A Happy and Blessed Easter to you and your loved ones!
Today, Fr. David Convertino, OFM shares a reflection for Easter Sunday titled “Celebrate New Life.”
We also invite you to join the Friars for a virtual Easter Sunday Mass as we celebrate the beautiful Liturgy of the Resurrection of the Lord. The Mass will be streamed live from the Friary Chapel in New York City at 12:00 PM EST.
INTRODUCTION
Christ has risen, rejoice, and be glad the Lord has risen, as he said. Hallelujah. Hi, I’m Father David, and today we celebrate the victory of life over death of hope, over despair. No matter where you are. Take a deep breath and breathe and let the joy fill your heart of the resurrection. The tomb is empty, light has conquered darkness. As we reflect on the resurrection, may we step into the new life Christ offers us. Let us rejoice and be glad our savior lives.
READING
“On the first day of the week, Mary of Magdala came to the tomb early in the morning, while it was still dark, and saw the stone removed from the tomb. So she ran and went to Simon Peter and to the other disciple whom Jesus loved, and told them, ‘They have taken the Lord from the tomb, and we don’t know where they put him.’ So Peter and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb. They both ran, but the other disciple ran faster than Peter and arrived at the tomb first; he bent down and saw the burial cloths there, but did not go in. When Simon Peter arrived after him, he went into the tomb and saw the burial cloths there, and the cloth that had covered his head, not with the burial cloths but rolled up in a separate place. Then the other disciple also went in, the one who had arrived at the tomb first, and he saw and believed. For they did not yet understand the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.” Reflecting on the resurrection of Jesus (John 20:1-18), invite retreatants to pause and think about areas of their lives where they feel called to new beginnings. Encourage them to step outside, if possible, and take in the beauty of creation. They can light a candle or say a prayer of thanksgiving, rejoicing in the gift of eternal life and the hope of renewal through Christ’s victory over death.
REFLECTION
Let’s reflect a little on this wonderful story of the resurrection. Every year I come to this day, Easter Sunday, and I wonder what a difference this Sunday makes in comparison to last Sunday. What’s the difference between Easter Sunday and two Sundays ago? Are our lives and the world different because of Easter? And if so, how? And in what way? So look around. What do you see? Has your life changed? Are you and I living differently today than we did before Easter? Did this lent make a lasting difference in our lives? When I look at my life today, it looks a whole lot like it did last Sunday and the week before and the week before that. And when I look at the world today, it looks pretty much the same as it did before Easter. There was illness and death, and after Easter there’s illness and death.
Before Easter, there was pain and brokenness in our world, and after Easter, there’s still pain and brokenness in the world. This list of and after comparisons could go on and on. Things today look a lot like they did before Easter. What do we do with that? I know the usual answers. Jesus overcame death. Sins are forgiven, life prevails. All things are being made new. Hallelujah. Christ has risen, and I get all that. And on most days, I certainly believe that. I’m just not sure what all that means or looks like on a day-to-day basis, and I don’t think I’m the only one who struggles with that. I think we all do, and I think that’s why every year we come to this day, Easter Sunday and we hear the same gospel story. Today’s gospel is the same one we heard last year on this day, the year before and the year before that.
It’s the disciples story of uncertainty, fear, and struggle with what to do with Jesus’s resurrection. And that my friends, is our story too. Here’s why I say that. Easter morning, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene discovered the empty tomb. She saw and spoke with Jesus. He called her by name. She left the garden of Resurrection and went to the disciples and told them, I have seen the Lord. And what did the disciples say and do in response to that? Good news, nothing. They didn’t do anything. They didn’t jump up and down and shall for joy. They didn’t say, hallelujah. Jesus has risen. They didn’t even give thanks and praise to God. They weren’t filled with courage and hope. They didn’t make radical changes in the way they lived. They didn’t claim for themselves a new life or a new future. Instead, they locked the doors.
