First Reading (Isaiah 49,1-6)
Reading of the Book of the Prophet Isaiah.
Marine nations, listen to me, distant peoples, pay attention: the Lord called me before I was born, from my mother’s womb he had my name in mind; He made my word a sharp sword, protected me in the shadow of his hand and made me a sharp arrow, hidden in his quiver, and said to me: “You are my Servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” And I said, “I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength without fruit, in vain; yet the Lord will give me justice, and my God will reward me.” And now the Lord says to me – he who prepared me from birth to be his Servant – that I recover Jacob for him and make Israel unite with him; In the eyes of the Lord this is my glory. He said: “It is not enough for you to be my Servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the remnants of Israel: I will make you a light of the nations, so that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
– Word of the Lord.
– Thank God.
Gospel (John 13,21-33,36-38)
Proclamation of the Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John.
— Glory to you, Lord.
At that time, being at the table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply moved and testified: “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” Bewildered, the disciples looked at each other, as they did not know who Jesus was talking about. One of them, whom Jesus loved, was leaning next to Jesus. Simon Peter gave him a sign to find out who Jesus was talking about. Then the disciple, reclining on Jesus’ chest, asked him, “Lord, who is this?” Jesus replied: “It is the one to whom I give the piece of bread dipped in the sauce.” Then Jesus dipped a piece of bread and gave it to Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot. After the piece of bread, Satan entered Judas. Then Jesus said to him, “Whatever you have to do, do it quickly.” None of those present understood why Jesus told them this. As Judas kept the purse, some thought that Jesus wanted to tell him: “Buy what we need for the festival”, or to give something to the poor. After receiving the piece of bread, Judas immediately left. It was night. After Judas left, Jesus said: “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him. If God has been glorified in him, God will also glorify him in himself, and will glorify him soon. Little children, I am with you yet for a little while. You will look for me, and now I say to you, as I also said to the Jews, ‘Where I go, you cannot go.'” Simon Peter asked, “Lord, where are you going?” Jesus answered him, “Where I go, you cannot follow me now, but you will follow me later.” Peter said, “Lord, why can’t I follow you now? I will lay down my life for you!” Jesus answered, “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly, I tell you, the rooster will not crow until you have denied me three times.”
— Word of Salvation.
— Glory to you, Lord.
Reflecting the Word of God
Dear brothers and sisters in Christ,
Have you ever wondered what it means to be called by God? Imagine yourself still in the mother’s womb, not yet fully formed, and already being known, already being named, already having a divine purpose for your lives. This is the powerful image with which the prophet Isaiah opens our first reading today: “The Lord called me before I was born, from my mother’s womb he had my name in mind.”
What an extraordinary statement! Isaiah reveals to us a profound truth: before we even take our first breath, God already knows us intimately and has a specific purpose for our lives. This is not just the experience of a distant prophet, but a reality for each of us. As the psalmist writes elsewhere: “Your eyes have seen my embryo; all the days appointed for me were written in your book before any of them were.”
But Isaiah’s call is not just for personal comfort. He is called to be “the light of the nations” – an instrument of God to bring salvation to the ends of the earth. This is a call to mission, to service, to sacrifice for the good of others.
However, it is not always easy to live up to this divine calling. Isaiah admits moments of discouragement: “I worked in vain, I consumed my strength uselessly, without result.” Who among us has never felt something similar? Moments when we question whether our efforts are making a difference, whether our faith is truly impacting the world around us.
It is precisely in this moment of vulnerability that Isaiah receives powerful confirmation: “It is a small thing that you are my servant… I will make you a light of the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” What appears small and insignificant to human eyes may be the exact vehicle God chooses to manifest His glory.
