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Today, the entire Christian world has fallen silent. The bells do not ring, and we all remember the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. And yet today, we are not quiet. Through devotion, we experience again and again the events that culminate in Christ’s exclamation from his cross: „It is finished“ (Jn 19,30). 

Death was destroyed on this cross of his. This is where human malice, human egoism, and man’s contempt for man, which leads to murder and genocide, stopped. Christ, who did not take offense at this cross, but accepted it out of love for the Father, rose from the dead on the third day, destroyed the power of death, and showed us a way out of the unhappy situation. He who was blameless, who did not commit any evil, like a sheep led to the slaughter, said nothing, did not open his mouth to say: look how you lie, I am innocent, I didn’t do anything wrong, why are you torturing me? The apostle Peter wanted to defend him with the sword, but Jesus said to him: Hide that sword! Don’t you believe that my Father, if He wanted to defend me, could not send angels to protect me? Please put down your sword, for he who fights with the sword will perish with the sword.

Jesus Christ allowed that our injustice, that our sin, that the sin of his generation, egoism, representatives of the politics of the time, captured him and brought him to the cross. Jesus Christ took this egoism on his body. And what happened? This Jesus, who was not saved by the Roman justice represented by Pilate, nor the Jewish piety expressed by love for the Torah, this Jesus Christ was resurrected on the third day by God and made Lord. This Jesus Christ is God; that is the way to love and die. That is love that goes to the cross. And what do we think will save our marriages, our relationships? Who will lead us out of our crises and delusions? The justice of this world, which only frees the innocent and therefore gives us a thousand righteous causes, how to kill an unborn child and not be a murderer? Or perhaps false piety, which, to keep the law, eventually leads to hypocrisy and Pharisaism and puts us in the role of judges?

I know, choosing the cross in your life – even today, as in the time of Jesus Christ – is a complete madness for many and an offense for some sincere-minded people. Pilate also placed Barabbas before the people together with Jesus Christ, and the people who loved the Torah and kept the Law asked to free Barabbas, while they asked for death for Christ. Pilate represented law, and Barabbas represented human justice, because he fought for the freedom of his nation, and at the same time, an innocent person died.

That’s why Christ says, „Take your cross“. What does that mean? If you are destroyed by the sins of your wife, or man, or colleague at work, or you cannot accept the situations set for you by this society, choose Jesus Christ and his path today. Only in this attitude of Jesus will the sin that divides us be destroyed. Only from that cross of Jesus will a new life come, restoring our relationships and giving us the strength to start anew. The righteousness of this world has already buried many marriages, destroyed friendships, and set people against each other, for this world has no power to conquer sin. Sin was destroyed only on the cross of Jesus Christ. Let us allow today through this word that the sins of others on our cross, which we want to receive together with the cross of Christ, will stop. 

„O, cross venerable! You are the glory of the believers and support of the suffering, the strength of the apostles, and the protector of the righteous. You are the salvation of all saints. Moses already depicted you when he opened his hands and, with your help, overcame Amalek. All creation rejoices joyfully when it sees you exalted, because by doing so it glorifies Christ, who in his disproportionate goodness through you has gathered all the scattered.

In monasteries where monks or religious people live, it is a good custom for all monastery members to take turns doing official work, such as preparing food, washing dishes, or taking care of the cleanliness of the premises. Young and old, ordinary and introduced. Years ago, I was a young priest in Frankfurt, Germany. They accommodated us in a dormitory near the college run by the Jesuits. It went without saying that we sat at the same table with different people during breakfast or lunch, often with older professors who sometimes served us. There used to be many of us in the seminary for future priests; we ate in the standard dining room, but the superiors and professors did not sit with us.

On Mandy Thursday, we read from the Gospel of John every year about the last supper that Jesus celebrated with his disciples. He sat at the table with his disciples and performed a service before dinner, which was reserved for male and female servants: he washed his friends’ feet. In some larger churches today, foot washing is part of the St. Mass. People whose feet are to be washed are washed in advance, and their best clothes are worn. The ritual is lovely, but it’s more about the game than the service. Jesus washed his dirty feet.

We should notice the connection between this service and what we call the Sacrament of the Altar, St. Mass, St. Reception. In the Middle Ages, all European people were Christians, but society was divided into privileged and subject, rich and poor. The church was split into clerics, lay people, priests, and ordinary believers. At St. communion was only attended by priests, the others only exceptionally, they even had to give it to them by order, at least on Easter. At that time, respect for the St. altar in the form of obeisance. St. Host was worn on the pole as a banner during the procession. However, almost no one received the sacrament. The understanding of what it is about has been lost. The awareness of the connection between Jesus’ actions and the church’s actions has been lost.