Apparently they didn’t say anything on Easter Sunday. The next thing we hear after Mary’s good news is that it was evening of Easter and the disciples were afraid and they locked the doors of their house. Jesus steps into the midst of their fear. Locked doors cannot keep him out. They only serve to keep the disciples in peace be with you. He says He breathes on them. He shares his life with them. He gives them the Holy Spirit, and a week later, nothing has changed. The disciples are in the same house, behind the same locked doors, and it’s hard to see or say what difference Jesus’s resurrection has made for any of them. Jesus is free, but the disciples have imprisoned themselves. The tomb is empty and filled with fresh air, but the house is full and filled with stale dead air. The stone has been rolled back from Jesus’s tomb, but the doors of the disciples lives are closed and locked, and they’re afraid of what’s on the other side of those doors.
That sounds a lot like life today. I wonder what doors of your house you’ve closed and locked. What are you afraid of? What am I afraid of, and what will it take to unlock the doors of our houses? I’m asking about the house of your heart, the house of your imagination, the house of your creativity. I’d like to know about your house of love, your house of compassion and empathy, your house of hope and courage. Tell me about the house of your marriage, the house of your parenting, the house of your forgiving. In what ways have you used or allowed guilt, regret, disappointment, anger, resentment, sorrow, losses, old wounds and hurts to lock the doors of your life. What house contains your deepest longings and desires? What houses your dreams, your delights, and the things that enliven you and make your heart beat faster? What doors in your life and mind need to be unlocked and opened in order for you and me to live more fully the life of Christ?
As long as we remain behind the locked doors of our houses, nothing will change. The world will look the same as it did before Easter. Our lives today will look the same as they did before Easter. Also, if today our lives and world look the same as they did before then you and I need to start looking for and unlocking some doors. Every time we unlock and open a door in our houses, we step into our own resurrection. Then Easter makes a difference and the Lord is risen indeed. Hallelujah. Jesus is inviting, asking and calling, insisting and wooing us into life and more life. It means the unattainable is within our reach. It means the impossible has become possible. The never before imagined doesn’t sound so crazy, and maybe there are really, really possibilities everywhere around us. Easter is Jesus’s promise that there is a future on the other side of our locked doors, but it’s up to you and to me to unlock and open those doors.
ACTION FOR THE DAY
So my friends, what doors will you and I unlock and open today, Easter Sunday, our action for today, reflecting on the resurrection of Jesus, let’s invite ourselves to pause and think about areas of our lives where we feel called to new beginnings. Let’s encourage ourselves to step outside, unlock those doors, and take in the beauty of creation, the of the people around us whom we love and care for, and the beauty of the wonder that this world offers us. We can light a candle or we can say a prayer of thanksgiving, always rejoicing in the gift of eternal life and the hope of renewal through Christ’s victory over death.
Let us pray. Loving God. We thank you and we bless you for the resurrection of your son, Jesus. We ask you to send blessings upon all of us who have participated in this Holy Week retreat. We pray for each other and we ask you to give us the energy and the joy of the resurrection, and we pray all this through Christ our Lord. Amen. Christ has risen. Hallelujah. Hallelujah. Thank you for joining us in this Holy Week retreat by the friars. We hope that it is brought to joy and splendor of the resurrection into each of your lives. God bless. Happy Easter.
Today, Fr. Michael Carnevale, OFM shares a reflection for Holy Saturday titled “Sit in the Silence.”
We will begin with his reflection, move into a simple action to help live out the message and close with a prayer. Let’s continue walking together in faith and compassion.
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to Holy Saturday, A quiet day. I’m Father Michael Carnival and I will be your guide today. You know, today is a day of waiting, a day of silence, a day of in between wherever you find yourself. Take a moment to pause. Holy. Saturday is the time of deep trust, of resting in the unknown, of believing that even in the darkness, God is at work. Sit with this mystery. Let the stillness prepare your heart for the joy that is to come. The gospel I’d like to read to you is from Matthew 28, verse one to 10.
READING
“After the sabbath, as the first day of the week was dawning, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb. And behold, there was a great earthquake; for an angel of the Lord descended from heaven, approached, rolled back the stone, and sat upon it. His appearance was like lightning and his clothing was white as snow. The guards were shaken with fear of him and became like dead men. Then the angel said to the women in reply, ‘Do not be afraid! I know that you are seeking Jesus the crucified. He is not here, for he has been raised just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay. Then go quickly and tell his disciples, “He has been raised from the dead, and he is going before you to Galilee; there you will see him.” Behold, I have told you.’ Then they went away quickly from the tomb, fearful yet overjoyed, and ran to announce this to his disciples. And behold, Jesus met them on their way and greeted them. They approached, embraced his feet, and did him homage. Then Jesus said to them, ‘Do not be afraid. Go tell my brothers to go to Galilee, and there they will see me.'” In the stillness of the tomb (Luke 23:56), invite retreatants to pause for an extended period of silence, meditating on God’s promises and trusting in His resurrection power, even in moments of waiting.
