A soldier pierces Jesus’ heart
John 19:31-37

1. LECTIO

a) Opening prayer:

Lord Jesus, grant that we may stand before Your Word in a listening attitude. Help us to stay calm, not to be superficial and distracted. If we meditate on your Word, then we shall, certainly, experience an invasion of tenderness, compassion and love that flows from your pierced heart to humanity. Grant that we may understand the symbolism of the blood and water flowing from Your heart. Grant that we too may gather that blood and water so that we may share in your infinite passion of love and suffering when You underwent every physical and moral suffering. May our meditating on those symbols break our egotism, our self-centeredness and our indifference. May the water and blood mentioned in today’s Gospel calm our anxieties and worries, take away our vainglory, purify our greediness, change our fears into hopes and our darkness into light. As we open ourselves to the force of Your Word, we say to You with all our heart and soul, “Jesus, You are truly the revelation of love.”

b) Reading of the Gospel:

Since it was preparation day, in order that the bodies might not remain on the cross on the sabbath, for the sabbath day of that week was a solemn one, the Jews asked Pilate that their legs be broken and they be taken down. So the soldiers came and broke the legs of the first and then of the other one who was crucified with Jesus. But when they came to Jesus and saw that he was already dead, they did not break his legs, but one soldier thrust his lance into his side, and immediately blood and water flowed out. An eyewitness has testified, and his testimony is true; he knows that he is speaking the truth, so that you also may come to believe. For this happened so that the Scripture passage might be fulfilled: Not a bone of it will be broken. And again another passage says: They will look upon him whom they have pierced.

c) A moment of silence:

Let the silence in this meeting with the Word be truly a prayer: a conversation with God, a listening to Him who reveals Himself and calls you and invites you to be one with Him.

2. MEDITATIO

a) A key to the reading – content and division:

This passage of the Gospel begins with a mention of the Pasch of the Jews and with a request to Pilate (19:31). For the Evangelist, such an event holds extraordinary importance. The center of the Gospel passage is the piercing of the side, whence flow blood and water. We should take note of the symbols in this passage: the blood symbolizes death and love to the end; the water, whence life comes, is the symbol of love expressed and communicated. In the context of the Pasch, these symbols point to the blood of the Lamb who conquers death, and the water, source that purifies. These symbols seek to show that this love (the blood) saves by giving its entire life (water-Spirit). What the Evangelist witnessed is the basis of faith. The passage is organized thus: first the obligation of rest on the festive day which leads to the request made of Pilate that the bodies be taken down (19:31); there follows the scene on the cross when a soldier pierces Jesus’ side (19:32-34); and finally the witness of the Evangelist, based on the Law and the Prophets (19:35-37).

b) The festive rest and the request to Pilate (19:31):

The Jewish leaders, because of the legal purity required by the Pasch now close at hand, and worried that the execution of the death of Jesus might profane the Sabbath or even the whole feast of the Pasch, “asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken away.” They are not in the least aware that their Pasch has been substituted by Jesus’ Pasch. The mention of the bodies is significant. Mention is made not only of the body of Jesus, but also of the bodies of those crucified with Him, as if to express Jesus’ solidarity with those crucified with Him and with the whole of humanity.
Jesus’ body on the cross, that makes Him one with humanity, is, for the Evangelist, God’s sanctuary (2:21). The bodies of those crucified could not remain on the cross on the Sabbath, since what was involved was the preparation for the most solemn feast in the Jewish tradition. This feast will lose its traditional meaning and will be replaced by the celebration of the death and resurrection of Jesus.
“The Jews” put concrete requests before Pilate: that the legs of those crucified be broken so as to accelerate their death and thus avoid the problem that they pose at that particular time. None of these requests is carried out in the case of Jesus: the soldiers do not break His legs nor do they take Him down from the cross.

c) The pierced side (19:32-33):

The soldiers break the legs of those with Jesus, but when they get to Jesus they see “He was already dead, and so instead of breaking His legs…” It is significant that the soldiers break the legs of those crucified with Jesus. They are still alive and now that Jesus is dead, they too can die. It is as though Jesus, by dying before them, through His death, has opened the way for them to the Father and now they can follow Him. By stating that they did not break the legs of Jesus, the Evangelist seems to be saying: No one can take life from Jesus, because He gave His life of Himself (10:17ff; 19:30). “One of the soldiers pierced His side with a lance; and immediately there came out blood and water.” The reader may be surprised by the soldier’s action, since Jesus was already dead. What need was there to pierce Him? It seems that hostility goes on even after death. The piercing with the point of the lance wants to destroy Him forever. This act of hatred allows Jesus to give the kind of love that produces life. This fact is extraordinarily important and contains great wealth of meaning. The blood that flows from Jesus’ side symbolizes His death, which He accepts so as to save humanity; it is and expression of His glory and of His love to the end (1:14; 13:1); it is the gift of the shepherd for his sheep (10:11); it is the love of the friend who gives his life for his friends (15:13). This supreme proof of love, which does not withdraw in the face of the suffering of death on a cross, is an object of contemplation for us on this solemnity of the Sacred Heart of Jesus. From His pierced side comes love, which love is His and at the same time inseparably that of the Father. The water that comes out also represents the Spirit, source of life. The blood and water witness to His love proclaimed and communicated. The allusion to the symbols of water and wine at the wedding feast of Cana is evident: the hour has come for Jesus to give the wine of His love. Now the definitive wedding has taken place. The law of supreme and sincere love (1:17) shown on the cross, echoed in His commandment, “love one another as I have loved you” (13:34), is poured out into the hearts of believers by the Spirit. The divine plan of love is fulfilled in Jesus in the outpouring of blood and water (19:28-30). Now is the time for men and women to realize its fulfillment. In this fulfillment, we shall be aided by the Spirit that flows from the pierced side of Jesus, transforming us into a new humanity, capable of loving and of becoming children of God (1:12).

