Tuesday of Holy Week

Tuesday of Holy Week

Today's Gospel is packed with deep meaning. We know that Peter is told by Jesus that he will deny Him three times before the cock crows. We know that Judas is about to betray Jesus. Both will essentially deny Jesus but one will be humble and repentant and one will not. We have much to ponder when meditating on today's Gospel.

Jn 13:21-33, 36-38

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
The disciples looked at one another, at a loss as to whom he meant.
One of his disciples, the one whom Jesus loved,
was reclining at Jesus’ side.
So Simon Peter nodded to him to find out whom he meant.
He leaned back against Jesus’ chest and said to him,
“Master, who is it?”
Jesus answered,
“It is the one to whom I hand the morsel after I have dipped it.”
So he dipped the morsel and took it and handed it to Judas,
son of Simon the Iscariot.
After Judas took the morsel, Satan entered him.
So Jesus said to him, “What you are going to do, do quickly.”
Now none of those reclining at table realized why he said this to him.
Some thought that since Judas kept the money bag, Jesus had told him,
“Buy what we need for the feast,”
or to give something to the poor.
So Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night.

When he had left, Jesus said,
“Now is the Son of Man glorified, and God is glorified in him.
If God is glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself,
and he will glorify him at once.
My children, I will be with you only a little while longer.
You will look for me, and as I told the Jews,
‘Where I go you cannot come,’ so now I say it to you.”

Simon Peter said to him, “Master, where are you going?”
Jesus answered him,
“Where I am going, you cannot follow me now,
though you will follow later.”
Peter said to him,
“Master, why can I not follow you now?
I will lay down my life for you.”
Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me?
Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow
before you deny me three times.”

Catholc Culture has this to offer us today:

"False witnesses have stood up against me, and my enemies threaten violence; Lord, do not surrender me into their power!" Our Lord calls upon His heavenly Father to shield Him against His enemies. In God's providence, however, the Cross of Christ was destined to be a sign of glory and not an emblem of shame: from that Cross came victory over Satan, from it came life, resurrection and salvation: "It behooves us to glory in the Cross of our Lord Jesus Christ in whom is our salvation, life and resurrection, by whom we are saved and delivered".

On the Cross Our Lord expiated our avarice by His extreme poverty, our sensuality by His most bitter sufferings, our pride by His profound humiliations, our disobedience by His most perfect submission to the Will of God. Embracing us with His extended arms He draws us into the path which He has trod and which alone leads to life eternal. — Cathedral Daily Missal

Meditation

Today, again, our Savior sets out in the morning for Jerusalem. His intention is to repair to the temple, and continue His yesterday's teachings. It is evident that His mission on earth is fast drawing to its close. He says to His disciples: "You know that after two days shall be the Pasch, and the Son of Man shall be delivered up to be crucified."
On the road from Bethania to Jerusalem, the disciples are surprised at seeing the fig-tree, which their divine Master had yesterday cursed, now dead. Addressing himself to Jesus, Peter says: "Rabbi, behold, the fig-tree, which Thou didst curse, is withered away." In order to teach us that the whole of material nature is subservient to the Jesus replies: "Have the faith of God. Amen I say to you, that whosoever shall say to this mountain: Be thou removed and cast into the sea! and shall not stagger in his heart, but believe that whatsoever he saith shall be done, it shall be done unto him."

Having entered the city, Jesus directs His steps towards the temple. No sooner has He entered, than the chief priests, the scribes, and the ancients of the people, accost Him with these words: "By what authority dost Thou these things and who has given Thee this authority, that Thou shouldst do these things?" We shall find our Lord's answer given in the Gospel. Our object is to mention the leading events of the last days of our Redeemer on earth; the holy volume will supply the details.

As on the two preceding days, Jesus leaves the city towards evening: He passes over Mount Olivet, and returns to Bethania, where He finds His blessed Mother and His devoted friends. — The Liturgical Year, Abbot Gueranger O.S.B. (from Catholic Culture website)