Good Friday of the Lord's Passion

Today's Readings

Dear Readers:

We hope that the La Verna Review helped you to have a fruitfully reflective Lent. We plan to do this again for Advent and again for Lent 2020! Thanks for journeying through Lent with us - have an excellent Easter season!

Peace and good,

Alexandria & Tim

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Holy Thursday

Today's Readings

John 13:1- 15

“So that as I have done for you, you should also do.” – John 13:15 

We’ve all heard the expression, “I got a guy” or “I know a guy.” It’s a term we use when we have a connection and we’re proud of it. By virtue of your relationship with someone else, you have an “in” and it opens the door to do or give something to someone who doesn’t enjoy that same relationship. In turn that offers you a degree of status. And, come on! Let’s be honest: we all like having that feeling sometimes – even if it’s because it give us the ability to help someone else out. 

I can only imagine that Jesus’ disciples felt much the same way. They “had a guy” and that guy would enter a town or village attracting hordes of followers wanting to touch the hem of his garment in hopes that, that simple touch would bless them and make them whole in some way. And there the disciples were, day in and day out, never having to fight through crowds, being able to sit with Jesus, listen to His words, fish with Him, eat with Him, travel with him. He was their guy and that gave them importance and status. 

I’d have to think that, as they were seated at the Seder table, the night before He was to be put to death, without knowing what would happen, they probably thought: “This is pretty good. I’m sittin’ at table with my guy – the one who heals the sick and makes the lame walk.” But then this guy Jesus does something that elicits a “wait….what?” reaction. He removes his outer garments, takes a towel, ties it around his waist and begins to wash their feet. Where’s the status in that? They become uncomfortable! YOU can’t do this to ME! You’re JESUS! I don’t want THIS guy, MY guy washing my feet! But that’s exactly what Jesus does, and in the process, instructs them that this is what they must do as well. Not only with and for each other but for anyone whose lives touch theirs in some way. And just like that, their ministry has begun! 

Jesus washes my feet every day, if I let Him. It happens when I allow someone to help or guide me. When I accept what they have to offer as gift and do so with humility. And then I, in turn, extend myself others with the same sense of humility and service. I got a Guy…and his name is Jesus! 

Sue Mulderrig

Technology Trainer

Tuesday and Wednesday of Holy Week

Today's Readings

For the next two days of Holy Week we encourage you to do your own reflecting. Today's first reading from the Book of Isaiah gives us a great prompt for reflection. We read:

The LORD called me from birth,
from my mother's womb he gave me my name.
He made of me a sharp-edged sword
and concealed me in the shadow of his arm.
He made me a polished arrow,
in his quiver he hid me.
You are my servant, he said to me,
Israel, through whom I show my glory. (Isaiah 49:1-3)

In this passage Isaiah describes his calling from God. Isaiah says he was God's sword, ready for battle. He was also God's arrow, willing to be aimed anywhere. Finally, he was God's servant, through whom God would show His glory. How is God showing His glory through you as Easter approaches?

"He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me."

Monday of Holy Week

Today's Readings

Isaiah 42:1-7 

The reading of this passage, beginning with the open sentencing, “Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, Upon whom I have put my Spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, Not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street,” resonates with me and the people I interact with professionally and personally. Working in a community, with community-based organizations, and knowing the work and relationships being created are for a good cause - for the greater good of empowering and assisting the youth - enables me to help more and go above and beyond to be of service. This passage illustrates the significance in society of always looking out for people, even if you may not know them. The service with good intentions that we have to offer needs to benefit the public in the big picture. I learn from other people’s actions and my surroundings on how we are encouraged to give back to the community we are in and knowing what defines charity. Staying committed and engaged to people who have less enriches the culture by giving a helping hand. 

David B. Loutfi ’13 

Assistant Director of Special Events and Community Partnerships

Interactive Stations of the Cross is being offered in the Brothers Chapel today and tomorrow from 2:00pm until 6:00pm. All are welcome!

Palm Sunday of the Lord's Passion

Today's Readings

Luke 22:14-23:56

Luke's Gospel presents two important moments in the story of Jesus' final days in the readings for today's Mass. At the start of Mass, as a way to set the stage for the assembly's procession with palms, we hear of Christ's entry into Jerusalem at the start of Holy Week. It's indeed a grand entrance. Jesus is popular, acclaimed, adored and showered with flattery. The second moment -- in fact a very long, difficult set of moments -- is the whole Passion story and it supplants the usually shorter selection from the Gospels we read at this point in the Sunday Mass. We sense a different mood from the crowd. Jesus is still under their gaze, but this is attention of outrage and excoriation.

