THE COMPASSION OF JESUS - 04/03/23 (Monday of Holy Week)

John 12:4–5

Then Judas the Iscariot, one of his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, “Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days’ wages and given to the poor?” 

For the full readings, click here: 

https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/040323.cfm

Blessed Holy Monday! St. Mary Magdalene poured an expensive oil on the feet of Jesus Christ, and she dried it with her hair. This was meant to show her love for Jesus Christ, our King. At the same time, as we all know, Jesus is not a worldly type of King. Instead, He is a Humble King, a Servant. The feet of Jesus which were poured on represented the humility of Christ. And, this humility was shown with His compassion for Judas Iscariot. At first, Judas told St. Mary Magdalene that it would have been better if the oil was sold and given to the poor. At the first sight, what Judas spoke of appeared to be good and virtuous. However, deep within, Judas wanted to steal the money. How did Jesus show compassion for Judas? He avoided revealing the secret and the sin of Judas to other people, and Jesus also told him that there would be a time when the disciples would not be with Him. Our Lord Jesus is capable of seeing the hearts of people. But, because of His love for Judas, He remained merciful with him by reminding him that he still had time to repent, even if that time was becoming shorter, and by avoiding the problems that would cause for the people if they would knew the sins of Judas. 

Jesus Christ is also compassionate with us with our imperfections. The mercy of God for us should lead us to be merciful with other people as well. We should imitate Christ in understanding other people despite seeing their sins and mistakes. Unfortunately, there are times that it's easy for us to gossip about other people and tell them of the faults of others for the sake of dragging them down. There are also times when we become angry at our families and friends when we see their sins. Like Judas, our actions may seem to be justified at first glance because, as we like to think, we are just being firm with what is right and good. However, we may not see that some of our actions may be motivated by the sin of pride. It's true that it may be painful for us when we discover the sins of other people when we desire their conversion. However, this does not justify the lack of compassion in our hearts for them. When this happens, Jesus invites us to reflect on the causes why we are doing such actions. What's the root causes behind these things? It is through reflection that we can see whether all of our actions and inspirations are pure or whether some of our thoughts and actions are tainted by evil. As we continue in this Holy Week, let's not forget to repent of our sins and be compassionate with ourselves as well. By being patient with ourselves, we will learn to imitate the patience and humility of Christ for other people. 

Amen +

Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, be with us always until the hour of our death. Amen. +

May the Lord + bless us, protect us from all evil and bring us to everlasting life. Amen. +  

Reflection by: Dominic

Fasting and Abstinence during Lent:

https://www.catholicnewsagency.com/resource/56337/fasting-and-abstinence-during-lent

Examination of Conscience and Guide to Sacrament of Confession:

https://mycatholic.life/catholic-prayers/examination-of-conscience/

Ultimate Catholic Parents Guide:

https://youtube.com/watch?v=Ls6IcexZAls

Summary and Defense of Catholic Teachings:

https://www.catholic.com/tract/pillar-of-fire-pillar-of-truth