Daily Gospel for April 5. Readings for today, Palm Sunday.

Reading for today April 5, Sunday Palm.

Reading the Book of Isaías 50,4-7. The Lord GOD has given me a well-trained tongue, That I might know how to speak to the weary a word that will rouse them. Morning after morning he opens my ear that I may hear; And I have not rebelled, have not turned back. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; My face I did not shield from buffets and spitting. The Lord GOD is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame

Daily Psalm. Salmo 22,8-9,17-20,23-24.

(R). "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

All who see me scoff at me; they mock me with parted lips, they wag their heads: "He relied on the LORD; let him deliver him, let him rescue him, if he loves him." (R).

Indeed, many dogs surround me, a pack of evildoers closes in upon me; They have pierced my hands and my feet; I can count all my bones. (R).

They divide my garments among them, and for my vesture they cast lots. But you, O LORD, be not far from me; O my help, hasten to aid me. (R).

I will proclaim your name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise you: "You who fear the LORD, praise him; all you descendants of Jacob, give glory to him; revere him, all you descendants of Israel!" (R).

Second Reading for today. Philippians 2:6-11.

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to death, even death on a cross. Because of this, God greatly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bend, of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Daily Gospel Aclamation for April 5.

"Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory! Christ was humbler yet, even to accepting death, death on a cross. But God raised him high and gave him the name which is above all names. Praise to you, O Christ, king of eternal glory!" (cf. Phil 2:8-9)

Daily Gospel for April 5. Matthew 26,14-75.27,1-66.

The Easter Dinner.

At that time, when the hour had come, Jesus sat down at the table with the Apostles and said to them: "I have ardently desired to eat this Passover with you before my Passion, for I assure you that I shall not eat it again until it is fully accomplished in the Kingdom of God. Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and said, "Take it and share it with each other. For I tell you the truth, from now on I will drink no more of the fruit of the vine until the kingdom of God comes.

Institution of the Eucharist.

Then Jesus took the bread, gave thanks, broke it and gave it to his disciples, saying: "This is my Body, which is given up for you. Do this in memory of me".

After supper he did the same with the cup, saying: "This cup is the New Covenant sealed with my Blood, which is poured out for you".

Announcement of Judas´ betrayal.

The traitor´s hand is on the table next to me. For the Son of Man is going the way he was meant to go, but woe to him who will deliver him!" Then they began to ask each other which one of them would be the one to do that.

The true service.

And a discussion arose as to who should be considered the greatest. Jesus said, "The kings of the nations rule over them, and those who exercise power over the people call themselves benefactors. But it should not be so among you. On the contrary, let him who is greatest behave like the least, and he who rules behave like a servant. For who is greater, he who sits at the table or he who serves? Is it not he who sits at the table? And yet I am among you as the one who serves.

He rewards his disciples.

You are the ones who have always remained with me in the midst of my trials. That is why I am entrusting you with royalty, as my Father has entrusted it to me. And in my kingdom you will eat and drink at my table, and sit on thrones judging the twelve tribes of Israel

Announcement of Peter´s denials.

Simon, Simon, see that Satan has asked for power to sift you like wheat, but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail. And you, after you have returned, strengthen your brothers". "Lord," said Peter, "I am ready to go with you to prison and to death. But Jesus replied, "I tell you, Peter, today, before the cock crows, you will have denied three times that you know me".

What must be fulfilled.

Then he said to them, "When I sent you without purse or bag or sandal, did you lack anything?" "Nothing", they answered. He added, "But now, whoever has a bag, let him carry it; whoever has a saddlebag, let him carry it also; and whoever has no sword, let him sell his cloak to buy one. For I tell you the truth, this word of Scripture must be fulfilled in me: He was numbered among the criminals. Everything about me is coming to an end. "Sir, they said to him, here are two swords. And he said, "That´s enough."

Jesus´ prayer in Gethsemane.

Immediately Jesus went out and went as usual to the Mount of Olives, followed by his disciples. When they came, he said to them, "Pray, that you may not be led into temptation. Then he went away from them, about a stone´s throw away, and knelt down and prayed, "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me. But not my will but yours be done. Then an angel from heaven appeared to him and comforted him.

In the midst of the anguish, he prayed more intensely, and his sweat was like drops of blood running down to the ground. After praying, he arose and went to his disciples, and found them asleep with sorrow. Jesus said to them, "Why are you sleeping? Get up and pray so that you will not fall into temptation.

The arrest of Jesus.