d) The witness of the Evangelist and of Scripture:

With the scene of Jesus pierced on the cross, the Evangelist gives proof of a great and solemn witness so that all who listen to him might come to believe. This final and supreme manifestation will form the foundation of the faith of future disciples. We should note that only here does the Evangelist address his readers with the plural “you”: “so that you may believe as well.”
Jesus’ pierced side on the cross is the great sign to which all the people mentioned throughout the Gospels converge, but above all, all the readers of today, to whom it is given to understand the full meaning of Jesus’ existence. The passage concerning the pierced side is, for the Evangelist, the key that explains the giving of oneself for the salvation of humanity. Even if such a sign may seem paradoxical to the modern reader, in God’s plan it becomes the manifestation of His saving power. Could not God have chosen another sign of His saving love? Why did He choose the sign of a man sentenced to death and death on a cross? What image of God do we see in this sign? God manifests Himself solely in generous love capable of giving life.

e) A few questions:

- What place does the contemplation of the pierced heart of Jesus hold in your personal prayer? Do you allow yourself to be involved in the symbols of blood and water that express the mysterious gift of God to you and to humanity?
- Do you see that God can and does allow evil and sin in order to give His gift of mercy to us? 
- How do you see your weaknesses? Do you see them as means of mercy, especially when you are ready to admit them? Do you not know that they may be instruments that God uses to evangelize your heart, to save you, to forgive you, and to give you new life to love in love?
- People who draw away from God, difficult young people, violence, hostility … often give rise to moans, discomfort, bitterness and skepticism within us. Have you ever thought that God may be saving people in their sins and beginning with their sins? Have you ever thought that so many men, women, young people who are in prison or in communities for drug addiction experience in those who help them a meeting with the Lord and thus feel loved and saved by Him?

3. ORATIO

a) Isaiah 12:2; 4cd; 5-6

Look, He is the God of my salvation:
I shall have faith and not be afraid,
for Yahweh is my strength and my song,
He has been my salvation.

Praise Yahweh,
invoke His name.
Proclaim His deeds to the people,
declare His name sublime.

Sing of Yahweh,
for His works are majestic,
make them known throughout the world.
Cry and shout for joy,
you who live in Zion,
For the Holy One of Israel is among you in His greatness.

b) Closing prayer:

At the end of this moment of listening to the Word, let us use the help of prayers that come from a loving and wise study of the Bible. Prayer begins with listening and leads to action with a pure heart and right conscience. The title of the prayer is “That I may love, Lord!” Is it an empty dream to imagine a united humanity, where all are glad to live with others and feel useful, understood and loved? How often people, yesterday, today and in the future, have had and will have such a dream, Lord! The need for unity and the desire for charity dwell in human nature. Love, the law that unites the universe, is the reason and vocation that You, Lord, entrust to everyone who comes to life. To live means to feel loved and to be able to love. When one feels lonely, empty, without love, it seems that life is worthless and colorless! How is it, then, Lord, that not all seek love, always, nor do they all live for others, nor are they capable of giving themselves? To give ourselves to each other means to transform the existence of the world into gift. Grant, Lord, that I may understand and live this wonderful vocation of love! (Lucio Renna)

4. CONTEMPLATIO

On earth, the knowledge we can have of God is divine silence. Through Lectio Divina our thirst for the Word is not quenched but is made more acute. St. Augustine said, “You find Him only to seek Him more avidly.” When a heart is seduced by the Word, it feels as if it were dying if the encounter were to be deferred. This is what Teresa of Avila experienced: “Muero porque no muero” (I die because I do not die). To initiate this moment of contemplation, I would like to quote three sayings of Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity. They are taken from a part entitled “ a hymn” to suffering, but we must not think that suffering was the Absolute in her life. Rather she says that we are called to “enter into the joy of the Lord.” The first thought is this: “Suffering is such a great thing, such a divine thing! It seems to me that if the Blessed in heaven could envy us one thing, they would envy us this treasure. It is such a powerful lever on the heart of the good God!” (Letter to Mrs. Angles, 14 August 1904). The second thought: “Suffering is a string that produces even sweeter sounds and she (the soul) likes to make it her instrument to move more deliciously the heart of God.” (Retreat on How to find heaven on earth). The last thought: «Nothing moves God’s heart like suffering. If we cannot desire or go to meet it, then at least we can accept the trials that God sends us. The more He loves a soul, the more He makes it suffer.” (Diary, 17 March 1889). Why is it that Blessed Elizabeth of the Trinity sees in suffering “such a great thing, such a divine thing that moves the heart of God?” It is the road taken by Christ. Christ’s Pasch, passion and death on the one hand and resurrection on the other are one as are concave and convex.

The institution of the Eucharist
The supreme power of love
Mark 14:12-31

1. Opening prayer

Lord Jesus, send Your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that You read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the Bible, You helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of your passion and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection.
Create in us silence so that we may listen to Your voice in Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May Your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, may experience the force of Your resurrection and witness to others that You are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of You, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed the Father to us and sent us Your Spirit. Amen.

2. Reading

a) A key to the reading:

Today, the feast of Corpus Christi, the Church places before us the scene of the Last Supper, the last meeting of Jesus with His disciples. This was a tense meeting, full of contradictions. Judas had already decided to betray Jesus (Mk 14:10). Peter had protested that he would not deny Him (Mk 14:30). Jesus knew all this. But He did not lose His serenity or His sense of friendship. Rather, it was precisely during this Last Supper that He instituted the Eucharist and realized the supreme sign of His love for them (Jn 13:1).

