Reflections on the Daily Readings 3rd April 2023
Monday 3rd April
Final accounting
The seventh corporal work of mercy is to bury the dead. Everyone deserves a dignified burial, and anyone who has lost a loved one knows how many arrangements go into caring for the body of the deceased until they are interred and making sure their soul is commended to God. The process is an act of love. It can go beyond the burial too—ongoing prayer for the deceased, visiting the gravesite, and even disposing of their material things. If you’re skilled with numbers and transactions then helping to sell a person’s home and volunteering for the stressful task of settling their finances—which can take months or years—can be a special kind of charity.
Today's readings: Isaiah 42:1-7; John 12:1-11 (257).
Tuesday 4th April
Practice extreme love
Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. died this day in 1968. On the night before his assassination, King gave his famous “I Have Been to the Mountaintop” speech. But it’s King’s words in “Letter from Birmingham Jail” that provide a lens to the Lord’s Passion this week. “Though I was initially disappointed at being categorized as an extremist,” King wrote, “I gradually gained a measure of satisfaction from the label. Was not Jesus an extremist for love: ‘Love your enemies, bless them that curse you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which despitefully use you, and persecute you.’” How will you acknowledge God’s extreme love this week?
Today's readings: Isaiah 49:1-6; John 13:21-33, 36-38 (258).
Wednesday 5th April
Keep moving toward justice
On this day in 1968, the Catholic mayor of Chicago, Richard J. Daley, infamously authorized his police department to use lethal force in the riots following the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. the previous day. The event would lead to a national uproar and also to the founding two weeks later of the National Black Catholic Clergy Caucus, an organization that persists to the present day. The organization’s leaders would play a pivotal role in what is now known as the “Black Catholic Movement,” integrating black spirituality into their liturgies and practice of the faith. As we remember the life and legacy of Dr. King and so many other freedom fighters, let us also make use of our faith in the holy struggle for justice and solidarity.
Today's readings: Isaiah 50:4-9a; Matthew 26:14-25 (259).