He was still talking, when a crowd arrived led by the one called Judas, one of the Twelve. This man approached Jesus to kiss him. Jesus said, "Judas, do you give the Son of Man away with a kiss?"

Those who were with Jesus, seeing what was about to happen, asked him, "Lord, shall we use our sword?" And one of them struck the High Priest´s servant with his sword, cutting off his right ear. But Jesus said, "Leave it alone. And he touched his ear and healed him.

Then he said to the chief priests, the chief priests of the Temple guards and the elders who had come to arrest him, "Am I a bandit, that they should come with swords and clubs? Every day I was with you in the Temple and you did not arrest me. But this is your hour and the power of darkness.

Peter´s denials.

After he was arrested, they took him to the High Priest´s house. Peter followed him from afar. They lit a fire in the middle of the courtyard, sat around him, and Peter sat among them. A maid who saw him by the fire looked at him and said, "This one was with him also. Peter denied it, saying, "Woman, I do not know him". Shortly afterwards, another saw him and said, "You are one of those too". But Peter answered, "No, man, I am not." About an hour later another insisted, saying, "No doubt this man was with him; besides, he is also a Galilean. "Man," said Peter, "I do not know what you are saying. At that moment, while he was still speaking, the cock crowed.

The Lord turned and looked at Peter. He remembered the words that the Lord had said to him: "Today, before the cock crows, you will have denied me three times". And he went out and wept bitterly.

Utrages to Jesus.

The men who were guarding Jesus insulted and beat him; and they covered his face and said to him, "Prophesy, who beat you?" And they uttered all kinds of insults against him.

Jesus before the Sanhedrin.

When day broke, the Council of the elders of the people met, together with the chief priests and the scribes. They brought Jesus before the court and said, "Tell us if you are the Messiah. He said to them, "If I answer you, you will not believe me, and if I question you, you will not answer me. But from now on, the Son of Man will sit at the right hand of Almighty God". They all asked, "So you are the Son of God?" Jesus answered, "You are right, I am.

They said, "Do we need another testimony? We ourselves have heard it from his own mouth."

Jesus was brought before Pilate.

Then the whole assembly stood up and brought him to Pilate. They began to accuse him, saying, "We have found this man inciting our people to rebellion, preventing them from paying taxes to the Emperor and claiming to be the Messiah King". Pilate questioned him, saying, "Are you the king of the Jews?" "You say so," Jesus answered.

Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, "I find no reason to condemn this man". But they insisted, "He is stirring up the people with his teaching throughout all Judea. He began in Galilee and has come this far". On hearing this, Pilate asked if this man was a Galilean.

And having made sure that he belonged to Herod´s jurisdiction, he sent him to them. In those days, Herod was also in Jerusalem.

Jesus before Herod.

Herod was very happy to see Jesus. He had long desired to see Him, from what he had heard of Him, and he hoped that He would do some miracle in His presence. He asked him many questions, but Jesus did not answer him. Meanwhile, the chief priests and the scribes were there and were accusing him vehemently.

Herod and his guards, after treating him with contempt and making a fool of him, covered him with a magnificent robe and sent him back to Pilate. That same day, Herod and Pilate, who were at odds with each other, became friends.

Jesus again before Pilate.

Pilate called together the chief priests, the rulers and the people, and said to them, "You have brought this man to me, accusing him of inciting the people to rebellion. But I questioned him before you and found no cause for condemnation in the charges against him; neither did Herod, since he has brought him back to this court.

You see, this man has done nothing worthy of death. After I have made an example of him, I will set him free.

Jesus and Barabbas.

But the crowd began to shout, "Let this man die! Let Barabbas go!" Barabbas had been imprisoned for a sedition that took place in the city and for murder. Pilate again spoke to them with the intention of setting Jesus free. But they continued to cry out, "Crucify him! Crucify him!" A third time he said to them, "What evil has this man done? I find nothing in him that deserves death. After I have taught him a lesson, I will set him free." But they cried out, demanding that he be crucified, and the crying grew louder and louder.

Finally, Pilate decided to accede to the people´s request. He set free the one they were asking for, the one who had been imprisoned for sedition and murder, and he handed Jesus over to them at their discretion.

On the way to Calvary.

As they were carrying him, they arrested a certain Simon of Cyrene who was returning from the country, and they loaded him with the cross, so that he could carry it behind Jesus. But Jesus turned to them and said, "Daughters of Jerusalem, do not weep for me, but weep for yourselves and for your children. For the time is coming when it will be said, ´Happy are the barren, happy are the breasts that have not conceived and the breasts that have not suckled! Then it shall be said to the mountains, ´Fall on us,´ and to the hills, ´Separate us! For if they treat the green wood thus, what will become of the dry wood?" With him they also carried two other evildoers, to be executed

The crucifixion of Jesus.

