Holy Tuesday
H. Francisco J. Posada, L.C.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Christ, our King, Thy Kingdom come!
Preparatory prayer (to put me in the presence of God)
Lord Jesus, may I hear your voice today so that I may realize how much I need you because without you I can do nothing, help me to learn how to console you in these difficult moments when you feel alone and abandoned, that I may keep you company for a longer time, that you may count on me.
Gospel of the day (to guide your meditation)
From the Holy Gospel according to John 13:21-33. 36-38
At that time, when Jesus was at table with his disciples, he was deeply moved and declared, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me”. The disciples looked at each other in bewilderment, for they did not know of whom he spoke. One of them, whom Jesus loved so much, was reclining on his right hand. Simon Peter beckoned to him and asked, “Of whom do you say this?” Then he leaned on Jesus“ breast and asked him, ”Lord, who is it?“ Jesus answered him, ”The one to whom I give this piece of bread, which I am going to dip." So he dipped the bread and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot; and after he had eaten, Satan entered into him.
Jesus then said to Judas, “Whatever you have to do, do it quickly.” But none of the diners understood what he meant; some assumed that, since Judas was in charge of the purse, Jesus had entrusted him to buy what was needed for the feast or to give something to the poor. Judas, after taking the morsel, went out immediately. It was night.
Once Judas was gone, Jesus said, “Now the Son of man has been glorified and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself and will soon glorify him.
”Little children, I will still be with you a little while. You will look for me, but as I said to the Jews, so I say to you now, ‘Where I am going, you cannot go.’ ” Simon Peter said to him, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I am going, you cannot follow me now; you will follow me later.” Peter replied, ”Lord, why can't I follow you now? I will give my life for you. Jesus answered him, “Why will you lay down your life for me? I tell you the truth, the cock will not crow before you have denied me three times.
Word of the Lord.
Meditate on what God tells you in the Gospel
In the world there are the forces of good and evil. There is an unending conflict that has been palpable from the beginning. This battle has a privileged place where the devil wants to win at any cost: the human heart.
When Jesus feels his hour of being glorified on the cross is near, he says goodbye to his friends and tells them what will happen next, but they do not understand. The big question of Jesus' last supper is who is going to betray him? Because He is so good, He has done so many good works, but for evil there is no moment to lose. In the human heart there is the battle for the man who is able to do the greatest and good things for others or otherwise going so far as to take the lives of the innocent for no reason. This is what happened with Judas who, although he was so close to Christ did not allow himself to be deeply touched by His love and did not experience what it means to be with Christ. On the contrary, he was able to betray Christ as if he were no one to him, just like anyone else. Our heart is weak but we must not let ourselves be overcome by evil, we must put all our effort into loving Christ in our day to day life and show it to Him because love without works remains dry. It is interesting that this Gospel passage ends with the announcement of Peter's denial because it gives a different perspective of how one comes to deny Christ or betray him because we are weak and sometimes recognizing ourselves in this way helps us to get closer to Christ in whom we will be stronger.
Dialogue with Christ
This is the most important part of your prayer, prepare yourself to talk with much love with the One who loves you.
Purpose
Propose a personal one. The one that involves the most love in response to the Beloved... or, if you believe that this is what God is asking of you, live what is suggested below.
Pray a Hail Mary that I may remain faithful in my faith until death.
Farewell
We thank You, Lord, for all Your benefits, You who live and reign forever and ever.
Amen.
Christ, our King!
Thy Kingdom come!
Most prudent Virgin, Mary, Mother of the Church.
Pray for us.
In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