This dynamic between divine greatness and human frailty is even more vividly illustrated in our reading of the Gospel. We are in the upper room, at Jesus’ last supper with his disciples. It is an intimate moment, full of emotion. And then Jesus makes a disturbing announcement: “Truly, truly, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
Imagine the shock, the confusion, the fear that must have taken over that room. The disciples look at each other, wondering: “Is it me?” This is a question we must also ask ourselves, not with paralyzing fear, but with honest self-evaluation. In how many ways, subtle or explicit, have we also betrayed Jesus in our lives?
Judas’ betrayal is particularly painful because it comes from someone close, someone who shared Jesus’ intimacy. He receives the piece of bread, a gesture of friendship and hospitality in Jewish culture, and yet he chooses darkness: “After the piece of bread, Satan entered him… Having received the piece of bread, he immediately left. It was night.”
This last phrase – “It was night” – is not just a temporal indication, but a powerful spiritual metaphor. Judas chooses darkness over light, betrayal over fidelity.
But the betrayal does not end with Judas. Peter, the rocky disciple, the one who was always ready with a declaration of loyalty, also fails. “I will lay down my life for you,” he promises, only to hear Jesus’ heartbreaking prediction: “Will you lay down your life for me? Truly, truly I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times.”
What a contrast between our grand declarations of faithfulness and our real weakness in the face of testing! Pedro, like many of us, overestimates his own strength and determination. He will discover the hard way that our best intentions often succumb under pressure.
And yet, here is the beauty of the Gospel: neither Judas’ betrayal nor Peter’s denial has the last word. Jesus knew their weakness before they even showed it, and yet He loved them until the end. Most importantly, He turned these moments of human failure into opportunities for the manifestation of His glory.
After Judas leaves, Jesus declares, “Now the Son of Man has been glorified, and God has been glorified in him.” How can betrayal lead to glorification? Because Jesus transforms even human evil into a vehicle for the manifestation of divine love. The cross, the ultimate symbol of human injustice and cruelty, becomes the throne from which Christ reigns in sacrificial love.
What about Peter? His denial is not the end of his story, but the beginning of a new one: broken, humble, he is restored by Christ and becomes the rock on which the Church is built. Your weakness, once recognized, becomes the foundation of your strength.
Brothers and sisters, these readings invite us to reflect on our own journey of call and response, of weakness and strength, of failure and redemption. Like Isaiah, we are called from the womb to a divine purpose. Like the disciples, we are invited into the intimacy of the table with Jesus. And like Peter, we often discover that our confidence in our own strengths is illusory.
But here’s the good news: the same Jesus who predicted Peter’s denial also predicted his restoration. The same God who called Isaiah in moments of doubt reaffirmed his divine purpose. And the same Lord who transformed the cross of shame into a throne of glory can transform our weaknesses into testimonies of His grace.
There are times when, like Isaiah, we feel that we “labor in vain.” There are times when, like Peter, we fail to live up to our own promises. There are times when, like Judas, we choose darkness over light. But the final word does not belong to our weakness, but to God’s faithfulness.
What God asks of us is not immediate perfection, but ongoing honesty. Not pretensions to strength, but recognition of weakness. Not independent heroism, but humble dependence on divine grace.
When we face our own brokenness with honesty and turn to God’s strength with confidence, we become the instruments He can use to be “a light to the nations.” Our acknowledged failures become bridges for others who struggle. Our healed wounds become sources of healing for a hurting world.
As we approach the most solemn days of Holy Week, let us look to the cross not just as a symbol of sacrifice, but as an emblem of transformation. The place of the greatest human weakness becomes the throne of the greatest divine love. The place of apparent defeat becomes the source of eternal victory.
And may we, like Peter after the resurrection, hear Jesus ask again, “Do you love me?” And answer, not with presumption, but with humble confidence: “Lord, you know all things; you know that I love you.” And then hear the renewed call: “Feed my sheep.”
May the Lord who called us from the womb, who knows us in our fragility and loves us despite it, give us the grace to be light in a world darkened by hopelessness and division. And may we, through our imperfect but surrendered lives, bring His salvation to the ends of the earth.
So be it. Amen.
