“We had all gone astray like sheep, each following his own way; but the LORD laid upon him the guilt of us all.” (IS 53: 6)

“We had all gone astray” from God. We are loved and respected by God, but we decided, so many times in our lives, to “follow our own way.” God is always taking care of us and never tired of forgiving. God laid upon Our Lord “the guilt of us all.”

“Christ became obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name which is above every other name.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“So when he had washed their feet and put his garments back on and reclined at table again, he said to them, ‘Do you realize what I have done for you? You call me ‘teacher’ and ‘master,’ and rightly so, for indeed I am. If I, therefore, the master and teacher, have washed your feet, you ought to wash one another’s feet. I have given you a model to follow, so that as I have done for you, you should also do.’” (JN 13: 12-15)

Washing feet, the duty of servants, was done for the apostles by their “teacher and master,” by Our Lord. God himself gives them “a model to follow,” so that as He has done for them, they should also do for others. We will see this during Holy Thursday’s Evening Mass of the Lord’s Supper, but everyone is invited to respect and protect any other person’s dignity, to see her/him as better than me, as someone worthy of love, respect and service.

“I give you a new commandment, says the Lord: love one another as I have loved you.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; and I have not rebelled, have not turned back.” (IS 50: 4-5)

Every relationship needs communication. Friends love to share their lives. Everyday, “morning after morning,” Our Lord’s first word to us is about His love for us and how important our relationship is to Him. He also asks us to remember His words, that we“might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them” because we are His ambassadors, the ones who listen to Him.

“Hail to you, our King; you alone are compassionate with our errors.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“With revilement and torture let us put him to the test that we may have proof of his gentleness and try his patience.” (WIS 2: 19)

We know when a person is gentle or not. We like gentle people, and when we have an option, we prefer to meet with that kind of person, not with the opposite. Our Lord’s gentleness was put to the test “with revilement and torture… that we may have proof of his gentleness and his patience.” We need His gentleness absolutely, and we have to know that He will be, always andin any kind of situation, patient and gentle. We need it so much because the more we lose patience and gentleness, the more we need it.

“One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“But Zion said, ‘The LORD has forsaken me; my Lord has forgotten me.’ Can a mother forget her infant, be without tenderness for the child of her womb? Even should she forget, I will never forget you.” (Is 49: 14-15)

“Can a mother forget her infant?” asks the Bible today and answers: yes, it could happen, but there is always our God, Who “will never forget you.” This is truly Good News—there is always hope because we are His beloved children.

“I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord; whoever believes in me will never die.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“Thus says the LORD: Lo, I am about to create new heavens and a new earth; the things of the past shall not be remembered or come to mind. Instead, there shall always be rejoicing and happiness in what I create; for I create Jerusalem to be a joy and its people to be a delight; I will rejoice in Jerusalem and exult in my people.” (IS 65: 17-19)

Redemption means a new creation, and new creation needs “new heavens and a new earth.” Redemption causes us to rejoice and “to be a delight.”  Whatever we do for God, we should do it with joy and happiness. We are invited to seek God’s creation and to be focused on the good.

“Seek good and not evil so that you may live, and the LORD will be with you.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“For by grace you have been saved through faith, and this is not from you; it is the gift of God;  it is not from works, so no one may boast. For we are his handiwork, created in Christ Jesus for the good works that God has prepared in advance, that we should live in them.” (EPH 2: 8-10)

God’s incredible love for us takes care of everything: our past, when we were sinners: He saved us and “it is the gift of God”; and our present, when we are believers: we are “created in Christ Jesus for the good works,” and “God has prepared” them in advance. His grace gives us salvation and good works “that we should live in them.” He wants for us only one thing–that we will have in Him eternal life.

“God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“Let us know, let us strive to know the LORD; as certain as the dawn is his coming, and his judgment shines forth like the light of day! He will come to us like the rain, like spring rain that waters the earth.” (HOS 6: 3)

“To know the Lord” is only possible because He revealed Himself and His love to us: “He will come to us like the rain,” and His coming is “as certain as the dawn.” The more we know Him, the more we expect His coming; the more we expect His coming, the more our hearts are open to receive all His graces.

“If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“Return, O Israel, to the LORD, your God; you have collapsed through your guilt. Take with you words, and return to the LORD.” (HOS 14: 2-3)

Words in our lives can bring joy, appreciation and warmth or rejection, accusations and hate. The same words we can take with us to the Lord. Some of these words are able to help us “return to the Lord,” some not.

“Repent, says the Lord; the Kingdom of heaven is at hand.” (Gospel Acclamation)

“Israel loved Joseph best of all his sons, for he was the child of his old age; and he had made him a long tunic. When his brothers saw that their father loved him best of all his sons, they hated him so much that they would not even greet him.” (GN 37: 3-4)

Jealousy and hate go together. The beginning is so simple; it becomes hard to say a kind word or “even greet him,” and this attitude grows. But also respect and love go together, and their beginning is very simple too: be gentle and be respectful, and it also can grow. The destination for the first position is hell, and the destination for the second is heaven.

“God so loved the world that he gave his only-begotten Son; so that everyone who believes in him might have eternal life.” (Gospel Acclamation)