IN YOU, O LORD WE TAKE REFUGE(Isaiah 49:1-6/Psalm 71:1-6,15,17/John 13:21-33,36-38)

IN YOU, O LORD WE TAKE REFUGE

(Tuesday April 16, 2019 Tuesday of Holy Week)

The gospel of today presents Christ as truly human. Who after seeing the kind of torture He is to suffer in the hands of those He called his own people would not be afraid? Christ entertained fear because He is truly human. Christ in the Last Supper with His disciples entertained a great fear of what waits for Him in a few days. He accepted to endure all these anxieties and fear because of the love He had for us.

He accepted to die so as to redeem not the people Israel but the whole world as Caiaphas exclaimed that it is better for one man to die for the whole nation rather than the entire people perish for one man. As Saint Augustine once said concerning the act of dying that Christ accepted on behalf of us "He loved us so much that, though sinless, He suffered for us sinners the punishment we deserved for our sins. In taking upon Himself the death that He found in us, He has most faithfully promised to give us life in Himself, such as we cannot have of ourselves"

From this words of St. Augustine, we can connect to the first reading of today that extolled the person of Christ and His mission not only to the tribes of Jacob but the entire nations of the world. God says "It is not enough for you to be my Servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back the survivors of Israel; I will make you the light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth" Dear brothers and sisters as we can see that Christ accepted to give Himself to be crucified and to die because of the unfathomable love He has for us. Let us use these remaining days of the Holy week to meditate deeply on the Passion and Death of Christ instead of allowing the devil to take hold of our souls as Judas allowed himself to be possessed by the devil on the day of the Institution of the Holy Eucharist.

Let Us Pray: Lord give me grace to remain steadfast in difficult times and may I not be a disappointment to you. AMEN