Down the centuries, preachers have noticed how fickle the people are. At one moment (maybe because they're excited by the pomp of the entrance? or hopeful that this messiah will give them something that they actually want?) the crowd adores Jesus. Later on, they despise him. Preachers will suggest that we need to be aware of how fickle we can be, how pulled into the wave of un-reflected upon emotion. We get caught up in hero worship or, on the flip side, shaming and expelling.

Maybe we ought to try not to be caught up in the crowd. Maybe we should struggle to stay ourselves, be aware of our own responses. That's why the character of the "Good Thief" is important. Given the name "Dismas" by tradition he is, in a sense, the first saint. He learns from the mouth of Jesus himself that he will be in paradise, a place imminent death is about to bring him to. Dismas is a rough and tumble character. And yes, he's done some wrong but he still abides by a code of honor and tries to be decent in the end. In fact, he is very decent and almost heroically compassionate.

I like to imagine that whatever criminal activity that got him into such deep trouble was being perpetrated on that afternoon of Jesus' entry into Jerusalem. Dismas is distracted for a moment from whatever act of pilfering or petty violence by the cheers of the crowd hailing Jesus. Little does he know that the man who distracted him from that distance would provide him with the most important of distractions ever: his salvation. Dismas wasn't part of the crowd. He avoided it, and that made an entirety of difference. 

Rev. Joel Warden, c.o., PhD 

Department of Philosophy and Religious Studies

Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Today's Readings

Cast away from you all the crimes you have committed, says the LORD, and make for yourselves a new heart and a new spirit. –Ezekiel 18:31 

I chose to reflect on the verse before the Gospel for April 13th. The simple yet powerful verse from Ezekiel has few words but much meaning for me now and especially for the season of Lent. The Lord tells us to cast away all of the sins we have committed and make a new heart and spirit, to awaken from sin and repent. It can be difficult for one to realize that decisions that are made in our lives out of love for our families could actually be hurting them and ourselves. We move through our days and make mistakes that affect others that at the moment seem to protect them but over time we see how these mistakes are hurtful. The Lord gives those who believe in Him forgiveness for their sins and wrongdoings through the sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. As Christians and believers in Christ’s death at the Cross we believe that we need not despair and always remember that the Lord gives us a new day and a new spirit each day to overcome the past sins we’ve committed and the ability to heal and start anew in an effort to move toward the light. This Lenten season should serve as a time to remember others and meet each day with a promise to give of ourselves as a means to repent for our past sins and to seek the Lord’s mercy. Throughout the 40 days of Lent and beyond, I am hopeful that I can bring the light into someone’s life each day by an act of kindness and mercy. It is in giving that we will receive the Lord’s true blessings into our lives and every effort should be made to share a kindness each day with someone who is in need and in so doing the Lord’s mercy and love will be given. 

Cathy McDermott ‘74

Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Today's Readings

Psalm 18:7

The Responsorial Psalm today is: “In my distress I called upon the Lord and He heard my voice.” As I read these words that I have so often read before, I also read them out loud and I reflected on them with a new perspective.

Distress…this word can have so many meanings. Initially, there is the tendency for me to think of an emergency situation since I am a nurse. Something physical is suddenly wrong, such as “respiratory distress.” However, distress can be holistic…involving emotional, mental and spiritual aspects.

Here we are one week away from Good Friday, the day that we remember the suffering of Jesus as he died on the cross. His death was the ultimate physical distress with unimaginable torture, even after carrying his own heavy cross through the streets. We always hear the words that Jesus suffered and died for us, that was part of His human experience. In the midst of His agony, Jesus called upon the Lord, His Father: “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” Jesus thought he was abandoned in that moment,
but He was still teaching His followers and us to call upon the Lord…He will hear our voices.

Since we are human beings, we are complex and sometimes complicated. We have the capacity for the strength of steel yet we are as fragile as treasured heirloom crystal. There is a song called “Fragile” by a famous musician, Sting (his given name is Gordon Sumner). Here are some of the lyrics:

On and on the rain will fall 

Like tears from a star, like tears from a star 

On and on the rain will say 

How fragile we are, how fragile we are

When we are faced with challenges, difficult people, frustration, evil, injustice, exclusion, betrayal, disappointment, or hurt we can call upon the Lord in our fragile state of distress. Let me add that we can call upon the whole support of God the Father, Jesus, the Holy Spirit and Mary. Remember that Mary wept at the feet of Jesus in her tremendous grief as she witnessed the death of her Son. Mary can help us settle our hearts when we are struggling. Our voices will be heard, and we will be carried in our distress if we trust in God and keep the faith.

Elizabeth Giugliano, RN

Manager of Student Health Services

Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Today's Readings

John 8:51-59 

Scholars often refer to The Gospel of John as the most theological gospel. It is full of high theology, big concepts and big ideas about Jesus. In John, Jesus gets wordy. He uses no parables and lots of philosophy. You can see this from the beginning of John’s Gospel. The Word and God are said to be the same. But you can certainly see high theology here also, in Jesus’s conversation with Jewish authorities. John groups the Jews simplistically and refers to them unsympathetically and sometimes unkindly. John’s Jews just don’t get it. They don’t understand who Jesus is, neither his importance for their local community nor his importance for the wider, ongoing drama of human history. 