The four verses that describe the Eucharist (Mk 14:22-25) are part of a larger context (Mk 14:1-31). The verses that come before and after the Eucharist greatly help us to better understand the significance of Jesus’ action. Before the institution of the Eucharist, Mark speaks of the decision of the authorities to kill Jesus (Mk 1:1-2), of the act of fidelity of the anonymous woman who anoints Jesus in anticipation of His burial (Mk 14:3-9), of the betrayal pact of Judas (Mk 14:10-11), of the preparation for the Passover (Mk 14:12-16) and of the sign of the traitor (Mk 14:17-21). After the institution, there follows the foretelling of the flight by all (Mk 14:26-28) and the announcement that Peter would deny Him (Mk 14:29-31).

The liturgy of today cuts the text in pieces, but keeps the essential elements of the story of the institution of the Eucharist (Mk 14:12-16, 22-26). In our text we keep verses 17-21 and 27-31, which are omitted in the text of the Mass. In our commentary we limit ourselves to the text offered in the liturgy of the day. As we read, let us imagine we are with Jesus and the disciples in the room, partaking of the Last Supper, and let us seek to keep our attention on what strikes us most and what touches our hearts most.

b) A division of the text to help us with the reading:

Mark 14:12: The disciples want to know where to celebrate the Passover
Mark 14:13-15: Jesus tells them where and how to prepare for the Passover
Mark 14:16: The disciples do what Jesus tells them to do
Mark 14:17-21: The announcement of the betrayal of Judas
Mark 14:22-24: Jesus gives a new meaning to the bread and wine
Mark 14:25-26: The final words
Mark 14:27-31: The announcement of the dispersion of all and of the denial of Peter

c) Text:

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when they sacrificed the Passover lamb, his disciples said to him, “Where do you want us to go and prepare for you to eat the Passover?” He sent two of his disciples and said to them, “Go into the city and a man will meet you, carrying a jar of water. Follow him. Wherever he enters, say to the master of the house, ‘The Teacher says, “Where is my guest room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?”’ Then he will show you a large upper room furnished and ready. Make the preparations for us there.” The disciples then went off, entered the city, and found it just as he had told them; and they prepared the Passover.  When it was evening, he came with the Twelve. And as they reclined at table and were eating, Jesus said, “Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me, one who is eating with me.” They began to be distressed and to say to him, one by one, “Surely it is not I?” He said to them, “One of the Twelve, the one who dips with me into the dish. For the Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed. It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”  While they were eating, he took bread, said the blessing, broke it, and gave it to them, and said, “Take it; this is my body.” Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, and they all drank from it. He said to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which will be shed for many. Amen, I say to you, I shall not drink again the fruit of the vine until the day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” Then, after singing a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.  Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will have your faith shaken, for it is written:  ‘I will strike the shepherd,  and the sheep will be dispersed.’ But after I have been raised up, I shall go before you to Galilee.” Peter said to him, “Even though all should have their faith shaken, mine will not be.” Then Jesus said to him, “Amen, I say to you, this very night before the cock crows twice you will deny me three times.” But he vehemently replied, “Even though I should have to die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all spoke similarly.

3. A moment of prayerful silence

 that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.

4. Some questions

to help us in our personal reflection.

a) What does Jesus’ action mean when He breaks the bread saying, “Take and eat. This is My body which will be given up for you.” How does this text help us understand the Eucharist and His Real Presence in the Eucharist?
b) The scene seems very simple and straightforward to us thanks to the way it is written. Close your eyes and place yourself as one of the 12. Who do you think will betray Jesus? How would we interpret His words if we were there?
c) What is Jesus’ attitude towards Judas, who betrays Him, and towards Peter, who denies Him?
d) This event is very enlightening on the relationship between God, free will, evil in the world, Satan’s influence, and what is expected of us with the example of Jesus. How can all of this: evil, betrayal, and death be a consistent part of this great gift? Do I see these same factors at work in my life every day? Do I respond like Jesus to these events in my life?
e) Look into the mirror of the text, enter into your heart today and ask yourself: “Am I like Peter who denies? Am I like Judas who betrays? Am I like the twelve who keep a distance? Or am I like the anonymous woman who remained faithful (Mk 14:3-9)?”

5. For those who wish to go deeper into the text

a) The context:

We are in the room of the Last Supper. What happened over the last couple of days has heightened the tension between Jesus and the authorities. Jesus’ solemn entry into Jerusalem (Mk 11:1-11), the driving out of the money-changers at the temple (Mk 11:12-26), the discussions with the priests, the scribes and the elders (Mk 11:27 to 12:12), with the Pharisees and the Herodians (Mk 12:13-17), with the Sadducees (Mk 12:18-27), with the scribes (Mk 12:28-40), His reflections on the offerings of the rich and the poor (Mk 12:41-44), His announcement concerning the destruction of the Temple (Mk 13:1-3) and His discourse on the final judgment (Mk 13:4-37): all these things helped to increase the opposition of the authorities against Jesus. On the one hand we have the anonymous woman, a faithful disciple who accepted Jesus as Messiah and as crucified (Mk 14:2-9); on the other, we have the disciples who could not understand, and much less accept, the Cross, and who wanted to run away, deny and betray (Mk 14:17-21, 27-31). In the middle of this tense and menacing environment we have Jesus’ act of love, who gives Himself completely in the breaking of bread for His disciples.
In the 70’s, in Mark’s time, many Christians had refused, denied or betrayed their faith out of fear. And now they were asking themselves, “Have we broken our relationship with Jesus? Is it possible that He has broken His relationship with us? Is it possible for us to go back?” There was no clear answer. Jesus had not left anything in writing. It was by reflecting on what happened and remembering the love of Jesus that Christians gradually discovered the answer. As we shall see in the commentary, by the way Mark describes the Last Supper, he communicates the reply he discovered to these questions of the community, namely, that the welcome and love of Jesus are greater than the defeat and failure of the disciples. A return is always possible!

