Daily Catholic Mass Readings for March 29, 2018
First Reading: Exodus 12.1-8, 11-14
1The LORD said to Moses and Aaron in the land of Egypt,2"This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you.3Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household.4And if the household is too small for a lamb, then he and his nearest neighbor shall take according to the number of persons; according to what each can eat you shall make your count for the lamb.5Your lamb shall be without blemish, a male a year old. You may take it from the sheep or from the goats,6and you shall keep it until the fourteenth day of this month, when the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill their lambs at twilight.7"Then they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and the lintel of the houses in which they eat it.8They shall eat the flesh that night, roasted on the fire; with unleavened bread and bitter herbs they shall eat it.11In this manner you shall eat it: with your belt fastened, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. And you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover.12For I will pass through the land of Egypt that night, and I will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and on all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgments: I am the LORD.13The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt.14"This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast.
Psalm 116
1I love the LORD, because he has heard my voice and my pleas for mercy.2Because he inclined his ear to me, therefore I will call on him as long as I live.3The snares of death encompassed me; the pangs of Sheol laid hold on me; I suffered distress and anguish.4Then I called on the name of the LORD: "O LORD, I pray, deliver my soul!"5Gracious is the LORD, and righteous; our God is merciful.6The LORD preserves the simple; when I was brought low, he saved me.7Return, O my soul, to your rest; for the LORD has dealt bountifully with you.8For you have delivered my soul from death, my eyes from tears, my feet from stumbling;9I will walk before the LORD in the land of the living.10I believed, even when I spoke, "I am greatly afflicted";11I said in my alarm, "All mankind are liars."12What shall I render to the LORD for all his benefits to me?13I will lift up the cup of salvation and call on the name of the LORD,14I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people.15Precious in the sight of the LORD is the death of his saints.16O LORD, I am your servant; I am your servant, the son of your maidservant. You have loosed my bonds.17I will offer to you the sacrifice of thanksgiving and call on the name of the LORD.18I will pay my vows to the LORD in the presence of all his people,19in the courts of the house of the LORD, in your midst, O Jerusalem. Praise the LORD!
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 11.23-26
23For I received from the Lord what I also delivered to you, that the Lord Jesus on the night when he was betrayed took bread,24and when he had given thanks, he broke it, and said, "This is my body which is for you. Do this in remembrance of me."25In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, "This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me."26For as often as you eat this bread and drink the cup, you proclaim the Lord's death until he comes.
Gospel: John 13.1-15
1Now before the Feast of the Passover, when Jesus knew that his hour had come to depart out of this world to the Father, having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.2During supper, when the devil had already put it into the heart of Judas Iscariot, Simon's son, to betray him,3Jesus, knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he had come from God and was going back to God,4rose from supper. He laid aside his outer garments, and taking a towel, tied it around his waist.5Then he poured water into a basin and began to wash the disciples' feet and to wipe them with the towel that was wrapped around him.6He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, "Lord, do you wash my feet?"7Jesus answered him, "What I am doing you do not understand now, but afterward you will understand."8Peter said to him, "You shall never wash my feet." Jesus answered him, "If I do not wash you, you have no share with me."9Simon Peter said to him, "Lord, not my feet only but also my hands and my head!"10Jesus said to him, "The one who has bathed does not need to wash, except for his feet, but is completely clean. And you are clean, but not every one of you."11For he knew who was to betray him; that was why he said, "Not all of you are clean."12When he had washed their feet and put on his outer garments and resumed his place, he said to them, "Do you understand what I have done to you?13You call me Teacher and Lord, and you are right, for so I am.14If I then, your Lord and Teacher, have washed your feet, you also ought to wash one another's feet.15For I have given you an example, that you also should do just as I have done to you.
Sermon
The readings today take us on a journey through the heart of our faith, revealing the profound connection between sacrifice, service, and the enduring presence of God in our lives. In the first reading from Exodus, we witness the institution of the Passover, a defining moment for the Israelites as they prepare to escape slavery in Egypt. The lamb’s blood, smeared on the doorposts, serves as a sign of salvation, protecting them from the angel of death. This rite is not just a historical event but a foreshadowing of the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, who would shed his blood to save humanity from sin and death. The Passover reminds us of God’s faithfulness and the liberating power of his love.
In the second reading from 1 Corinthians, we hear Paul recounting the institution of the Eucharist. On the night before his betrayal, Jesus takes bread and wine, giving them new meaning as his body and blood, offered for the forgiveness of sins. This sacred meal is not just a commemoration but a living encounter with Christ, who continues to nourish and unite us in his Body, the Church. The Eucharist is both a remembrance of his death and a celebration of his resurrection, drawing us into the mystery of his saving love. Through this sacrament, we are reminded that we are part of a story much larger than ourselves, a story of redemption and grace.
The Gospel from John deepens this mystery as Jesus humbles himself to wash the feet of his disciples. This act of service is not just a gesture of kindness but a revelation of the very nature of God. Jesus, the Lord and Teacher, stoops to serve, teaching his disciples—and us—that true greatness lies in self-giving love. His command to “wash one another’s feet” is a call to live out this love in our daily lives, to serve one another with humility and compassion. Just as the Passover and the Eucharist remind us of God’s faithfulness, Jesus’ example calls us to fidelity in living out the Gospel.
As we reflect on these readings, let us ask ourselves: How do we embody the humility and service of Christ in our own lives? How do we allow the Eucharist to transform us, making us instruments of God’s love in the world? And how do we remember the sacrifices of those who have gone before us, trusting in the enduring presence of God in our lives? May we, like the Israelites, mark our hearts with the blood of the Lamb, and may we, like the disciples, follow Jesus’ example of self-giving love. In doing so, we become living signs of God’s mercy and grace in a world that so desperately needs it.