Today is the Monday of Holy Week, and we are beginning on this journey to Calvary with Christ. On the way to Jerusalem to celebrate the Passover, Christ and His Apostles stop in Bethany to see His friends Mary, Martha, and Lazarus. These three have shown up in scripture on several occasions and we know they are all very close personal friends of Christ. It only makes sense that Christ would want to visit these friends one last time before His passion and death.

While they are all at dinner Mary does something strange, she anoints Christ’s feet with really nice oil. Whenever someone is anointed in scripture there is always a deeply symbolic and spiritual thing that takes place. It was very common in the days of Christ to anoint someone as part of their burial ritual as a way of bestowing blessing them. In our world today when I think of anointing I immediately think of the sacrament of anointing of the sick; which is a sacrament that can be given to those who are close to death as a way of preparing them for their death, by giving them the grace they need to die in friendship with God. Knowing what we know about the sacrament and what is about to happen to Christ we can start making some really interesting connections. Christ in today’s Gospel is being prepared for his death by receiving this anointing from Mary. This anointing is not something Christ needs, we need God’s grace and help, but Christ is God, so he doesn’t need it in the same way you or I do. However, He once again brings Himself down to our level and shows the importance of needing God’s grace and help especially in our most difficult times.

This Holy week might be a really difficult one for you. Maybe you are really having a hard time entering into this liturgical moment, I know that I am. Maybe you have completely screwed up your Lenten sacrifice, or maybe that sacrifice was no longer an option to you because of COVID-19. Regardless of all of that, we should look to Christ in today’s Gospel and ask ourselves how can I be more prepared for Christ’s passion, death, and Resurrection?

​I challenge you this week, to find some additional sacrifices or good works that you can do for God and your family. Do something different this week, allow yourself to recognize that although everything might feel the same as it has been for the past couple of weeks, this week is different. This week is Holy Week.

Do you have a plan in place to prepare for Good Friday? If so what is it?

How has this lent been for you? Be honest with yourself, how has your faith changed?

​Are you ready to let Jesus into your heart?

"Lord I need you."

"Jesus, I trust in you."

"Lord, prepare my heart."

In this difficult time, we will use our Action step each day to join with people around the world in praying for an end to the pandemic of the Coronavirus, for the healing of all those affected, and for the comfort of all those who have lost a loved one. The prayer below is from Archbishop José H. Gomez, President of the USCCB in his reflection and prayer during coronavirus:

Holy Virgin of Guadalupe,
Queen of the Angels and Mother of the Americas.
We fly to you today as your beloved children.
We ask you to intercede for us with your Son,
as you did at the wedding in Cana.
​
Pray for us, loving Mother,
and gain for our nation and world,
and for all our families and loved ones,
the protection of your holy angels,
that we may be spared the worst of this illness.

For those already afflicted,
we ask you to obtain the grace of healing and deliverance.
Hear the cries of those who are vulnerable and fearful,
wipe away their tears and help them to trust.

In this time of trial and testing,
teach all of us in the Church to love one another and to be patient and kind.
Help us to bring the peace of Jesus to our land and to our hearts.

We come to you with confidence,
knowing that you truly are our compassionate mother,
health of the sick and cause of our joy.

Shelter us under the mantle of your protection,
keep us in the embrace of your arms,
help us always to know the love of your Son, Jesus. Amen.

We’ve made it to Holy Week. After experiencing one of the stranger and harder Lenten seasons we’ve all endured together, we are finally prepared to enter into the sacred Mysteries of Holy Week. Instead of spending our time in the Church today, gathering palms to be blessed and made into beautiful crosses, instead of standing and participating in the proclamation of the longest and most beautiful Gospel reading of the year, instead of preparing ourselves for the sacred Paschal Triduum this coming weekend; we are stuck at home. In the midst of SO much to reflect on entering Palm Sunday, where we commemorate the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem and the mysterious sorrow of His Passion, I’m drawn to the words of Psalm 22, “My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?”

Even among the explosion of Catholic content on the internet and social media over these past weeks, I would imagine that we are all feeling the effects of isolation and loneliness in our quarantine. I know that even with so much being put out online for me to participate in I have felt so disconnected from the Lord over the past few weeks. Not being able to go to Mass to receive Jesus in the Eucharist, not being able to stop by the chapel to spend time in Adoration, not even being able to commune with my co-workers or friends, has weighed heavily on me. In truth, though I know it is not the case, I feel as though God has abandoned me in the midst of this isolation. I feel the pain behind the response of today’s psalm, especially as Jesus cries it out from the Cross with His final breaths.

Perhaps you feel similarly and feel distant from the Lord on this Palm Sunday. Perhaps you feel the pain and suffering of being seemingly abandoned by the Lord. The beauty of this solemnity is that, underneath all of the heartache, we see the steadfast love of God being poured out for all of us. We see that Jesus, though He cries in abandonment from the Cross, still trusting in the Father’s love for Him, and indeed for all of us. Jesus remains close to us, constantly pouring Himself out for us by His sacrifice on the Cross. Even in our isolation, loneliness, or feelings of abandonment, Jesus remains close.

