Do you think he will not come to the feast; the Jewish leaders ask each other.[i] This question in the Gospel according to St. John, is posed by the Jewish leaders because Jesus is no longer going about in public. He knows, in fact, that they plan to kill Him. [ii] He will indeed go to celebrate the feast of the Passover in Jerusalem, but Jesus is waiting for the right time: that moment appointed by the Father to initiate the events leading to His Passion. When that time comes, He will descend the Mount of Olives, along what is now called the Palm Sunday Road, to enter the city of Jerusalem, to be heralded as the son of David. Jesus’ is coming in the city something far beyond a fulfillment of the law of the Passover. Now we see the real fulfillment of the “feast” where the Lamb comes of his own accord into the city that He may consummate His offering to the Father that began at the Incarnation.[iii] By the events of this week, with His Passion, Death and Resurrection, Jesus gathers to himself a people destined to be his Church.[iv]
Jesus Always Comes in the Mass
This gathering of His people continues throughout the ages by means of the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist wherein Jesus gives Himself entirely to us as our food and nourishment.[v] In the offering every Eucharist, which takes place at Mass, Jesus is present as the high Priest offering Himself and us to the Father. [vi] When we receive Holy Communion, we are made one with Him and gathered into his Body.[vii] [viii] We are also made one with each other. This is how he forms His Church. This is the ultimate gathering of the scattered children of God into one people.
Unable to Proclaim Jesus is Lord Without the Spirit
As members of His body, we are filled with the power of His Spirit. As St. Paul reminds us, to proclaim Jesus is Lord, one must be filled with the Holy Spirit.[ix] Even our simplest acts of devotion and faith are fully supported by Jesus. Indeed, to make the sign of the cross it takes our will and the support of Christ to make this active faith. As members of His body, united to Him as our head, we are filled with His Spirit. He is always present with us, drawing us to the Father. We can be certain that He hears us when we pray. In fact, He dwells within us.[x] And where any one Person of the Holy Trinity is present, there is the indwelling of the entire Holy Trinity.
Let us pray that fifth Saturday of Lent:
“O God, who have made all those reborn in Christ
a chosen race and a royal priesthood,
grant us, we pray, the grace to will and to do what you command,
that the people called to eternal life
may be one in the faith of their hearts
and the homage of their deeds
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
Who lives in readings with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit
God, for ever and ever.”[xi] Amen.
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Featured Inage:
D’Ambrogio, Pietro di Giovanni. Entry of Christ to Jerusalem. November 3, 2010. Wikimmedia Commons. https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Pietro_di_Giovanni_d%27Ambrogio._Entry_into_Jerusalem._1435-40._Pinacoteca_Stuard,_Parma.jpg. Pinacoteca Stuard, Parma (Source=http://www.servizi.comune.parma.it/stuard/content/foto4.htm)
Works cited:
[i] “John 11:56 – the Plot to Kill Jesus.” Bible Hub. Accessed March 24, 2024. https://biblehub.com/john/11-56.htm.
[ii] “John 11:54 – The Plot to Kill Jesus.” Bible Hub. Accessed March 24, 2024. https://biblehub.com/john/11-54.htm.
[iii] “Catechism of the Catholic Church.” – ¶1340. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Accessed March 24, 2024. https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/346/#zoom=z.
[iv] Ibid, ¶1267.
[v] Ibid. ¶1366.
[vi] Ibid, ¶1340.
[vii] Ibid, ¶1331.
[viii] Ibid, ¶1382.
[ix] “1 Corinthians 12:3 – Spiritual Gifts.” Bible Hub. Accessed March 24, 2024. https://biblehub.com/1_corinthians/12-3.htm.
[x] “Catechism of the Catholic Church.” – ¶1265-66. United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. Accessed March 24, 2024. https://www.usccb.org/sites/default/files/flipbooks/catechism/346/#zoom=z.
[xi] “Collect.” Saturday 5th Week of Lent. Accessed March 24, 2024. https://www.liturgies.net/Liturgies/Catholic/loh/lent/week5saturdayor.htm.
Published for Holy Week 2024
March 26, 2024