b) A commentary on the text:

Mark 14:12-16: Preparation for the Passover Supper.
In complete contrast with the anonymous disciple who anointed Jesus, Judas, one of the twelve, decided to betray Jesus and conspired with the enemies who promised him money (Mk 14:10-12). Jesus knows that He will be betrayed. Nevertheless, He seeks to fraternize with the disciples at the last supper. They must have spent a good bit of money to hire the “large upper room furnished with couches, all prepared” (Mk 14:15). Then, it being the eve of the Passover, the city was overcrowded with visitors. The population usually tripled. It was difficult to find a room to meet in.
On the night of the Passover, families came from all parts of the country, bringing with them their lamb for the sacrifice in the Temple and immediately after, each family celebrated the Passover Supper in the intimacy of the family and ate the lamb. The celebration of the Passover Supper was presided over by the father of the family. That is why Jesus presided at the ceremony and celebrated the Passover with His disciples, His new “family” (cf. Mk 3:33-35).
That “large upper room” stayed in the memory of the first Christians as the place of the first Eucharist and they gathered together at later times. They were together after the Ascension of the Lord Jesus (Acts 1:13); they were together when the Holy Spirit descended upon them on the day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1). It may have been in the same room that they met to pray when they were persecuted (Acts 4:23-31) or where Peter met with them after his liberation (Acts 12:12). Memory is concrete, connected to times and places of life.

Mark 14:22-26: The Eucharist is the act of supreme love.
The last meeting of Jesus with His disciples took place in the solemn atmosphere of the traditional celebration of the Passover. The contrast is very pronounced. On the one hand we have the disciples who feel insecure and do not understand what is going on. On the other hand we have Jesus, calm and master of the situation, presiding at the supper and breaking the bread, inviting His friends to partake of His body and blood. He does what He always prayed for: to give His life so that His friends might have life. This is the deep meaning of the Eucharist: to learn from Jesus to share oneself, to give oneself, without fear of the forces that threaten life. Life is stronger than death. Faith in the resurrection cancels the power of death.
After the supper, Jesus goes to the Garden with His friends and announces that all will abandon Him: They will flee or be scattered! But He already tells them: “ after My resurrection I shall go before you into Galilee!” They break their relationship with Jesus, but not Jesus with them! He goes on waiting for them in Galilee, where three years previously He had first called them. That is, the certainty of the presence of Jesus in the life of the disciple is stronger than abandonment or flight! Jesus goes on calling. He always calls! It is always possible to come back! This is the message of Mark to the Christians of the 70’s and for all of us.
The way Mark describes the Eucharist gives greater stress to the contrast between  Jesus’ action and His disciples’ attitude. Before His act of love, Jesus speaks of the betrayal of Judas (Mk 14:17-21) and, after the act of love, He speaks of the denial of Peter and of the flight of the disciples (Mk 14:26-31). He places emphasis on the unconditional love of Jesus who overcomes the betrayal, the denial, and the flight of His friends. It is the revelation of the gratuitous love of the Father! Anyone who experiences this love will say: “neither… the heights nor the depths, nor any created thing whatever, will be able to come between us and the love of God, known to us in Christ Jesus our Lord!” (Rm 8:39)

c) Further information:

* The celebration of the Passover in Jesus’ times

The Passover was the principal feast of the Jews. During this feast they commemorated their liberation from Egypt, which is at the origin of the people of God. But it was not just a simple recalling of the Exodus. The Passover was a door that opened once more every year so that the generations might have access to the same liberating action of God who, in the past, had given rise to His people. By the celebration of the Passover, each generation, each person, drew from the same spring from which their fathers in the past had drawn when they were liberated from slavery in Egypt. The celebration was like an annual rebirth.
In Jesus’ times, the celebration of the Passover was such that the participants might travel the same journey that was traveled by the people after their liberation from Egypt. For this to happen, the celebration took place with many symbols: bitter herbs, a roasted lamb, unleavened bread, a chalice of wine, and other symbols. During the celebration, the youngest son had to ask the father: “Dad, why is this night different from all other nights? Why are we eating bitter herbs? Why is the lamb roasted? Why is the bread unleavened?” And the father would answer with a free narration of past events: “The bitter herbs allow us to experience the hardness and bitterness of slavery. The cooked lamb, eaten in haste, recalls the speed of the divine liberating action. The unleavened bread is symbolic not being “puffed up” with pride or arrogance either. It also recalls the lack of time to prepare everything because of the speed of the divine action.” In fact, all yeast and yeast containing breads (Chametz) are to be removed from the house. This manner of celebrating the Passover, presided over by the father of the family, gave the presider freedom and creativity in the way he conducted the celebration.