Psalm 22 is known because Christ cries it from the Cross. We feel it so deeply because we see God Himself crying out that He has been abandoned and is totally alone as He hangs from the Cross, dying for our sins. But we need to rest in the victory that the psalm echoes out as it finishes. In the midst of the psalmist’s abandonment, he still praises the Lord and brings Him glory. Just as Christ, in the final desperate moment of the Cross, still praises the Lord and remains steadfast in His trust. This is the great mystery we enter into today: that in the midst of betrayal, pain, and death, the Lord remains with us even as He leaves us in His death.

My encouragement for you today is to enter into this mystery. In the midst of the stripping away of the garments of our lives: our socialization, communion with our friends, our freedom to go out and live in the world, we are still covered by the love of God. Even now, when we feel the abandonment of the psalmist and Jesus Christ as He hangs from the Cross, we can still praise and glorify God, trusting that He remains close to us even now. Enter into this great mystery as you enter into the great mystery of Holy Week.

What are some times you have felt abandoned by God in your life?

How can you see God in those situations now?

How can you see God in a special way today, especially in the midst of all that is going on in our world today?

"Jesus, I trust in You."

"Come Holy Spirit."

​"Here I am Lord."

In this difficult time, we will use our Action step each day to join with people around the world in praying for an end to the pandemic of the Coronavirus, for the healing of all those affected, and for the comfort of all those who have lost a loved one. The prayer below is from Archbishop José H. Gomez, President of the USCCB in his reflection and prayer during coronavirus:

Holy Virgin of Guadalupe,
Queen of the Angels and Mother of the Americas.
We fly to you today as your beloved children.
We ask you to intercede for us with your Son,
as you did at the wedding in Cana.
​
Pray for us, loving Mother,
and gain for our nation and world,
and for all our families and loved ones,
the protection of your holy angels,
that we may be spared the worst of this illness.

For those already afflicted,
we ask you to obtain the grace of healing and deliverance.
Hear the cries of those who are vulnerable and fearful,
wipe away their tears and help them to trust.

In this time of trial and testing,
teach all of us in the Church to love one another and to be patient and kind.
Help us to bring the peace of Jesus to our land and to our hearts.

We come to you with confidence,
knowing that you truly are our compassionate mother,
health of the sick and cause of our joy.

Shelter us under the mantle of your protection,
keep us in the embrace of your arms,
help us always to know the love of your Son, Jesus. Amen.

Click the link below or open your Bible to the passage and read through the reading at least once, paying attention to what is happening in the text. 

Use the following meditation to help you reflect more deeply on the Scripture (you may want to read the passage again).

During this unforeseen season where so many schools, shops, and even Churches are being temporarily closed due to a virus, it can be so easy to begin to doubt in the power of Jesus to stop all the suffering and craziness. This doubt isn’t new to our generation, though.

Even the Jewish priests and Pharisees from Jesus’ time doubted Him. They knew about the miracles that Jesus performed that showed He was the Son of God, but they were more concerned about their own standing than about accepting God.

From that moment, they began planning to have Jesus killed.

Yet, in the middle of the doubting and plotting against Jesus, something greater than was coming- the Resurrection of Jesus Christ. In the darkest hour of mankind, where the people began plotting against God, God took those doubts and fears and turned them into something even more beautiful. As we head towards Easter next week, many of us will not be able to attend a public mass due to the coronavirus. It’s possible some of you may even know someone who has been affected by the virus or maybe is temporarily out of school or work because of it.

​It can be very easy during this time to think that God and His Church have turned their back on the world. Yet, that could be some of the same doubt that the Pharisees and priests of Jesus’ time had. If we are more concerned with comfort than we are with what God wants to do for us during this time, we might begin to doubt that He can become our comfort and our source of strength. When we forget that God can take the most difficult situations and turn them into the greatest successes, we may forget that God is at work, even when things are rough.

In that darkest hour of history, where man killed Jesus, Jesus performed His greatest miracle by rising from the dead. As you approach these last days of Lent, ask yourself how you’ve seen God making beauty out of the ashes around us right now. We may not all be able to attend Mass during much of Lent and maybe even Easter, but that won’t stop God from performing miracles in our lives. As we approach Easter, say goodbye to doubt and prepare yourself to let Jesus Christ resurrect your faith.

These questions are to be used to talk to God; have a conversation with the Lord about these questions and what is going on in your heart as you pray today.

How have you seen God bringing good out of the difficult situation around you right now?

In what ways, over the course of this Lent, have you seen God grow the gift of faith in you and reveal himself to you?

​As we enter into Holy Week, what are you asking God for particularly in this special and holy time?

In this step, you listen. Stop talking, let God speak to your heart. You may repeat one of these short phrases to focus your mind on the Lord.

"Jesus, I trust in you."

"Come, Holy Spirit."

"I long for the gift of faith."

In light of today's reading and your time spent in prayer with the Lord, what concrete action or actions will you take to let this encounter with the Lord bear fruit in you today?

The following image is here for you to save and use as a background or lock screen on your smartphone or device to help you carry today's Lectio Divina with you the rest of the day.

Today's prayer was prepared by Brendan Slovacek, a student at Franciscan University of Steubenville. 

If you have anything you'd like our team to pray for, please go to the page of our website called "Prayers" and let us know how we can pray for you today.