Reflection for Wednesday of Holy Week
The Liturgy today focuses on Judas’ betrayal of Jesus, a sober reminder that we are at the threshold of the Paschal Mystery of our salvation, which will unfold in the coming days of the Triduum.
But as we turn our attention toward the Triduum, we monks are aware that most people will not be able to participate in person in the liturgical celebrations of Holy Thursday, Good Friday and the Easter Vigil. Even our celebration at Conception this year will be impoverished by the absence of our seminarians and guests. Last Sunday at Vigils, we sang a canticle from the prophet Daniel which was a consolation to me in this situation, and perhaps it will be for you as well. The passage is from Daniel 3: 38-41.
Daniel was among the Jews exiled to Babylon, far from Jerusalem and its temple. In his canticle, he acknowledged that they were not able to offer sacrifices in the temple as God had commanded them to do. Daniel prayed:
And in our day there is no prince, prophet or leader,
no holocaust, sacrifice, oblation, or incense,
no place to offer first fruits before you and find mercy.
However, despite not being able to offer sacrifice in the temple, there was something available to them to show their sincere love and worship for God.
But with contrite soul and humble spirit
may we be accepted
As though with holocausts of rams and bulls,
and as with thousands of fattened lambs.
So may our sacrifice be in your presence today,
as we follow you wholeheartedly;
For those who trust in you
will not be put to shame.
And now we follow you with all our heart;
we fear you and we seek your face.
Although they missed deeply being able to pray in the temple and offer sacrifices at Passover to commemorate together with their fellow Jews the mercy of God who saved them from slavery in Egypt, there was another kind of sacrifice they could still offer: following God wholeheartedly, trusting him and following him with all one’s heart. Instead of offering up rams, bullocks, and fattened lambs, they would offer up themselves to God.
That is true for us as well. We are not able to celebrate in person the great liturgies of the Triduum; we are like the exiles in Babylon. How we will miss that! But we are not restrained from offering the best gift we can give God: the gift of our faith, our trust, and our love. May that faith and love be expressed in patience, kindness, and hope. What a great offering to God that would be this year! And when we are able to celebrate the riches of these great liturgies again, let us not fail to also offer the patience, kindness, and hope that marked our poverty.
For Reflection: How have I experienced the exodus from Egypt, the way of the cross, or rising from the dead in my life?
Reflection by Abbot Benedict Neenan, OSB
Posted in Lenten Resources