* The Eucharist: The Passover celebrated by Jesus at the Last Supper

It was in order to celebrate the Passover of the Jews that Jesus, on the eve of His death, met with His disciples. It was His last meeting with them. That is why we call it the “Last Supper” (Mk 14:22-26; Mt 26:26-29; Lk 22:14-20). The many aspects of the Passover of the Jews continue to be valid for the celebration of the Passover of Jesus and form its background. They help us understand the whole significance of the Eucharist.
Taking advantage of the freedom that the ritual gave Him, Jesus gave new significance to the bread and wine. When He shared the bread He said, “Take and eat, this is My body given up for you.” When He shared the chalice of wine He said, “Take and drink, this is My blood shed for you and for many.” Finally, aware that this was the last meeting, the “last supper,” Jesus said, “I shall never drink wine any more until the day I drink new wine in the kingdom of God” (Mk 14:25). He thus united His commitment with the utopia of the Kingdom.
Eucharist means celebrating the memory of Jesus who gives His life for us, so that it might be possible for us to live in God and to have access to the Father. This is the deep meaning of the Eucharist: to make present in our midst, and to experience in our lives, Jesus who gives Himself in His death and resurrection.

* The celebration of the Eucharist among the early Christians

 Christians have not always succeeded in maintaining this ideal of the Eucharist. In the 50’s, Paul criticizes the community of Corinth that, in the celebration of the supper of the Lord, did the exact opposite because each one of you has his own supper first, and there is one going hungry while another is getting drunk (1Cor 11:20-22). Celebrating the Eucharist as a memorial of Jesus means taking on the plan of Jesus. It means assimilating the plan of Jesus. It means assimilating His life, shared completely, at the service of the lives of the poor.
At the end of the first century, the Gospel of John, rather than describe the rite of the Eucharist, describes how Jesus knelt down to render the lowest service of those times: washing feet. After rendering this service, Jesus does not say, “Do this in memory of Me” (as is said at the institution of the Eucharist in Lk 22:19; 1Cor 11:24), but He says, “Do as I have done to you” (Jn 13:15). Instead of ordering a repetition of the rite, the Gospel of John asks for attitudes of life that keep alive the memory of the gift that Jesus offers Himself without limits. The Christians of John’s community felt they needed to insist on the meaning of the Eucharist as service rather than as rite.

* A summary

To forget the richness of the Passover of the Jews when we celebrate the Eucharist is like tearing down the wall where the frame is hung. The richness of the celebration of the Passover, as it was celebrated in the Old Testament and in the times of Jesus, helps us deepen the meaning of the Eucharist and forestalls the sense of routine that trivializes everything. Summarizing what we have said, here are some points that may enrich our celebrations:
• Be aware of the oppression in which we live today - chewing bitter herbs
• Remember the liberation from oppression – the answers of the father to the questions of the son
• Experience the speed of the liberating force of God – cooked meat and unleavened bread
• Celebrate the Covenant; commit yourself once more – committing ourselves in eating the bread that Jesus offers
• Be thankful for the wonders of God towards us – acts of praise
• Rekindle faith, hope and love – encourage each other
• Remember what has already been achieved and what remains to be done – remember the things God has done for us
• Recreate the same gift that Jesus made of Himself – washing feet
• Live the passion, death and resurrection – of the constant mystery of life
• Practice communion, source of fraternity – acts of peace and help

For further knowledge

Read the Encyclical titled Mysterium Fidei  by Pope Paul VI on Christ, the Eucharist, and the Mass, which can be found at: http://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/encyclicals/documents/hf_p-vi_enc_03091965_mysterium.html

6. Praying with a Psalm: Psalm 16 (15)

The Lord is my share of the inheritance

Protect me, O God,
in You is my refuge.
To Yahweh I say,
“You are my Lord, my happiness is in none
of the sacred spirits of the earth.”
They only take advantage of all who love them.
People flock to their teeming idols.
Never shall I pour libations to them!
Never take their names on my lips.

My birthright, my cup is Yahweh;
You, You alone, hold my lot secure.
The measuring-line marks out for me a delightful place,
my birthright is all I could wish.
I bless Yahweh, who is my counselor,
even at night my heart instructs me.
I keep Yahweh before me always,
for with Him at my right hand,
nothing can shake me.

So my heart rejoices, my soul delights,
my body too will rest secure,
for You will not abandon me to Sheol.
You cannot allow Your faithful servant to see the abyss.
You will teach me the path of life,
unbounded joy in Your presence,
at Your right hand delight for ever.

7. Final Prayer

Lord Jesus, we thank You for the Word that has enabled us to understand better the will of the Father. May Your Spirit enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice what Your Word has revealed to us. May we, like Mary, Your mother, not only listen to but also practice the Word. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

Resurrection and mission
"I am with you always"
Matthew 28:16-20

1. Opening prayer

Lord Jesus, send your Spirit to help us to read the Scriptures with the same mind that you read them to the disciples on the way to Emmaus. In the light of the Word, written in the Bible, You helped them to discover the presence of God in the disturbing events of Your sentence and death. Thus, the cross that seemed to be the end of all hope became for them the source of life and of resurrection.

Create in us silence so that we may listen to Your voice in Creation and in the Scriptures, in events and in people, above all in the poor and suffering. May Your word guide us so that we too, like the two disciples from Emmaus, may experience the force of Your resurrection and witness to others that You are alive in our midst as source of fraternity, justice and peace. We ask this of You, Jesus, son of Mary, who revealed to us the Father and sent us Your Spirit. Amen.

2. Reading

a) A key to the reading:

The liturgy of Trinity Sunday uses the closing verses of Matthew's Gospel (Mt 28; 16-20). In the beginning of the Gospel, Matthew introduced Jesus as Immanuel, God with us (Mt 1:23). Here, in the last verse of his Gospel, Jesus communicates the same truth: "I am with you always" (Mt 28:20). This was the central point of the faith of the communities in the eighties (AD), and continues to be the central point of our faith. Jesus is the Immanuel, God with us. This is also the perspective for our adoration of the Most Blessed Trinity.

b) The text:

The eleven disciples went to Galilee, to the mountain to which Jesus had ordered them. When they all saw him, they worshiped, but they doubted. Then Jesus approached and said to them, "All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age."

