​Yesterday we crucified Christ. Today we wait.

Imagine what was like to be Mary, John, Mary Magdalen, or one of the other apostles on the day after Christ’s crucifixion. On Thursday, their beloved friend was arrested. On Friday, He was tortured, carried His cross up a mountain, and was utterly humiliated. Yesterday they saw their friend killed in the most grotesque way possible at the time. They believed He was the Son of God, that He was God - and now He’s dead. They buried Him in the tomb, and then they hid in case they were next.

Are they despairing? Do they trust that what He taught them is true? Are they afraid that they are next?

When we look at Good Friday we don’t despair because we know what happens next. We know the rest of the story. We know that Christ has won the victory. But do we truly live that way?

When things don’t go my way, when a friend betrays me, when I mess up, when a loved one is diagnosed with cancer, when someone dies, when life gets hard - do I remember that Christ has won the battle. The victory is His!

More often than not, I have a tendency to forget this in the middle of the hard times. I forget that although I’m struggling through this battle, the victory is His. He took my old self up onto the cross with Him, and rose from the dead with my new self. My old self went into the tomb with Him on Good Friday. I am no longer bound by my slavery to sin, as Paul writes in Romans. And because of this, we will rise to new life with Him tomorrow on Easter.

We rise to a new life in Christ with Him. We put away our old self yesterday and take on a new self in Christ as He rises on Easter. Are you ready to rise to new life tomorrow? Have you left behind all of your sin to take on your new self in the Resurrection? The Victory has been won!

Do you live like you know Christ is victorious in the end? How so? 

Why do we sometimes struggle to trust God when we already know the end of the story?

How can you live in His Victory this Easter?

"Viva Cristo Rey."

"Come Holy Spirit."

"The Victory is Yours, Lord."

Spend these last few hours meditating and reflecting in the tombs of your heart. Dive deep into these last few hours so that you can be prepared for the immense joy to come tonight at the Easter Vigil! And if at all possible, go to the Easter Vigil tonight!

​Have you ever thought about the fact that Christ was a real person? I think it is easy for us to see Him as a character in a book, or a nice idea, or even a good feeling. But have you thought about the fact that if you were born 2000 years ago in Jerusalem you could have met Him face to face? 

I am a religion teacher, so there is never a day that goes by where I am not talking about Christ, but even then I find myself from time to time thinking of him as a concept to teach and not a person whom we can know. 

I guess the reason I am saying all this is that I think the words “Jesus died for you” can sometimes lose it’s meaning or relevance to us. Which is horrible, but at times true. I think we can allow ourselves to see Christ as a character in a story and not a real person that died for us, or maybe we view him a good feeling we get after a retreat or a conference. However, as I read today’s Gospel I am reminded of the fact that Jesus was a very real person who walked this earth. He had hopes, dreams, desires, he laughed, he cried, and he suffered, just like you an me. He was a very real human, and yet I allow myself to forget that over and over again and He becomes just another concept to teach.

Today as you are fasting and reflecting on Christ’s passion and death, I would encourage you to do something small. Meditate on the word passion. Passion in this context is synonymous with suffering. This is actually the first meaning of the word. Yet, in our world today, when we hear this term (passion) I think we can have these thoughts of grand romance that is the furthest thing away from any kind of pain or suffering. Which is pretty funny considering that Christ’s passion, his suffering, was a grand romantic gesture to us. He was demonstrating just how much he loves you, and I mean YOU. There is this line in the Stations of the Cross we pray at school that says, “If you had been the only person in the world, Christ would have died just the same”. Jesus suffered and died for you, and that is not a nice feeling or a teaching concept. That is a fact, a truth, which is as true today as it was 2000 years ago. So, take some time today and reflect on Christ, and not just some nice idea of Him, but the fact that He is a very real person who loves you and died for you.

Do I think of Jesus as a real person who is alive or as a concept that existed some time ago?

Am I giving my life up to Jesus as He gave His life on the cross? Or am I holding certain aspects are areas back?

Am I willing to tell others about how Jesus died on the cross for them? That He loves them so much He gave up His life for them?

Along with the Church's fast requirements today of one regular sized meal and two smaller meals along with abstaining from meat, fast from noise for three hours today  - the time Jesus spent on the cross. If you can do this from noon to three, try. Remember Christ on the cross. Remember that He is a real person who died because He loves you! Turn your phone on silent, do not disturb, or even airplane mode and spend quiet time reading the scriptures, praying the rosary, or even sitting in Church reflecting on how much He loves you. Tell Him how much you love Him.