REFLECTION
I had like to give you a little reflection now on holy Saturday, there’s no mass today. It’s a day of quiet waiting. In an old homily, it said the hold earth kept silence because the king is asleep. That is the truth. There is fear there, but there is also hope. Jesus died. He died for you and me and for all humanity and the whole earth rumbled now earth and we are silent. But the challenge is to recognize our fear. Today we are human beings and we will die also. I believe that we don’t know what will happen after that, but we also know that Jesus was human and he died and he rose from the dead. I think that we forget that too often. To me, the question is where is Jesus now? Where is he? This holy Saturday as you and I hope for the Easter dawn, where has he been?
All the holy Saturdays of our lives, more now than ever before society, and you and I have a deep, deep need for hope. 2025, more than ever before we need hope, and yet even as we acknowledge our need for hope, we rejected even as it is offered gratuitously to us. We say Easter will come, Jesus will rise, but do we really know and believe that? Sometimes I think we just breeze through holy Saturday as just another day having no liturgies, just a day to do something else. Now that Lent is over, like having a little extra candy or maybe an extra piece of pizza or maybe a bottle of wine, but today is the one day when we can hold our lives in balance. We’ve seen the crucifixion of Jesus. He died, was buried, married. What will come next? Hope that hope is the key to this day. For without hope, we discount our humanity as children of God. For without hope, we are unable to know that Jesus rose for us. Without the hope of holy Saturday, we will not see the dawn of Easter Sunday.
ACTION FOR THE DAY
An action for today. Find a quiet moment and sit in complete silence for five minutes. No music, no distractions, just you and God. Imagine the stillness of the tomb, the world waiting in darkness, but hope is stirring beneath the surface. After five minutes, whisper. Lord, I trust you in the waiting. Keep this trust in your heart as you prepare for Easter joy. Let us pray. God of the stillness. Today we sit in the silence of the tomb, waiting, hoping, trusting in the darkness of uncertainty. Help us to rest in your promises. Teach us to embrace the quiet, to listen for your voice and to wait with expected faith. May we trust that even in the waiting, you are working all things for good. We ask this in the name of Jesus who conquered death. Amen.
Today, Dcn. Matt Ryan, OFM shares a reflection for Good Friday titled “Embrace the Cross.”
We will begin with his reflection, move into a simple action to help live out the message and close with a prayer. Let’s continue walking together in faith and compassion.
INTRODUCTION
Speaker 1 (00:07):
Welcome to our fifth day of our Holy Week retreat. Good Friday. I’m Deacon Matt Ryan, and today we walk with Jesus to the cross. Good Friday is a day of sorrow, yet also a day of love. Jesus freely chose the path of suffering, embracing the weight of the cross for us. As we listen to today’s gospel, I invite you to stand at the foot of the cross and reflect on the depth of his sacrifice.
READING
“Then Pilot handed Jesus 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.’”
REFLECTION
John’s gospel tells us that Jesus carries his own cross. Step by step, he walks the road to Golgotha bearing not just the weight of the wood, but the weight of the world’s sin, my sin, your sin. Every betrayal, every injustice, every act of selfishness, every moment of human suffering, he carries it all. He does not complain. He does not resist. He embraces the suffering, knowing that through his sacrifice, we will be redeemed.
Even as he carries the cross, he carries us and our weakness and our struggles and our pain. Jesus is there walking beside us, strengthening us. He does not take away suffering from the world, but he transforms it because he carried his cross. He now helps us carry ours, and he calls us to do the same. He sets an example. We must carry our own crosses, trusting that God is with us even in suffering. We must help others carry theirs by lifting up those who are struggling, offering love and compassion. Good Friday invites us to ask, what burdens am I carrying today? Have I tried to carry them alone or have I let Jesus bear them with me?