John uses phrases, concepts and terms from familiar Jewish scripture to articulate Jesus’s emerging self-understanding. The conflict depicted here between Jesus and “the Jews” hinges on the relationship between Jesus and God alleged by Jesus. The Jews think Jesus is crazy and suggest he is possessed by demons. They refuse to identify a specific human being with the God of their prophetic tradition. Admittedly, it is a hard sell. Jesus is a young man, indeed, he never lives to old age, so it seems impossible for him to be personally familiar with, for example, Abraham. God is perfect, eternal, and unchanging; humans, no matter how kind or good or special, are none of these things.

It will take hundreds of years of careful theological reflection before Christians come to understand Jesus as a hypostatic union, as a single person with two natures. Today, technical formulations like this one and others can get in the way of understanding for ourselves, disabling rather than enabling insight by making us feel like the biggest questions have already been definitively addressed by earlier generations. In John, Jesus has come to know himself and his mission. We see Jesus insist on the point, invoking Exodus’s divine name I am. John’s Jews are offended to the point of violence. Jesus flees their temple.

Departing from conventional practice is risky business. Those who challenge conventional understanding are often met with resistance. Nevertheless, confronting religious authorities of his own day, Jesus makes God known. 

Clayton Shoppa, PhD 

Assistant Professor of Philosophy

Wednesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Today's Readings

John 8:31-42

“Live in Faith not in Fear…” These are words I repeat at the start of the day, during the day and at the end of the day.  These are the words that I believe many have said when confronted with “idol” threats.  These are the words spoken and unspoken by Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego.   

King Nebuchadnezzar imposes his earthly will with statues and threats that are limited to a temporary existence and heavily discounting an eternal existence.  The slaves of sin listen to the fathers of this world, not the Father who teaches love.  Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego stand up to fear, have the courage and confidence knowing that God will be with them, and walk with them, ultimately saving them from not only the white-hot furnace but the fires of eternal damnation. When Nebuchadnezzar exclaimed, “Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, who sent his angel to deliver the servants who trusted in him; they disobeyed the royal command and yielded their bodies rather than serve or worship any god except their own God", these faithful servants, by living in faith not in fear, converted the unconvertible – someone who was so entrenched with false gods and “fake news.”   

When Jesus calls on the descendants of Abraham to believe and be free, to allow the words to fill the room and do what you have heard from the Father, to welcome the Son and understand God sent him to love and save, it is an example of how faith is always rewarded.  It may call for us to be outspoken, to step out of our comfort zone, not conform, and understand that what we do does not necessarily yield what we may want or expect, but it will always yield what the Lord has in store for us.  

Live in Faith not in Fear, are not just words but a call to action, a declaration to the Lord that we hear, serve, live and love. 

Thomas F. Flood 

Vice President for Advancement

Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

Today's Readings

John 8:21-30

"Because He spoke this way, many came to believe in Him." – John 8:30

The final verse of the today's Gospel reading is what caught my attention. We have many interactions at the College every day with students, administrators, faculty, and staff. We have conversations ranging from small talk to deep, philosophical talk. Each and every time we talk with someone, whether inside or outside the walls of the College, it is so much more than an exchange of information: it is an opportunity to be the light of world and the salt of the earth. The passage above tells us that many came to believe because Jesus spoke in a certain way. I think we can also speak and interact in certain ways that will help us to be better ambassadors for Christ. If we find our concrete identity as citizens of heaven, then we can confidently adopt a disposition of hope, optimism, patience, and encouragement that can inform all of our interactions. Whether a phone call, a meeting, an elevator conversation, or a presentation, we can let our light shine by the tone of our voices, the undivided attention that we give to those speaking to us, the words that we choose to speak, and the words that we choose not to speak. In all of these ways, we can brighten someone’s day, make a stronger connection with someone, gain someone’s trust, and so much more. This type of intentional communication can serve to tighten the very fabric of the College, bringing us all closer in the Franciscan values of hospitality, leadership, service, peacemaking, and community. And on a deeper level, the ways in which we approach our interactions can also point people towards Christ. 

As we get closer to Easter, let us know that to be an Easter people means that Christ permeates all aspects of our lives. Let us use our lives, especially the ways in which we approach our everyday interactions, to display the love that Christ has for every person. Whether directly through our speaking or indirectly through our demeanor and actions, let us not keep the good news a secret this Easter!

Timothy Nagy 

Assistant Director of Mission, Ministry & Interfaith Dialogue