3. A moment of prayerful silence

so that the Word of God may penetrate and enlighten our life.

4. Some questions

to help us in our personal reflection.

a) What drew your attention most in this text? Why?

b) What kind of image of Jesus does this text convey to us?

c) Is this the first point where Jesus says “make disciples of all nations” rather than just having been sent to the House of Israel? Why now?

d) Some translations use the phrase “they doubted” and others use “some doubted”. Does this make a difference in meaning or what we take away from it?

e) How is the mystery of the Trinity presented in this text?

f) In Acts 1:5, Jesus proclaims a baptism in the Holy Spirit. In Acts 2:38, Peter speaks of a baptism in the name of the Lord Jesus. Here the text speaks of a baptism in the name of the Father, and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. What is the difference among these three affirmations, or are they speaking of the same baptism?

h) What, exactly, is the mission that Jesus gives the Eleven? What is the mission of our communities today as disciples of Jesus? According to the text, where do we find strength and courage to fulfill our mission?

5. A key to the reading

to enter deeper into the theme.

i) The context:

Matthew writes for the Judeo-Christian communities of Syria and Palestine. They were criticized by the Jewish brethren who said that Jesus could not be the promised Messiah and therefore, their manner of living was wrong. Matthew tries to uphold their faith and helps them understand that Jesus is indeed the Messiah who came to fulfill the promises God made in the past through the prophets. A summary of Matthew's message to the communities is found in Jesus' final promise to the disciples, the subject of our meditation on this Trinity Sunday.

ii) Commentary on the text:

* Matthew 28:16: the first and last appearances of the risen Jesus to the Eleven disciples.

First, Jesus appears to the women (Mt 28:9) and, through the women, tells the men that they had to go to Galilee to see Him once more. It was in Galilee that they received their first call (Mt 4:12.18) and their first official mission (Mt 10:1-16). And it is there, in Galilee, that everything will begin again: a new call and a new mission! As in the Old Testament, important events always take place on the mountain, the Mountain of God.

* Matthew 28:17: Some doubted.

When the disciples see Jesus, they prostrate themselves before Him. This is a response of those who believe and welcome God's presence, even though it might surprise and be beyond human ability to comprehend. So, some doubt. The four Gospels emphasis the doubt and incredulity of the disciples when confronted with the resurrection of Jesus (Mt 28:17; Mk 16:11:13,14; Lk 24:11,24:37-38; Jn 20:25). This serves to show that the apostles were not naïve and encourages the communities of the eighties (AD) which still had doubts.

* Matthew 28:18: Jesus' authority.

"All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to Me". This is a solemn declaration very much like the other affirmation: "Everything has been entrusted to Me by My Father" (Mt 11:27). There are other similar affirmations by Jesus in John's Gospel: "Jesus knew that the Father had put everything into His hands" (Jn 13:3) and "All I have is yours, and all you have is Mine" (Jn 17:10). This same conviction of faith in Jesus appears in the canticles preserved in Paul's letters (Eph 1:3-14; Phil 2:6-11; Col 1:15-20). The fullness of divinity is manifested in Jesus (Col 1:19). This authority of Jesus, born of His oneness with the Father, is the basis for the mission that the disciples are about to receive as well as our faith in the Most Blessed Trinity.

* Matthew 28:19-20ª: The triple mission.

Jesus conveys a triple mission: (1) to make disciples of all nations, (2) to baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit and (3) to teach them to observe all the commands He gave them.

a) To become a disciple: The disciple lives with the master and thus learns from this daily living together. The disciple forms a community with the master and follows him, seeking to imitate his way of living and of living together in obedience. The disciple is someone who does not place absolute value on his/her manner of thinking, but is always open to learning. A disciple is also active. It is not a passive role, like watching television. Like the "servant of Yahweh", the disciple strains his/her ear to listen to what God has to say (Is 50:4).

b) To baptize in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit: The Good News of God that Jesus brought to us is the revelation that God is Father and that thus, we are all brothers and sisters. Jesus lived and obtained this new experience of God for us through His death and resurrection. This is the new Spirit that He spread over His followers on the day of Pentecost. In those days, to be baptized in someone's name meant to publicly assume the commitment to observe the proclaimed message. Thus, to be baptized in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit meant the same as being baptized in the name of Jesus (Acts 2:38) and the same as being baptized in the Holy Spirit (Acts 1:5). It meant, and still means, publicly assuming the commitment to live the Good News that Jesus brought, to reveal through prophetic brotherhood that God is Father, to struggle to overcome divisions and separations among people, and to affirm that all are children of God.

c) To teach to observe all the commandments that Jesus gave us: We do not teach new doctrines nor do we teach our own doctrines, but we reveal the face of the God whom Jesus revealed to us. It is from this revelation that comes all the doctrine passed on to us by the apostles.

* Matthew 28:20b: God is with us always.

