks this cup, he inscribes the extraordinary richness of Christ’s Passover into his own life and becomes its witness over time, through the actualization that each disciple brings about in his or her life, until the day of the Lord’s glorious coming.
GOSPEL OF THE DAY
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. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. During supper, when the devil had already put into the heart of Judas, son of Simon Iscariot, to betray him, Jesus, knowing that the Father had given everything into his hands and that he had come from God and was returning to God, rose from supper, laid aside his garments, 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: “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?” Jesus answered 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 share with me.” Simon Peter said to him: “Lord, not only my feet, but also my hands and head!” Jesus added: “Whoever has bathed does not need to wash, except his feet, and is entirely clean. And you are clean, but not all.” For he knew who was going to betray him; for this reason he said: “Not all of you are clean.” When he had washed their feet and put his garments back on, he reclined again and said to them: “Do you understand what I have done for you? You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for that is what I am. So if I, the Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you an example: as I have done for you, you should also do.” – The Gospel of the Lord.
Commentary on the Gospel of the day
Jesus is kneeling and looks his followers in the eyes, beginning at their feet. On the other side is the embarrassment of those who did not expect a rabbi to kneel, overturning every logic of power. The example Jesus leaves us, therefore, consists of humility and service. We must lower our arrogance, our deep conviction that we are worth more than others, and raise up those who have fallen because of poverty, injustice, illness or the many crosses placed on the shoulders of so many poor people. The example of our lives will be worth more than the many beautiful but inconsistent words. Let us ask that, through the gift of the Eucharist, our lives may increasingly conform to Christ’s example. Then be bread. It is certainly not easy to become bread. It means that you can no longer live for yourself, but for others. It means that you must be available full-time. It means that you must have patience and gentleness, like bread that allows itself to be kneaded, baked and broken. It means that you must be humble, like bread, which does not appear on the list of specialties but is always there to accompany. It means that you must cultivate tenderness and goodness, because that is what bread is: tender and good. Nothing is like bread.