It is right to bow before the St. altar, the holy host, but we cannot see it as sacred. St. guests is part of the holy event, the holy event. What is that sacred event? The central prayer we read at Mass, he expresses it with the words: „He, before voluntarily going to death, took the bread and gave thanks, broke it and gave it to his disciples.“ Jesus’ holy event was his inner setting to live for God’s kingdom, serve the world’s salvation, and give everything, including his own life, for these goals. That is why Jesus told the disciples that he gives them bread and wine, his body and blood. Finally, he said to them: Do it in memory of me!

What does it mean to do something in memory of Jesus? Maybe we have to read St. Mass, wash our feet, or even go to death? Yes, we should read St. Mass, but we cannot celebrate it without a genuine willingness to serve each other and give our lives for ourselves. Dining together, creating closeness, mutual service, and a desire to give life for each other were inseparable attitudes and activities for Jesus. However, for some Christians, including those attending church, these are separate activities. Although we have been together for some time, we have not become our own. We are together as people who, for example, get on the bus. Such people have common goals in something, a common direction of travel. However, they do not feel co-responsible for driving or for fellow passengers. The driver or the transport company is responsible for driving the bus. It is a great responsibility and service that does not transform anyone. People get in and out and don’t care more about themselves.

The St. Mass, the memory of Jesus’ dinner, receiving God’s word, and the St. bread are actions with much higher goals than a safe bus ride. If we profess Jesus, it is not enough to greet him, it is not enough to just bow before his image and the sacrament – a sign of his holy presence. If we profess Jesus, we want to understand and be transformed by him to act in his memory. Then our ceremonies, prayers, and speeches will not be just a nice game like washing and scented feet. Pope Francis is not in the habit of washing the feet of twelve venerable men when celebrating the memory of Jesus’ last supper. Today he went to a prison for women. Some Christians with weaker judgment say, What’s the point? They’re evil women, and a number of them aren’t believers… The Pope isn’t going there to praise them for the sins (for which they are in prison). It goes to show that we Christians care about other people and that we don’t think that we are better. He wants to show that we should serve and share what we have received well in life, and try to touch the human heart so that at least a small gap opens up in it, through which God’s grace will enter.

How are we together today? How do we start celebrating the Easter holidays? Are we together on a bus or as close people, transformed by Jesus into brothers and sisters, even with sinners? Let’s pray for ourselves that we become truly the family of Jesus, although different yet equal, mutually serving and once fully sacrificing ourselves in Jesus’ memory!

The prophecy of Isaiah that we have heard is about the Messiah, the Redeemer. Still, it is also a prophecy about the people of Israel, about God’s people: we can say that it is a prophecy about every one of us. The prophecy emphasizes that the Lord chose his servant from the womb: he says it twice. His servant was selected from the very beginning, from birth or even before birth. God’s people and each of us were chosen before birth. Not one of us has come into the world by chance or accident. Everyone has some purpose, some free lot, much election by God. I was born with the lot of being a child of God and a servant of God, with the task of serving and building. And that from the womb.

Yahweh’s servant Jesus served until death: it seemed a defeat, but it was a way of serving. And this highlights the way of service we must embrace in our lives. To serve is to give of yourself, to give yourself to others. To serve is not to demand benefits for each of us who do not serve. To serve is glory; and the glory of Christ is to serve to the point of giving up oneself, to the point of death, death on the cross. Jesus is a servant of Israel. God’s people are servants, and when they have moved away from this attitude of service, they are apostate people: they move away from the vocation that God has given them. And when each of us moves away from this vocation to serve, we move away from God’s love. And we build our lives on other loves, often idolatrously.

He chose us from our mother’s womb. There are lows in life: each of us is a sinner and can fall and has fallen. The only exceptions are the Virgin Mary and Jesus: we have all fallen and sinned. What is essential, however, is the attitude before God, who chose me, who anointed me a servant; it is the attitude of a sinner who can ask for forgiveness, just like Peter, who at first swears: “No, Lord, I will never deny you, no way!” – but after the cock crows, he cries. Regrets. That is the way of the servant: when he slips, when he falls, he asks for forgiveness.

On the contrary, when the servant cannot understand that he has fallen, when passion takes hold of him to such an extent that it leads him to idolatry, opens his heart to Satan, enters into the night, and this is what happened to Judas. Let us think today of Jesus, the Servant of the faithful in ministry. His vocation is to serve, even to the point of death, namely death on the cross. Let us think of each of us, a part of the people of God: we are servants, our vocation is to serve, not to benefit from our place in the Church.

