＊＊＊ 1st Reading ＊＊＊     

Hosea 11:1, 3-4, 8c-9

 

Is 12:2-3, 4, 5-6

You will draw water joyfully from the springs of salvation.

 

＊＊＊ 2nd Reading ＊＊＊

Ephesians 3:8-12, 14-19

This grace was given to me,

The least among all the holy ones: to announce to the pagan nations the immeasurable riches of Christ and to make clear to all how the mystery, hidden from the beginning in God, the Creator of all things, is to be fulfilled.

 Even the heavenly forces and powers will now discover through the Church the wisdom of God in its manifold expression, as the plan is being fulfilled which God designed from the begin­­­ning in Christ Jesus, our Lord. In him we re­ceive boldness and confidence to approach God.

 And now I kneel in the presence of the Father from whom every family in heaven and on earth has received its name. May he strengthen in you the inner self through his Spirit, according to the riches of his glory; may Christ dwell in your hearts through faith;may you be rooted and found­ed in love.

 All of this so that you may understand with all the holy ones the width, the length, the height and the depth—in a word, that you may know the love of Christ that surpasses all knowledge, that you may be filled and reach the fullness of God.

 

＊＊＊＊ Gospel ＊＊＊＊ 

John 19:31-37

As it was Preparation Day, the Jews did not want the bodies to remain on the cross during the Sabbath, for this Sabbath was a very solemn day. They asked Pilate to have the legs of the condemned men bro­ken, so they might take away the bodies.

The soldiers came and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who had been crucified with Jesus.   When they came to Jesus, they saw that he was already dead; so they did not break his legs.   One of the soldiers, however, pierced his side with a lance and immediately there came out blood and water.

 The one who has seen here gives his witness so that you may believe: his witness is true and He knows that he speaks the truth.   All this happened to fulfill the words of Scrip­ture, Not one of his bones shall be broken.  Another text says: They shall look on him whom they have pierced.

    

Gospel Reflection：

Jesus died on the cross during that first Good Friday. The Jews are worried that the body will be left hanging when Sabbath comes. Then no work can be done. The body will be there for everyone to see what they have done.

And so, they themselves petitioned Pilate that it be brought down. As is customary, the legs are broken so that the crucified will die of suffocation. The body cannot support its weight and slowly, the lungs wil collapse. Jesus was spared that agony. He was already dead when the guards checked Him.

His violent treatment in the hands of the Roman soldiers has taken its toll. Yet even in death, some of Jesus’ faithful discioles saw meaning in His condition. They interpretdit in the light f their scriptures. Thus the memory of Jesus’ sacrifice and its meaning lives on in the testimony of those who witnessed it.