Who in my life is carrying a heavy burden? How can I help lighten it for them? The cross, once a symbol of death has become a sign of God’s boundless love today, we do not run from it. We embrace it knowing that love is stronger than suffering.
ACTION FOR THE DAY
I invite you to consider this action for today. Find a cross, a crucifix, a rosary, or an image of Christ’s passion. Hold it in your hands. Feel its weight. Let it remind you that Jesus carries your burdens with you. Then take another step. Offer your own suffering to Christ and prayer. Surrender whatever is weighing on your heart.
Think of someone who is struggling. Reach out to them today. Offer encouragement, a prayer, or an act of kindness. Ask Jesus for the strength to carry your cross and to help others carry theirs. Take a moment to pray. Lord, I place my struggles at the foot of your cross. Give me the strength to carry them with you and open my heart to help others in love. Let us pray. Oh Jesus, our crucified Lord. Today we stand at the foot of your cross and all of the love that held you there. You bore the weight of our sins so that we might have life. Give us the strength to carry our own crosses with faith and trust. When suffering comes, may we united with yours. Knowing that love and redemption flow from the cross, teach us to walk beside those who are struggling to support them in love as you have supported us, we bow before you in gratitude and reverence. Amen.=
Today, Fr. Mario DiCicco, OFM shares a reflection for Holy Thursday titled “Wash Each Other’s Feet.”
We will begin with his reflection, move into a simple action to help live out the message and close with a prayer. Let’s continue walking together in faith and compassion.
INTRODUCTION
Hi, I’m Father David and welcome to the fourth day of our Holy Week retreat. The great feast of the Eucharist. Horus Day Father, Mario de Chico from Chicago will give us our reflection today. Tonight we step into the upper room. Holy Thursday calls us to reflect on service, humility, and the depth of Christ’s love for us. No matter where you are listening from, let this be a sacred pause. The world moves fast, but in this moment, we slow down and we remember Jesus kneels to wash our feet. He invites us to do the same for others. May this time of reflection open our hearts to love as he loves a reading from the gospel of St. John.
READING
John 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.'”
REFLECTION
At the Last Supper, Jesus makes his last will and testament to his followers. His testament is a perfect summary of his teachings all recorded, the gospel of John. They are first and foremost. This is my commandment. Love one another as I have loved you in washing the feet of his disciples, Jesus gives them the supreme example of the service of love and the love of service. There are no exceptions to this love. It is inclusive. We must empty ourselves in service. Jesus further says, remain in me and you will bear much fruit. For without me, you can do nothing. To remain means to be there until the very end. To remain is another way to show. One is fateful until death. Jesus further says, if you believe in me, you will do the same works I do. You will do even greater works. Our baptism gives us the power to accomplish great things. In fact, Jesus is saying, we can outdo his works. That sounds impossible, but check out his words. He says further, don’t let your hearts be troubled. Jesus does not promise a life free of sorrows and temptations, but he does promise that He is preparing a place for us so that we may be where he is next to God. One has simply to hold fast in hope to the promise, and this promise is in the next words of Jesus. I will send you the Holy Spirit. The Spirit will guide you in all truth. The spirit’s truth is simply to point out the truth about Jesus whose words sum up his and our destiny. Father, I glorified you on earth by accomplishing the work you gave me to do. The last words of Jesus on the cross were it is finished. That is to say, father, what you have commanded me to do, I have done. Now it is up to your Holy Spirit to remind them of all that I told them to do. May God bless you.
Today, Fr. Joachim Studwell, OFM shares a reflection for Spy Wednesday titled “Offer Forgiveness”
We will begin with his reflection, move into a simple action to help live out the message and close with a prayer. Let’s continue walking together in faith and compassion.
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the fourth day of our Holy Week retreat. I’m Fr. Joachim Studwell and I will be your guide for today. Holy Week continues, and today we pause to reflect on the pain of betrayal and the call to forgiveness. The nickname Spy Wednesday comes from the tradition of this day being the day in which Judas agrees to hand Jesus over, which would be holy Thursday night, the midst of life’s demands. We take this time to listen, to pray, and to prepare our hearts. Jesus was betrayed by one of his own, yet he chose to love. He chose not to get even. What does that mean for us, especially today? How is Jesus calling us to forgive today? May this time of reflection help us journey toward the freedom and joy of the resurrection of Jesus? We hear from the gospel of Matthew chapter 26 verses 14 to 25.