Servants mostly obey orders, are subjects, and are often oppressed. They must be perfect in everything and fulfill all the wishes of their master… However, God thinks differently about his servants. He doesn’t want us to serve Him in one piece. He wants to win us over.

Furthermore, he doesn’t want us to be His slaves. First, she wants to snuggle us up, like a mother wants her child. He longs to hold us in his arms, to bandage our wounds, because he chose us and has a crush on us.

However, we often confuse Him with some strict policeman who watches our every move. We think he only wants performance from us, good deeds, and 100% perfection, and then maybe he will notice and help us. We don’t know… Or we’re afraid to accept His love – just like that. We often want to deserve it and do everything to please Him and prove that we are not that bad. However… We don’t have to. He loves us after all. 

He loves you because you ARE and not because of WHAT you do. Let Him. Let Him love you and run away from Him, even if you have messed up many things and failed. He always looks at you the same way. You are no failure for Him… You no longer have to compete with anyone. To compare yourself with no one. You are precious in His eyes, so be good to yourself and don’t underestimate yourself anymore. HE loves you. You are His beloved child. Don’t forget it!

Prayer: Lord, You are in love with us. You love us endlessly. We ask You for grace so that we seek love only from You and do not wander around this empty world. Amen.

Questions to ponder: Do I allow God to love me? How could I avoid worrying about what I messed up and failed at? I believe God longs for me because I AM, not because of WHAT I do for this world.

Activity: Try to come before the Lord today. Find a quiet place, take a pen and paper, and write a Letter of Forgiveness in your own words – to yourself. Give the Lord all your failures. He forgives them and looks at you with love. He only wants one thing – that you, too, forgive yourself and accept yourself as you are, even with your weaknesses. 

As we approach the feast of Easter, we strive for a greater connection with God, through prayer, repentance, contrition, and an end to sin. There can be a temptation here: when progress is made, and we rid ourselves of grievous sins in confession, we cease our efforts. We stop struggling with the little sins, not realizing that they, too, may be the reason for our unfruitfulness. But the challenge is clear: “Cast away from yourselves all your sins, says the Lord” (Eze 18:31).

One successful farmer started by buying land, mostly just pasture. Turning them into fertile arable land was very difficult. It was no problem to remove the boulders that were on the land. There was no problem with the larger rocks either. The problem only arose after the first sloughing. When he looked at the plowed area, he could see that the ground was covered with small stones everywhere. But he didn’t give up. He and his wife set about picking. For days, they collected small rocks. Then he sowed for the first time. The following year, when sloughing, many tiny stones appeared again. They picked them all again. And so on for years to come. Today, this particular plot of land is one of the most fertile. Removing the little sins, weaknesses, and habits can seem never-ending. But the result is always a beautiful and holy soul that yields much spiritual harvest.

Cast away from you all your sins, says the Lord, and renew your heart and spirit (Eze 18:31) . Now is the time to meditate on Christ’s suffering, his love for us, when he conquered death and sin to redeem us. Let us renew our hearts and spirits to enjoy the gift of Christ’s redemption.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, give me strength today to fight even the more minor things that cause separation from You. Help me maintain inner peace and discernment in everything I do. May today be, once again, an opportunity for me to renew my heart and spirit. I pray that I may keep only good things in my heart. Amen.

Questions for reflection. Which are the small stones that I still need to pick up? What “new” way of renewing my heart will I still choose before Easter?

The prophet Jeremiah lived in the 6th century BC, when idolatry flourished. He predicted God’s punishment and therefore had many enemies. They humiliated him. They cut to his statements so they could trip him up. Furthermore, they also relied on the work of whistleblowers. Even those who lived in friendship with him took care of his fall. The prophet’s situation is described by the statement: Horror from all sides! In this situation, Jeremiah confidently surrenders himself to God, who has remained a powerful support. To him, he entrusts the solution to his dispute. God will thwart the plots of the enemies. They wanted to vilify the prophet, but shame will overtake them. The prophet’s trust is so strong that he calls for the glorification of God for delivering the poor man from the hands of criminals. Plots against Jesus › Jn 10, 31-42. The prophet Jeremiah is a type of Jesus. His enemies also plotted against him. When he confirmed his unity with God, referring to his deeds, they wanted to catch him and stone him. Jesus got out of their hands, because his hour had not yet come. We can experience suffering in the same way. We do not observe pitfalls, humiliation, slander, or name-calling around us. Let us entrust it to God, who is a righteous Judge. Let’s trust and entrust ourselves to God’s protection. The prophet Jeremiah teaches us to glorify God in situations of suffering. To thank him for setting us free. We will receive even greater gifts if we do this with great confidence.