Jesus steps into the ring. (Monday of Holy Week)

Today is called the Monday of Holy Week.  The liturgy of this week is so important that even if there are feasts of any saints they fall to the side.  Celebration of the sacraments of both Baptism and Confirmation are all forbidden - so that pride of place is the passion of our Creator, the humble Son of God.

And the beginning of this unfolds before us today with today’s entrance antiphon from Psalm 34: Contend, O Lord, with my contenders; fight those who fight me.  Take up your buckler and shield; arise in my defence, Lord, my mighty help.  It’s scary because Jesus is not fighting anyone - the way the antiphon is worded, you’d think he’s about to enter a medieval joust.  And yet, as we see in the Gospel, in fact he is in the very thick of public testings and attempted trippings up. The testing is even more scary today as it reaches it crooked hand into the very dining room, the very heart of the house of some of Jesus’ closest friends - Mary, Martha and Lazarus.  Out of the very heart and very mouth of Jesus’ twelve best friends - his own carefully chosen twelve apostles. A priest.

And yet it is consoling for all of us.  Consoling because we too experience life as a battle.  But consoling even more because Yoda himself - nay, one infinitely greater than Yoda - has stepped into the battle on our behalf.  Saying to Satan on our behalf these words: Leave her alone.

Jesus will pay for his words - but the price will liberate all of us into eternal life.  And him - at the right hand side of the Father in glory.

Let us pray:

Grant, we pray, almighty God,

that, though in our weakness we fail,

we may be revived through the Passion of your Only Begotten Son.

Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit,

one God, for ever and ever.