READING
“Then 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.'”
REFLECTION
It is very difficult to deal with betrayal, and I don’t want to make this sound as though it were easy. The closer we are to someone, the more difficult it is to I think deal with the act of betrayal or if we have betrayed another through action, through words. Betrayal might not be as severe as what Judas did to Jesus, but it may mean something like betraying a secret. Somebody has confided something to us and we turn around and perhaps use it as fodder for gossip. We have betrayed the other person. Whether or not the other person actually finds out is irrelevant. We know it in our hearts and in our conscience that we betrayed another. Similarly, we know probably all of us what it is to have been betrayed, perhaps betrayed in a relationship, in a marriage, in a family. It is very painful and it does call for us to go to the very depths of our heart.
The freedom to choose to forgive another who has betrayed us is the willingness to not allow the betrayal to control us or to restrict our life, to not define us anymore. We need to be willing to let it go. Genuinely, truly, we can only do this. I believe when we go to the depths of our heart, when we grieve the reality of having been betrayed and then to turn to the Lord, show me, Lord, show me how to forgive as you forgave. Show me how to let go of this as you did for indeed while Judas betrayal was very real. It did not define your mission. It oriented it. It guided it for without a doubt, but your mercy and your love is what defined your mission that led you to the cross, that led to the burial, that led to the glory of the victory of the resurrection on the third day, that Lord is what we want to be able to choose in freedom, your reaction, your response to what has been done to you, and similarly give us the grace of repentance if and how and whenever we have betrayed another.
ACTION FOR THE DAY
The betrayal of Judas, as we heard from the gospel of Matthew Chapter 26, 14 to 25, reminds us of the pain caused by broken trust. We as Retreatants can now reflect on someone we need to forgive or to seek forgiveness from praying for the strength to take a step toward healing, to entrust ourselves to the mercies of the living God and to entrust whomever we have hurt to the mercy of God and to entrust whomever may have hurt us to the mercy of God. Let us pray, Lord of mercy. On this day, we remember the betrayal that led you to the cross. In our own lives, we have known both betrayal and the call to forgive. Help us Lord to release resentment, to offer mercy where it is needed and to seek reconciliation with those we have wronged with the grace that you give to us as best as we can, as you forgave them from the cross. Teach us to love with the same boundless mercy. This we ask in your most compassionate name. Jesus
Today, Fr. Roger Lopez, OFM shares a reflection for Tuesday of Holy Week titled “Examine Your Heart.”
We will begin with his reflection, move into a simple action to help live out the message and close with a prayer. Let’s continue walking together in faith and compassion.
INTRODUCTION
Hello, I’m Father Roger Lopez and welcome to our Holy Week retreat series. Today is Tuesday of Holy Week, and we hope that taking this retreat to meditate on today’s scripture reading, reflection, action for the day and closing prayer deepens your spiritual connection this Holy Week.
READING
A reading from the gospel of John. “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 he 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 he 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’t I 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.'”
REFLECTION
When was the last time you received bad news? Was it connected with your work? Perhaps the bad news was related to finances. Maybe it was health related. Possibly you or your family or a friend has just received bad news. What do you do in these shocking moments? There is disbelief. How could this happen to me? How could this happen to them? We ask. A person feels helpless, isolated, alone. In these moments, we share exactly what Simon Peter and all the disciples felt in the gospel. Jesus has just dropped some huge bad news on his apostles. Jesus says, amen. Amen. I say to you, one of you will betray me.
Jesus has just shared the worst type of bad news, not related to employment, not related to their bank account, or even related to a medical condition. All of those are truly awful when they come. No, Jesus’s bad news was much worse. It had to do with relationships. We all have experienced broken and damage relationships, ones that hurt and leave us bitter. This type of bad news stings to the very heart betrayal and notice the response from the disciples. They question shocked and disbelief saying, who is it? Who is it? Tell us who it is so we can, and what would the disciples do? Many times when a person is hurting, when we are hurting, we don’t want a person to fix it. Do we just want another to sit and be with us in our bad news, being with another, sitting with them in their hurt and helplessness when they feel isolated and alone? That is the good news. We can bring in these moments of just being with another person, sitting quietly, doing nothing, can paradoxically melt away the loneliness in isolation. That’s what Jesus does with us, isn’t it? He sits with us in our suffering. In the bad news, we hear big or small. When we stop and just be with a person like Christ, not trying to fix or bombard them with unnecessary questions, we walk beside them in their suffering and their passion. In these moments, we are the compassion of Jesus Christ.
