Liturgical Readings for : Monday, 25th March, 2024
Monday in Holy Week
We now focus more closely on the huge mystery of the Death and Resurrection of the Christ.
Jesus was led like a lamb to the slaughter and does not cry out or shout aloud.
FIRST READING
A reading from the prophet Isaiah 42:1-7
He does not cry out or shout aloud.
Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights.
I have endowed him with my spirit that he may bring true justice to the nations.
He does not cry out or shout aloud, or make his voice heard in the streets.
He does not break the crushed reed, nor quench the wavering flame.
Faithfully he brings true justice; he will neither waver, nor be crushed
until true justice is established on earth, for the islands are awaiting his law.
Thus says God, the Lord, he who created the heavens and spread them out,
who gave shape to the earth and what comes from it,
who gave breath to its people and life to the creatures that move in it:
I, the Lord, have called you to serve the cause of right;
I have taken you by the hand and formed you;
I have appointed you as covenant of the people and light of the nations,
to open the eyes of the blind, to free captives from prison, and those who live in darkness from the dungeon.
The Word of the Lord Thanks be to God.
Responsorial Psalm Ps 26
Response The Lord is my light and my help.
1. The Lord is my light and my help; whom shall I fear?
The Lord is the stronghold of my life; before whom shall I shrink? Response
2. When evil-doers draw near to devour my flesh,
it is they, my enemies and foes, who stumble and fall. Response
3. Though an army encamp against me my heart would not fear.
Though war break out against meeven then would I trust. Response
4. I am sure I shall see the Lord’s goodness in the land of the living.
Hope in him, hold firm and take heart. Hope in the Lord! Response
Gospel Acclamation
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Hail to you, our King! You alone have compassion on our sins.
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
GOSPEL
The Lord be with you. And with your spirit
A reading from the holy Gospel according to John 12:1-11 Glory to you, O Lord
Leave her alone; she had to keep this scent for the day of my burial.
Six days before the Passover, Jesus went to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom he had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there; Martha waited on them and Lazarus was among those at table. Mary brought in a pound of very costly ointment, pure nard, and with it anointed the feet of Jesus, wiping them with her hair; the house was full of the scent of the ointment.
Then Judas Iscariot – one of his disciples, the man who was to betray him – said,
‘Why wasn’t this ointment sold for three hundred denarii, and the money given to the poor?’
He said this, not because he cared about the poor, but because he was a thief; he was in charge of the common fund and used to help himself to the contributions.
So Jesus said,
‘Leave her alone; she had to keep this scent for the day of my burial.
You have the poor with you always, you will not always have me.’
Meanwhile a large number of Jews heard that he was there and came not only on account of Jesus but also to see Lazarus whom he had raised from the dead. Then the chief priests decided to kill Lazarus as well, since it was on his account that many of the Jews were leaving them and believing in Jesus.
The Gospel of the Lord Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.
Gospel Reflection Monday in Holy Week John 12:1-11
The scene in today’s gospel reading is placed six days before the Jewish feast of Passover, the time of Jesus’ final journey, his passion and death. On that journey he would be brutally treated, by political and religious leaders and by their military forces. In our gospel reading, however, Jesus is cared for in a very loving way by the family of Lazarus, Martha and Mary, in appreciation for Jesus restoring Lazarus to life. We are told that ‘Martha waited’ on him, playing a leading role in serving him a meal, in a way that seems to have been typical of her. Her sister Mary served Jesus in a different way, anointing his feet with very costly ointment and wiping them with her hair. It was an extravagant gesture that Judas, who was about to betray him, considered a waste of money that could have been better spent on the poor. Yet, Jesus recognized the timeliness of Mary’s extravagant gesture; it was an anointing to strengthen him for the difficult journey ahead, ‘she had to keep this scent for the day of my burial’.
In the language of the first reading, there was something of the ‘crushed reed’ and ‘wavering flame’ about Jesus at this moment in his life, and he deeply appreciated Mary’s costly and loving gesture, which strengthened him for the journey ahead. Mary’s gesture is being replicated in our own times in the costly and loving gestures towards so many of the crushed reeds and wavering flames in our world today. The Lord considers such loving gestures for those who have been rendered vulnerable as done for him personally. Such costly and loving gestures are expressions of what today’s responsorial psalm calls ‘the Lord’s goodness’. Hopefully, such gestures will allow those in greatest need to say in the words of today’s psalm, ‘Though an army encamp against me, my heart would not fear. Though war break out against me, even then would I trust’.
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The Scripture Readings are taken from The Jerusalem Bible, published 1966 by Darton, Longman and Todd Ltd