When they arrived at the place called "The Caravel", they crucified him together with the evildoers, one on his right and the other on his left. Jesus said: "Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do". Then they divided up his clothes, drawing lots among themselves.

Offences against Jesus crucified.

The people stood by and watched. Their rulers mocked and said: "He has saved others: let him save himself, if he is the Messiah of God, the Chosen One!" The soldiers also mocked him and came to offer him vinegar and said: "If you are the king of the Jews, save yourself!"

On his head was an inscription: "This is the king of the Jews"

The good thief.

One of the crucified evildoers insulted him, saying, "Are you not the Messiah? Save yourself and us. But the other rebuked him, saying, "Do you not fear God, you who suffer the same pain as he does? We are justly afflicted, because we pay for our sins, but he has done nothing wrong". And he said, "Jesus, remember me when you come to establish your kingdom". And he said, "Truly, I say to you, today you will be with me in Paradise".

The death of Jesus.

It was around noon. The sun was eclipsed and darkness covered the whole earth until three o´clock in the afternoon. The veil of the Temple was torn in the middle. Jesus cried out, "Father, into your hands I commend my spirit. And when he had said this, he breathed his last. When the centurion saw what had happened, he praised God, exclaiming, "Truly this man was a righteous man". And the multitude that had assembled to behold the spectacle, when they saw what had happened, returned, beating their breasts.

All his friends and the women who had accompanied him from Galilee stood at a distance, contemplating what had happened.

The burial of Jesus.

Then a member of the Council arrived, named Joseph, a righteous and just man, who had disagreed with the decisions and attitudes of the others. He was from Arimathea, a city in Judea, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God. He went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus.

After taking it down from the cross, he wrapped it up in a sheet and placed it in a tomb dug in the rock, where no one had been buried. It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath had already begun.

The women who had come from Galilee with Jesus followed Joseph, observed the tomb and saw how he had been buried. Then they returned and prepared the salves and perfumes, but on the Sabbath they observed the rest prescribed by the Law. The word of the Lord.

Daily Gospel Commentaries by Pope Francis.

About today´s Gospel - In this week, the Holy Week, which leads us to Easter, we will follow this path of Jesus´ humiliation. And only in this way will it be holy for us too.

We will see the contempt of the leaders of the people and their deceptions to put an end to him. We will witness the betrayal of Judas, one of the Twelve, who will sell him for thirty coins.

We will see the Lord captured and treated as an evildoer; abandoned by his disciples; brought before the Sanhedrin, condemned to death, scourged and outraged. We will hear how Peter, the rock of the disciples, will deny Him three times. We will hear the cries of the crowd, raised by the chiefs, asking that Barabbas be set free and that he be crucified.

We will see how the soldiers will mock him, dressed in a purple robe and crowned with thorns. And then, along the Via Dolorosa and at the foot of the cross, we will feel the insults of the people and the chieftains, who laugh at his condition as King and Son of God.

This is God´s way, the way of humility. It is the way of Jesus, there is no other. And there is no humility without humiliation.

In walking this path to the end, the Son of God took on the condition of a servant. In fact, humility also means service, it means making room for God by denying oneself, by stripping oneself, as Scripture says. This, this emptying out, is the greatest humiliation.

There is another way, contrary to the way of Christ: worldliness. Worldliness offers us the path of vanity, of pride, of success... It is the other way. The evil one also proposed it to Jesus during forty days in the desert. But Jesus rejected it without hesitation. And with him, only with his grace, with his help, we too can overcome this temptation of vanity, of worldliness, not only on the great occasions, but also in the ordinary circumstances of life.

[...] During this Holy Week, let us too set out on this path of humility, with so much love for him, our Lord and Savior. Love will guide us and give us strength. And where he is, we too will be (cf. Jn 12:26) (Homily of Palm Sunday. 20 March 2015)

Pope´s quotes.

"This is the work the Lord entrusts for the Mediterranean: to restore broken relationships, to rebuild cities destroyed by violence, to make a garden flourish, to instill hope in who has lost it and to encourage those caught up in themselves not to fear their brothers or sisters.". (02.23.2020 - @pontifex)

Daily Gospel, meditation in video for April 5, Palm Sunday.