ACTION FOR THE DAY
What bad news are you sitting with today? What pain are you carrying? What is preventing you from allowing Jesus to come and sit so you can talk with him about your suffering? Let us pray, Lord Jesus, you know well, the challenges of receiving bad news, help me to open my heart to your presence, which patiently waits for my invitation. Help me to talk to you about my pain, the challenges of finance, the worry of an uncertain future, the sorrow of health results, the betrayal of a loved one. Lord Jesus, I long to hear your sweet voice. That is the good news of grace and compassion. I long for Amen.
Today, Br. Adolfo Mercado, OFM shares a reflection for Monday of Holy Week titled “Anointing Others with Kindness.”
We will begin with his reflection, move into a simple action to help live out the message and close with a prayer. Let’s continue walking together in faith and compassion.
INTRODUCTION
Welcome to the second day of our Holy Week retreat. I’m Brother Adolfo and I will be your guide for today, wherever you are. Take a deep breath and allow yourself to enter into this prayerful time for reflection. Holy Week invites us into a time to slow down and to allow our minds and hearts to quiet a little bit more, and in this new space to listen for the voice of God in our lives. What do you hear God saying when all that stuff of life is less loud? Today we reflect on the love Mary showed her dear friend Jesus when she anointed his feet, as we allow this scripture to be in us, how do we anoint those around us with kindness? May this moment of reflection lead us closer to the joy of Easter, a reading from the Holy Gospel. According to John, six days before Passover, Jesus came to Bethany where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.
READING
“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 Jesus, 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.”
REFLECTION
It may be tempting to want to focus on Judas Theriot because that is some juicy gossip, especially for those of us who remember how the story goes a few days later in the Garden of Gethsemane. Basically, this Judas was a toxic one in the group, and he even tries to distract us by tugging on the heartstrings. Yet the attempt to distract is to keep us from seeing the beautiful kindness in the hospitality. Mary is showing her dear friend, Jesus, that is a much more positive focus. Jesus knows what is imminent, and we can only imagine how much Mary would’ve known Mary, her sister, Martha and their brother Lazarus were good friends of Jesus and we know they enjoyed time sitting around a table, eating, chatting, drinking, sharing our good friends or people that we led into our lives can read us. What did Mary feel to do this gesture?
And this wasn’t a spontaneous act. She planned for it when having that oil ready. Sometimes I like to sit with the story and imagine the facial gestures Jesus and his friends would’ve made to each other. As I see or even make these faces, I can see the faces of loved ones who might You see now with Lazarus having become a local attraction after his spectacle amidst the growing crowds and increasing noise that looked for him and that life offers each one of us in our own unique way, people close to us become that much more essential for our own health.
ACTION FOR THE DAY
So your action for the day inspired by Mary anointing Jesus at Bethany. I would like for you to think of someone who has been a blessing in your life. Maybe somebody quickly came to mind, or maybe you need to think about this a little more. There are times when there is a name that keeps surfacing, but we keep putting off that communication. Once you have a name picked, send that person a message of gratitude. If possible, you may even consider performing a simple act of kindness in their honor. Closing prayer, loving Lord as Mary, anointed your feet with costly perfume. May we anoint others with kindness, love, and generosity? Open our hearts to recognize the people in our lives who need encouragement and care. May the fragrance of our love and gratitude rise to you as a pleasing offering. Let us never take for granted the gift of your presence in our lives. We ask this in your holy name, amen.
Today, Fr. Mario Gomez, OFM, shares a reflection for Palm Sunday titled “Lay Down Your Burdens.”
We will begin with his reflection, move into a simple action to help live out the message and close with a prayer. Let’s continue walking together in faith and compassion.