Today begins the Holy Triduum, or “three days”, that are the celebration of the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. On Holy Thursday, we always celebrate the night that began the Passion for Jesus, remembering the Last Supper He shared with His Apostles in the upper room. This is the setting for today’s Gospel reading- right as supper ends and Jesus institutes the great sacrament of His Body and Blood, He does something striking. 

Jesus rises from the table, and in an act of total self-gift and love, He washes the feet of His disciples. In our modern world the washing of feet may not carry the same significance as it did for Jesus and his disciples. To wash someones feet was one of the most humbling experiences one could have. This was the ancient Near East- there weren’t showers or plentiful opportunities to wash yourself, and most people wore sandals or no shoes at all- feet were the dirtiest part of anyone's body. But still, Jesus gets down on His hands and knees and washes the feet of those who love and serve Him, dealing with the dirtiest parts of their bodies. 

This is a radical move! Could you imagine your “master and teacher” serving you in such an intimate way? The teacher who instructed you in how to live, love, deal with relationships, the one who taught you everything you knew and re-taught everything you thought you knew- this teacher serves you in such a humble way. The God of the universe- who literally just transformed bread and blood into His very Body and Blood, who is in three days going to RESURRECT FROM THE DEAD, who had healed and worked miracles for three years- this same person humbles Himself so much to desire to clean the dirtiest part of you. That is humility. That is love. 

What is also important for us is to note that Jesus tells us that He is doing this as an example for us to follow. To be so humble, so full of love for our neighbors and loved ones, that we would be willing to get down into the dirtiest parts of their lives, in humble joy and love, to serve them. Jesus was our model of holiness; He shows us even in this intense, stressful, fearful, and almost final moment of His life that it is more important to serve and give of yourself than to receive. 

As we begin this Holy Triduum, getting ready to enter in deeply to the great Paschal Mystery that is the Passion, Death, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, let the example of Jesus’ humility and love move you to a deeper place of love for your friends and neighbors. Serve as Jesus served. 

How do you serve Christ through others? How do you follow the example of the love and humility Christ shows us in today's Gospel?

Do you allow Christ to serve you? Do you accept His love, service, humility, and sacrifice in an intimate and personal way?

How can you love more deeply and humbly as you journey through the Triduum and celebrate Easter?

"I love You."

"I serve You."

"Thank You for Your love."

Go out and serve someone in a personal way today. Follow Christ's example of love and humility and let your actions bring you closer to Christ. In prayer, let your heart accept all the love He has for you and bring that love to others.

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

On this Great and Holy Wednesday, it is so easy to focus on the character of Judas in the Gospel and forget the rest of the story.  The story tells us that “Jesus was deeply troubled” because He knew that one of the men whom He had chosen to be His greatest collaborators and friends will betray Him.  Upon hearing this awful news, the beloved disciple, John rested his head on the chest of his Master and Friend as if trying to console Him.  John consoles Jesus, and Jesus consoles John.

To be betrayed by a friend or by a loved one or by anyone is a troubling experience for anyone.  Many of our miseries in life are caused by our betrayal for each other, but that’s what happens when we put all our trust and all our hope to another human being.  We are all imperfect as good as our intentions are.  We are bound to fail or fail someone if we just rely on each other.  

There is someone on the other hand who cannot fail us, not only because He is perfect but because He is perfectly in love with us.  You and I have been created in His image but also been recreated by His suffering, death and resurrection.  The invitation for you and for me is to do what the beloved disciple did when we are deeply troubled because another friend has hurt us.

Jesus is our friend.  You and I are invited to recline and rest our head on His Heart.  When betrayals and hurts happen, He invites us to come to Him and listen to His Heart beating for love of you.  He understands our hurts completely because He Himself have been through it all.  Let us allow ourselves to hear His Heartbeat of healing and consolation.  Today, leave the company of every friend and loved one for few minutes.  Rest with Him.  In fact, do that everyday. 

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.

​Who do you rely on most in life?

When was a time when you felt betrayed by someone close to you? When is a time you may have betrayed someone you were close to?

Do you rely on Jesus? Do you take time to rest with Him?

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.

​"Let me rest in you, Lord."

"You know my hurt, Lord."

​"You are my friend, Lord."

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?

​Fast from everything for at least a few minutes today, and spend time in silence and stillness, resting with the Lord.