This is the great promise, the synthesis of all that was revealed from the beginning. It is the summary of the name of God, the summary of the whole of the Old Testament, of all the promises, of all the desires of the human heart. It is the final summary of the Good News of God passed on to us in Matthew's Gospel.

iii) The history of the revelation of the Name of God, One and Three:

When one hears a name for the first time, it is just a name. The more we live with the person the more the name becomes a synthesis of that person. The longer we live with the person, the greater the significance and value of the name. In the Bible, God has many names and titles that express what He means or what He can mean for us. God's personal name is YHWH. We have already come across this name in the second narration of creation in Genesis (Gen 2:4). The deep meaning of this name (the result of long living together through the centuries, which also went through the "dark night" of the crisis of the exile in Babylon) is described in the book of Exodus on the occasion of the calling of Moses (Ex 3:7-15). Living with God through the centuries endowed this name of God with meaning and depth.

God said to Moses: "Go and free my people" (cf. Ex 3:10). Moses is afraid and justifies himself by feigning humility: "Who am I?" (Ex 3:11). God answers: "I shall be with you" (Ex 3:12). Even though he knows that God will be with him in his mission of liberating the people oppressed by Pharaoh, Moses tries to excuse himself again: he asks God's name. God replies by simply reaffirming what He had already said, "I AM WHO AM". In other words, God is saying I am certainly with you and you cannot doubt this. The text then goes on: "You are to say to the people of Israel ‘I AM has sent me to you’!" The text concludes, "This is My name for all time: by this name I shall be invoked for all generations to come" (Ex 3:14-15).

This brief text, which is deeply theological, expresses the deepest conviction of faith of the people of God: God is with us. He is Immanuel, an intimate, friendly, liberating presence. All this is contained in the four letters of the name YHWH, which we pronounce as Yahweh: the One who is in our midst. This is the same certainty that Jesus communicates to His disciples in His last promise on the mountain: "I am with you always, yes, to the end of time" (Mt 28:20). The Bible is insistent on this one thing: the Name of God, that is, the presence of God in our midst expressed in the name Yahweh: "He is in our midst". In the Old Testament alone, the name Yahweh appears more than 7000 times! It is the wick of the candle around which gathers the wax of the stories.

Something tragic happened (and is still happening) when, in later centuries during the exile in Babylonia, fundamentalism, moralism, and ritualism gradually presented that living, friendly, present and loved face as a rigid and severe figure, unfittingly hung on the walls of sacred scripture, a figure that aroused fear and placed a distance between God and His people. Thus during the last centuries before Christ, the name YHWH could not be pronounced. Instead, the word Adonai was used, a translation of Kyrios, which means Lord. A cult centered on the observance of the laws, a cult centered on the temple in Jerusalem and a racially closed system, created a new kind of slavery that stifled the mystical experience and withheld contact with the living God. The Name that should have been like transparent glass which revealed the Good News of the friendly and attractive face of God, became a mirror that reflected only the face of the one who looked into it. A tragic deceit of self-contemplation! They no longer drank at the source, but drank water bottled by the doctors of the law. To this day we go on drinking water kept in storage, rather than water from the source.

By His death and resurrection, Jesus did away with small-mindedness (Col 2:14), broke the mirror of idolatrous self-contemplation, and opened a new window where God shows His face and draws us to Himself. Citing a canticle of the community, St. Paul says in his letter to the Philippians, "God raised Him high and gave Him the name which is above all other names so that all beings in the heavens, on earth and in the underworld, should bend the knee at the name of Jesus and that every tongue should acclaim Jesus Christ as Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil 2:9-11). On the day of Pentecost, Peter ended his first speech by revealing what the great discovery of the experience of the resurrection meant for him, "Let all the people know: God has constituted Jesus Christ Lord". Jesus who died and rose again, is the revelation that God, the same as always, is and continues to be YHWH (Adonai, Kyrios, Lord), an intimate presence, friendly and liberating in the midst of his people, conqueror of every barrier, even death. With the coming of Jesus, and in Jesus, the God of the forebears, who seemed so distant and severe, gained the features of a good Father, full of kindness. Abba! Our Father! For us Christians, the most important thing is not to confess that Jesus is God, but to witness that God is Jesus! God reveals Himself in Jesus. Jesus is the key to a new reading of the Old Testament. He is the new name of God.

This new revelation of the name of God in Jesus is the fruit of the completely free gift of the love of God, of His faithfulness to His Name. This faithfulness can be ours too, thanks to the complete and radical obedience of Jesus: "Obedient unto death, death on the cross" (Phil 2:8). Jesus identified Himself completely with the will of God. He says, "What the Father has told Me is what I speak" (Jn 12:50). "My food is to do the will of the one who sent Me" (Jn 4:34). That is why Jesus is the completely transparent revelation of the Father, "To have seen Me is to have seen the Father!" (Jn 14:9). In Him dwelt "the fullness of the divinity" (Col 1:19). "The Father and I are one" (Jn 10:30). Such obedience is not easy. Jesus went through difficult moments when He exclaimed: "Let this chalice pass me by!" (Mk 14:36). As the letter to the Hebrews says, "He offered up prayer and entreaty, aloud and in silent tears to the One who had the power to save Him out of death" (Heb 5:7). He overcame by means of prayer. That is why He became full revelation and manifestation of the Name, of what the Name means for us. Jesus' obedience is not a disciplinary one, but a prophetic one. It is an action that reveals the Father. Through obedience, chains were broken and the veil that hid the face of God was torn. A new way to God opened to us. He earned for us the gift of the Spirit when we ask the Father for the Spirit in His name in prayer (Lk 11:13). The Spirit is living water earned for us by His resurrection (Jn 7:39). It is through the Spirit that He teaches us, revealing the face of God the Father (Jn 14:26; 16:12-13).

6. Psalm 145 (144)

Jesus establishes the Kingdom

I will extol Thee, my God and King,
and bless Thy name for ever and ever.
Every day I will bless Thee,
and praise Thy name for ever and ever.