INTRODUCTION
Hello there. I’m Father Mario and welcome to our Holy Week retreat series. Today, my friends is Palm Sunday, and we hope that taking this retreat to meditate on today’s scripture reading, reflection, action for the day, ENC closing prayer deepens your spiritual connection this holy week. And this is a reading from the Holy Gospel according to Matthew Chapter 21 verses one to 11, as Jesus and his disciples approach Jerusalem, they came to Beth Phage at the Mount of Olives. There Jesus sent two of the disciples on the head with these instructions. Go to the village there ahead of you, and at once you will find a donkey tied up with her cold beside her and tie them and bring them to me. And if anyone says anything to you, tell him the master needs them and then he will let them go at once these happen in order to make come true what the prophet has said, tell the city of Zion, look, your king is coming to you.
READING
“When they drew near Jerusalem and came to Bethpage on the Mount of Olives, Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them, ‘Go into the village opposite you, and immediately you will find an ass tethered, and a colt with her. Untie them and bring them here. And if anyone should say anything to you, reply, “The master has need of them.” Then he will send them at once.’ This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet might be fulfilled: ‘Say to daughter Zion, “Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”‘ The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them. They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them, and he sat upon them. The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road, while others cut branches from the trees and strewed them on the road. The crowds preceding him and those following kept crying out and saying: ‘Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord; hosanna in the highest.’ And when he entered Jerusalem the whole city was shaken and asked, ‘Who is this?’ And the crowds replied, ‘This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.’”
REFLECTION
We hear in today’s gospel about the triumphant entrance of Jesus into Jerusalem. Now, my friends mind this. This was the beginning of Passover and there were hundreds of thousands of people, maybe even up to 3 million people come into Jerusalem for the religious festivities. Now, three things strike me from Jesus’s entry into the big city. It is gentle, it is humble, and it is a mystery. We know that Jesus is a force to be reckoned with. Yet he did not come into Jerusalem with power and might. Jesus did not come with a troop of soldiers on horses carrying swords, slings or spears. It was not a forceful entrance. Jesus did not come ac by a staff of men and women serving or catering to him. It was not a royal entrance. He rode in on a donkey and a baby donkey, and finally, Jesus did not come into the city as a popular figure. He was an obscure and unknown individual by many people. Were wondering, who is this man?
I am a therapist by profession and I work with a number of clients who are experiencing depression, anxiety, loneliness, despair, and hopelessness. Men and women who feel lost, confused, and sometimes even invisible. Men and women of faith, different faiths and no faiths, they come into the counseling center, scared, hesitant, and sometimes even rattled. Yet as treatment goes on and healing begins to take place, positive changes in thoughts, behaviors, and feelings are enacted. This sense of being reborn into new life enters the lives of these people. Just like Jesus entered Jerusalem, humbly, gently, and mysteriously my friends. That’s how Jesus enters our hearts to He does not force his presence into our lives. He invites us to know him, and he’s always up to us to accept that invitation. And more importantly, he comes into our lives in mysterious, humble, in unexpected ways when we forgive someone who has abused us emotionally, sexually or physically.
When for so many years, our self-esteem was so low that all we thought about was to end our lives, and yet here we are thriving and living. When anxiety and depression got the best of us, and we felt groundless, hopeless and worthless, and yet we managed to resurface back into life and fight back my friends. That’s Jesus making a gentle, humble, and mysterious entry into the world. As we begin this holy week, let us be reminded that Jesus is also trying to enter your life quietly and peacefully. Are we going to be asking, who is this man or are we going to welcome him and say yes to healing, forgiveness and eternal life?
ACTION FOR THE DAY
As for the action for today, we have reflected on Jesus’s entrance into Jerusalem. Let us pause and write down the thoughts, behaviors, and feelings we wish to surrender to Christ. You may place this list in a special space at home as an net of trust. You may light a candle and say these prayer together, we praise you, oh God, for your redemption of the world through your son Jesus Christ. He entered the holy city of Jerusalem in triumph, quietly, gently in mysteriously, and was proclaimed Messiah and king, like those who spread garments and branches along his way. Just as we carry these branches, these thoughts, these behaviors, these feelings we wish to surrender, may we follow Christ in the way of the cross that dying and rising with him, we may enter into His kingdom, through Jesus Christ who lives and reigns with you and the Holy Spirit now and forever. Amen.
