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Catholic Daily Liturgical Guide 09.04.2022

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Catholic Daily Liturgical Guide 09.04.2022

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EZEKIEL 37: 21 – 28

Thus says the Lord GOD: “Behold, I will take the sons of Israel from the nations among Which they have gone, and will gather them from all sides, and bring them to their own land; and I will make them one nation in the land, upon the mountains of Israel; and one king shall be king over them all; and they shall be no longer two nations, and no longer divided into two kingdoms. They shall not defile themselves any more with their idols and their detestable things, or with any of their transgressions; but I will save them from all the backslidings in which they have sinned, and will cleanse them; and they shall be my people, and I will be their God. “My servant David shall be king over them; and they shall all have one shepherd. They shall follow my ordinances and be careful to observe my statutes. They shall dwell in the land where your fathers dwelt that I gave to my servant Jacob; they and their children and their children’s children shall dwell there for ever; and David my servant shall be their prince for ever. I will make a covenant of peace with them; it shall be an everlasting covenant with them; and I will bless them and multiply them, and will set my sanctuary in the midst of them for evermore. My dwelling place shall be with them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people. Then the nations will know that I the Lord sanctify Israel, when my sanctuary is in the midst of them for evermore.”

The Word of the Lord.

RESPONSORIAL PSALM
Jeremiah 31: 10 – 12ab, 13 (R.) 10d

R/. The Lord will keep us, as a shepherd keeps his flock

Hear the word of the Lord, O nations,
and declare it in the islands afar off;
say, “He who scattered Israel will gather him,
and will keep him as a shepherd keeps his flock.” R/.

For the Lord has ransomed Jacob,
and has redeemed him from hands too strong for him.
They shall come and sing aloud on the height of Sion,
and they shall be radiant over the goodness of the Lord. R/.

Then shall the maidens rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy,
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. R/.

VERSE BEFORE THE GOSPEL
Ezekiel 18: 31

Glory and praise to you, O Christ.
Cast away from you all the transgressions which you have committed, says the Lord, and get yourselves a new heart and a new spirit.
Glory and praise to you, O Christ

GOSPEL
JOHN 11: 45 – 57

At that time: Many of the Jews who had come with Mary and had seen what Jesus did, believed in him; but some of them went to the Pharisees and told them what Jesus had done. So the chief priests and the Pharisees gathered the council, and said, “What are we to do? For this man performs many signs. If we let him go on like this, every one will believe in him, and the Romans will come and destroy both our holy place and our nation.” But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing at all; you do not understand that it is expedient for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish.” He did not say this of his own accord, but being high priest that year he prophesied that Jesus should die for the nation, and not for the nation only, but to gather into one the children of God who are scattered abroad. So from that day on they took counsel about how to put him to death. Jesus therefore no longer went about openly among the Jews, but went from there to the country near the wilderness, to a town called Ephraim; and there he stayed with the disciples. Now the Passover of the Jews was at hand, and many went up from the country to Jerusalem before the Passover, to purify themselves. They were looking for Jesus and saying to one another as they stood in the temple, “What do you think? That he will not come to the feast?” Now the chief priests and the Pharisees had given orders that if any one knew where he was, he should let them know, so that they might arrest him.

The Gospel of the Lord.
[1:10 am, 09/04/2022] Tk: REFLECTION: One Man Should Die
April 9, 2022

But one of them, Caiaphas, who was high priest that year, said to them, “You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” (John 11:49–50)

As in the previous day’s reflection, it’s important for us to start putting our focus on the suffering and death of Jesus. Holy Week begins this Sunday, so this is the time of year when God wants us to look intently at His Cross. It’s important to look at it from all angles, to try to understand what was going on, what Jesus was experiencing, what the disciples were experiencing and even what the Pharisees and high priests were experiencing.

In today’s Gospel quoted above, we see the thinking of Caiaphas, the high priest. His words are interesting in that they are both sad and prophetic at the same time. He, along with the other chief priests and the Pharisees, were beginning to plan and plot Jesus’ death. But what’s insightful is the apparent motivation of Caiaphas and the others.

Jesus was gaining popularity and they were afraid that this popularity would stir things up with the Romans. They were also jealous that Jesus had attracted so many. So Caiaphas offers the twisted logic that it’s better that one man die rather than all of the people. In other words, he appeared to think that because Jesus was becoming so popular, and the people were listening to Jesus more than they were to the chief priests and Pharisees, that it was better to eliminate the “problem” so that things could return to the way they were.

This reveals the fact that the Pharisees were more concerned about themselves and their status than they were about the Truth. It’s amazing that one of their criticisms of Jesus was that He was doing too many signs and wonders. How strange. If the chief priests and Pharisees were interested in the Truth, they would have also seen the glory and divine authority of Jesus and come to believe in Him and follow Him. But they couldn’t swallow their pride and accept the call to follow someone other than themselves. They couldn’t let go of their position of authority.

We often see this same experience in our daily lives. We want to be the center of attention. And so often when we see someone else do well or receive praise we can get jealous. And our jealousy can often turn into a form of envy. Envy means we are angered and saddened by the goodness of another. We can brew over it and want to see them fail.

The ideal is to be one of those faithful followers of Jesus. This is especially important to ponder this coming week as you witness the hostility grow toward our Lord. What would you do if you were there? Would you continue to stand with Jesus despite the attacks of others? As the hostility toward Jesus grew, would you back away from Him or grow closer to Him in love and commitment?

Reflect, today, upon the coming commemoration of the persecution of our Lord. Let your mind begin to ponder the many reactions and experiences people had that first Holy Week. Put yourself in their shoes and try to live it with Jesus. The goal is to find ourselves there at the foot of the Cross with Him on Good Friday with love and courage, standing by Him and loving Him every step of the way.

PRAYER:
My persecuted Lord, may I follow You this coming Holy Week. May I have the love I need to love You even in Your rejection and pain. Help me to shed all envy and selfishness and to see You especially in the sufferings of others and in their goodness. Jesus, I trust in You.

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