Daily Homily 4-8-2020
Wednesday of Holy Week (2020) “Jesus Won’t be Fooled”
Every person has two faces. One face is the face that we show to the world. Usually, we want to be thought of competent, attractive and smart. We want a good reputation, so we expend a lot of energy making sure that people only see us in the best possible light.
But there is another side of ourselves that we are very much aware of. Someone once said that we all have our deadly sin. For some it is anger. For others it is greed. We have people who struggle with pride. We have individuals who are slothful. We usually are conscious of the deadly sin we fight with, but we also keep it hid. The part of our self we do not want others to see is often called the shadow. We like to think that we are the only ones who know about it, but we are probably fooling ourselves.
Judas thought he had kept his betrayal secret. He put on the face of a faithful disciple. He kept fellowship with the other apostles, and they were fooled. All the while he was slinking off to the religious authorities and cutting a deal to betray Jesus.
He did not fool the Lord though. Jesus knew what he was up to. He could not hide his dark activities. In the end, Jesus saw through him. Judas’ sins came to the light and through the ages his reputation has been that of a traitor. He is the ultimate villain.
Jesus knows us intimately. Even though we deceive everyone else we can never fool Jesus. He knows our sins. All he asks is that we be honest with him. If we are, he will forgive us. Jesus loves us despite all our failings. We can take comfort from that thought this Holy Week.
During this pandemic we struggle with many temptations. At times we probably see our deadly sin rear its ugly head. Jesus would say, do not despair. Trust in my mercy.
Dear Parishioners,
I would like to remind you that we will be live streaming several of the Holy Week services beginning tomorrow at 7 p.m. It will be hard this year not to share the rituals that mean so much to us. Just watching on-line will be passive. I would offer some suggestions for the next couple of days so you might be more engaged.
It is good to watch all the services that are streamed in a part of your home that you set up for prayer. You can make your own altar, light a candle and put out a statue. Sit in straight back chairs so you can easily stand sit and kneel. Respond to the prayers.
For Holy Thursday, after the homily, we will pause for a few minutes. I would suggest that you would wash feet. If you have children at home, you could wash the feet of the youngest (most vulnerable) member of the family. If you live as a couple it might be possible to wash each other’s feet. Finally, if you live alone you could visualize someone who is in great need and use your imagination to wash their feet.
After Mass on Thursday, you might have your evening meal be a little party. Lent is over. Taking time for an hour of quiet prayer before you retire might be a way to remember Jesus in the garden.
On Good Friday it might be good to keep silence in your home from Noon to 3 p.m. As you watch the service, you will see that the celebrant will take time to unveil and reverence the cross. You might have your own cross at home. When it comes time to venerate the cross you could put the cross on your makeshift altar and genuflect to it or pass the cross around the room to kissing it or holding it reverently. These are just a few suggestions. I will try to offer some more tomorrow as Easter week progresses.
May our Blessed Mother an all the angels and saints intercede for us in this time of danger.
Fr. Mark
P.S. On Good Friday the National Council of Catholic Bishops have asked that we all pray the Litany of the Sacred Heart of Jesus together. If you do not have the prayer, you can find it online. Hopefully we can feel united to all American Catholics by doing this.