Great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised,
and His greatness is unsearchable.
One generation shall laud Thy works to another,
and shall declare Thy mighty acts.
On the glorious splendor of Thy majesty,
and on Thy wondrous works, I will meditate.
Men shall proclaim the might of Thy terrible acts,
and I will declare Thy greatness.
They shall pour forth the fame of Thy abundant goodness,
and shall sing aloud of Thy righteousness.
The Lord is gracious and merciful,
slow to anger and abounding in steadfast love.
The Lord is good to all,
and His compassion is over all that He has made.
All Thy works shall give thanks to Thee,

O Lord, and all Thy saints shall bless Thee!
They shall speak of the glory of Thy kingdom,
and tell of Thy power,
to make known to the sons of men Thy mighty deeds,
and the glorious splendor of Thy kingdom.
Thy kingdom is an everlasting kingdom,
and Thy dominion endures throughout all generations.
The Lord is faithful in all His words, and gracious in all His deeds.
The Lord upholds all who are falling,
and raises up all who are bowed down.
The eyes of all look to Thee,
and Thou givest them their food in due season.
Thou openest Thy hand,
Thou satisfy the desire of every living thing.

The Lord is just in all His ways,
and kind in all His doings.
The Lord is near to all who call upon Him,
to all who call upon Him in truth.
He fulfills the desire of all who fear Him,
He also hears their cry, and saves them.
The Lord preserves all who love Him;
but all the wicked He will destroy.
My mouth will speak the praise of the Lord,
and let all flesh bless His holy name for ever and ever.

7. Final Prayer

Lord Jesus, we thank for the Word that has enabled us to understand better the will of the Father. May Your Spirit enlighten our actions and grant us the strength to practice that which Your Word has revealed to us. May we, like Mary, Your mother, not only listen to but also practice the Word. You who live and reign with the Father in the unity of the Holy Spirit forever and ever. Amen.

by John Keating, O.Carm. 

Looking at formation within the Order today the picture is indeed a positive one. This is not to say that there are not problems. In the older provinces in Europe, the United States and Australia, the numbers of those joining the Order are small, but across the continents of Asia, Africa and South America we see an expansion that is bringing with it new life and many vocations. Following the General Chapter of 2007, the General Council set up a new international formation commission. The members are John Keating, Councillor General, Mario Alfarano, Secretary, Quinn Conners (PCM), Günter Benker (GerS), Desiderio García Martínez (Arag), Giampiero Molinari (Ita), Dionysius Kosasih (Indo), Romauldo Borges de Macedo (GerS-Par) and Vitalis Benza (Hib-Zimb).

The commission is the guiding force behind the vision and direction of the formation policy within the Order today. It has attempted to prioritize the issues relating to formation for the years ahead. These they have identified as Carmelite community lifestyle, vocational promotion, the training of formation personnel and intercultural formation within an international Order. Initially the commission examined the recommendations regarding formation that came from the General Chapter. The first task of the commission was to prepare a series of formation courses for the six-year term of this Council. A special meeting of the commission took place in 2008 to examine the course methodology to be used during these courses. With the help of the Prior General and Professor Donna Orsuto (Gregorian University, Rome) a mystagogical approach was adopted “as a means of deepening the transformative experience” of the participants. A course for students in initial formation then took place in the Holy Land, applying this theory, in July and August of 2009. There were just over 40 participants who spent one week on Mount Carmel and a second week in Jerusalem. Members of the formation commission gave presentations on key Carmelite topics and the guide for the visit to key locations was Fr. Alexander Vella, O.Carm. (Mel).

An International Course for Carmelite Formators from around the world took in Camocim de São Félix, Brazil from 1st to 15th August 2010. The two-week course provided an opportunity for the 69 participants to engage in a common reflection on the Ratio Institutionis Vitae Carmelitanae (RIVC). There were four main areas of discussion: the roles of formator and formandi; the interior spiritual journey; human development and the vows; internationality, inculturation and fraternity. Principal speakers were: Frs. Desiderio García Martinez (Arag), Michael Plattig (GerS), Quinn Conners (PCM) and Carlos Mesters (Flum). A paper from Charlò Camilleri (Mel) was read for the participants. There were also a number of special topics addressed by Frs. John Keating (Curia), Francisco de Sales Alencar (Pern), Albertus Herwanta (Curia), Giampiero Molinari (Ita) and Raúl Maraví (Curia).

In line with the Order’s Constitutions (no. 129) the commission began a consultation process within the Order regarding the updating of the RIVC by sending a questionnaire to all provincial, commissaries, general delegates and their formation personnel in October in 2008. Both the commission members and a small sub-committee then drafted some new articles for inclusion in the new edition of the RIVC. There was a common feeling expressed in the responses to the questionnaire that only small changes should be made to the existing text. Formators in Camocim has the opportunity to look at the changes and make suggestions.

Two further courses for on-going formation will take place in 2011 and 2012. The first in 2011 will take place in Spain in August “In the footsteps and John and Teresa” and a further course will take place in the Holy Land in 2012.

The crucial issues facing formation in the Order today relate to: the training of formation personnel; the role of the formation community in the formation process in line with the RIVC (37 & 55); that all in formation learn at least one of the official languages of the Order; the emerging importance of the pre-novitiate as solid preparation for the novitiate and the religious life; the promotion of higher studies relating to our history, spirituality and charism; and finally the international aspect of formation within a world-wide, multicultural community.

For this reason, at the Council of Province in 2009 a strategic plan for international cooperation on formation was presented by the commission to the provincials, and it received a positive response. International cooperation is now beginning to take place especially with regard to novitiate formation.