TUESDAY OF HOLY WEEK - Gospel (John 13:21-33. 36-38) - THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

“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.” (Jn 13:38)

FIRST READING - 49:1-6

A reading from the Book of Isaiah

Hear me, O islands,

listen, O distant peoples.

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.

Though I thought I had toiled in vain,

and for nothing, uselessly, spent my strength,

Yet my reward is with the LORD,

my recompense is with my God.

For now the LORD has spoken

who formed me as his servant from the womb,

That Jacob may be brought back to him

and Israel gathered to him;

And I am made glorious in the sight of the LORD,

and my God is now my strength!

It is too little, he says, for you to be my servant,

to raise up the tribes of Jacob,

and restore the survivors of Israel;

I will make you a light to the nations,

that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

GOSPEL OF THE DAY - 13:21-33, 36-38

From the Gospel according to John

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."

TUESDAY OF HOLY WEEK - Gospel (John 13:21-33. 36-38)

THE WORD OF GOD FOR EVERYONE

Dear People of God,

Today’s Word of God reminds us: God is almighty and holy; in Him there is no stain of sin. In God, there is always joy, happiness, and perfect peace. Yet, in today’s Gospel, we hear that Jesus’ soul was sorrowful and troubled when He knew that His close disciples would betray Him.

Jesus has two natures: the divine nature of God and the human nature of man. Why did He bring His divine nature into a human body? And for whom? It was because of His immense love for humanity. Out of that love, He came down to earth in human form, enduring sorrow, humiliation, condemnation, suffering, and even death in order to redeem the sins of mankind. He loved mankind to the utmost. Yet the human heart remains indifferent—failing to recognize Him, failing to give thanks, and instead, choosing to betray Him.

That betrayal came from among His closest disciples—specifically, Judas Iscariot and Peter. Jesus foresaw Judas’ betrayal, and His soul was deeply saddened and troubled. No words can fully express the sadness He felt.

Besides Judas, who betrayed his Master, there was also Peter, who denied Him. Peter was Jesus' most beloved disciple—the one Jesus entrusted to be the leader among his brothers, the one who swore he would sacrifice his life for his Master. But when Jesus, his Master, was being arrested, condemned, beaten, spat upon, and was about to be executed by the cruel soldiers, the very disciple He trusted the most was the first to deny even knowing Him. Jesus foresaw Peter’s denial, and His heart was filled with sorrow.

Today, God is still present among us. He continues to be saddened and troubled when He sees humanity drifting further away from Him—living in sin, chasing after passions, and disobeying His commandments. People are falling deeper into sin, caught in the traps and temptations of Satan. Still, God loves us and continues to call us: to Repent. Renounce our sins. Change our lives. Abandon the path of darkness. Return to God and make peace with Him. Make reparations for the sins committed in weakness that have wounded His heart.

-Do not drive more thorns into His head, or nails into His hands and feet. Do not pierce His side again with a spear through our sins and indifference.

-Let us give thanks to God always—for His immense love, for humbling Himself to take on a human form, to suffer and die so that we might be saved from sin and death, and receive the gift of eternal life.

Thanks be to God. Amen.

15h00 Ngày 15-04-2025 Kinh Nguyện Lòng Thương Xót Chúa - Đường Vào Thiên Đàng