Daily Gospel for April 6. Readings for today, Holy Monday

Reading for today April 6, Holy Monday.

Reading the Book of Isaías 42,1-7. Here is my servant whom I uphold, my chosen one with whom I am pleased, Upon whom I have put my Spirit; he shall bring forth justice to the nations, Not crying out, not shouting, not making his voice heard in the street. A bruised reed he shall not break, and a smoldering wick he shall not quench, Until he establishes justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait for his teaching. Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spreads out the earth with its crops, Who gives breath to its people and spirit to those who walk on it: I, the LORD, have called you for the victory of justice, I have grasped you by the hand; I formed you, and set you as a covenant of the people, a light for the nations, To open the eyes of the blind, to bring out prisoners from confinement, and from the dungeon, those who live in darkness.

Daily Psalm. Salmo 27,1.2.3.13-14.

(R). "The LORD is my light and my salvation"

The LORD is my light and my salvation; whom should I fear? The LORD is my life´s refuge; of whom should I be afraid? (R).

When evildoers come at me to devour my flesh, My foes and my enemies themselves stumble and fall. (R).

Though an army encamp against me, my heart will not fear; Though war be waged upon me, even then will I trust. (R).

I believe that I shall see the bounty of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD with courage; be stouthearted, and wait for the LORD. (R).

Daily Gospel Aclamation for April 6.

"Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus! Hail to you, our King! You alone have had compassion on our sins. Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!"

Daily Gospel for April 6. John 12,1-11.

Six days before Passover Jesus came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead. They gave a dinner for him there, and Martha served, while Lazarus was one of those reclining at table with him. Mary took a liter of costly perfumed oil made from genuine aromatic nard and anointed the feet of Jesus and dried them with her hair; the house was filled with the fragrance of the oil. Then Judas the Iscariot, one (of) his disciples, and the one who would betray him, said, Why was this oil not sold for three hundred days´ wages and given to the poor? He said this not because he cared about the poor but because he was a thief and held the money bag and used to steal the contributions. So Jesus said, "Leave her alone. Let her keep this for the day of my burial. You always have the poor with you, but you do not always have me." (The) large crowd of the Jews found out that he was there and came, not only because of Jesus, but also to see Lazarus, whom he had raised from the dead. And the chief priests plotted to kill Lazarus too, because many of the Jews were turning away and believing in Jesus because of him.

Daily Gospel Commentaries by Pope Francis.

About today´s Gospel - The one who had invited Jesus to lunch was a person of a certain level, of culture, perhaps a university student. He wanted to listen to Jesus´ doctrine, because as a good person of culture he was restless, seeking to know more.

And he did not seem to be a bad person, just as the others at the table did not seem to be.

Until a female figure bursts into the banquet: at heart a badly educated woman who enters just where she had not been invited. One who had no culture, or if she did, she didn´t show it here. In fact, she enters and does what she wants to do: without apologizing, without asking permission. And in all this Jesus lets her act.

It is then that reality is revealed behind the façade of good manners with the Pharisee who begins to think:

"If he were a prophet, he would know who and what kind of woman is touching him, for she is a sinner."

This man was not bad, however, he cannot understand the woman´s gesture. He cannot understand the elementary gestures of the people. Perhaps this man had forgotten how to caress a child, how to comfort an old woman.

In his theories and in his thoughts, in his life of government, because perhaps he was an advisor to the Pharisees, he had forgotten the first gestures of life that all of us, as newborns, begin to receive from our parents.

In short, he was far from reality. This is the only way to explain the accusation made against Jesus:

"This is a holy man! He speaks to us of beautiful things, he does a little magic; he is a healer; but in the end he does not know the people, because if he knew what kind it is he would have said something".

There are then two very different attitudes: on the one hand that of the man who sees and qualifies, judges; and on the other that of the woman who cries and does things that seem crazy, because she uses a perfume that is expensive, it is costly.

In between these two antithetical figures is Jesus, with his patience, his love, his desire to save everyone, which leads him to explain to the Pharisee what this woman is doing and to reproach him, although with humility and tenderness, for not having been courteous to him.

"I have entered your house and you have not given me water for my feet; you have not given me a kiss; you have not anointed my head with oil. Instead she does all this: with her tears, with her hair, with her perfume".

The Gospel does not say how the story ended for this man, but it clearly says how it ended for the woman: "Your sins are forgiven. A phrase, this one, that scandalizes the diners, who begin to confabulate among themselves by asking themselves:

"But who is this, who even forgives sins?"

While Jesus goes straight on his way and says that phrase so repeated in the Gospel: "Go in peace, your faith has saved you".

In short, she is told that her sins are forgiven, to the others, Jesus makes them see only the gestures and explains them to them, even the gestures not made, that is, what they have not done with him.

In the woman´s behavior there is much, much love, while with regard to the guests Jesus does not say that love is lacking, but he makes it clear.

Consequently, the word salvation, "your faith has saved you," is said only to the woman, who is a sinner. He says it because she was able to cry over her sins, to confess her sins, to say: I am a sinner!

On the contrary, he does not say it to such people, who were not even bad, but because these people believed that they were not sinners. For them the sinners were the others: the publicans, the prostitutes. (Homily of today´s Gospel, Santa Marta, September 18, 2014)

Pope´s quotes.

"Dear young people, feel called yourselves to put your lives on the line. Do not be afraid to devote your life to God and to others; it pays!For life is a gift we receive only when we give ourselves away, and our deepest joy comes from saying yes to love, without ifs and buts". (04.5.2020 - @pontifex)

Daily Gospel, meditation in video for April 6, Holy Monday