Reading and meditation on the Word of God on Tuesday in the Holy Week, April 15, 2025

Delivered by Evelyn from the Parish of Holy Spirit in the Archdiocese of Singapore. Isaiah 49: 1-6; Rs psalm 71: 1-2.3-4a.5-6ab.15.17; John 13: 21-33.36-38.THORN IN THE FLESH Our meditation today is entitled: Thorn in the Flesh.The saying "thorn in the flesh" is common to our conversation. Meat wassupposed to arouse the appetite, it turned out to be untasty and not satisfyingto those who were having a meal because there were thorns in it. We should havean advantage or a life of joy and peace, but it turned out that there washatred or slander boiling and disturbing our life together among brothers andfriends.  Who are the thorns really? It could be you, a friend,an acquaintance or a family member. The factors of evil and human weaknessescan be so instrumental for the making of persons who are seen as"thorns" or diseases in our lives together. Every person has naturalweaknesses such as laziness, anger, greed, and arrogance. He was born carryingthe seeds of weakness. When these weaknesses are not treated well, the Evil Oneor Satan will freely take advantage of the given opportunity. In a community of believers of a local parish, itsmembers together keep the commitment to the services and fruitful cooperationamong the parishioners, that a life of peace, calmness and unity may berealized. However, if there is someone or two who start to be the culprit ofgossip, spreader of slander, or troublemaker, that person obviously becomes aburden and destroyer of the community. This is the same with all othersituations. If the source of the trouble is not identified and at least theevil or its work pattern is not revealed in public, this will remain a"thorn in the flesh" that will continue to disturb and damage life. Yesterday, the personage of Judas Iscariot opened themask of his evil only part of it, but today Jesus Christ opens it all the more tomake more transparent, that he was a "thorn" to the community thatJesus himself led. The eyes, minds, and hearts of Judas and his fellow apostleswere opened. They all came to know who the real troublemaker and destroyer ofthe community was, when Jesus said: "What you want to do, do it quickly." The lesson we can learn from this story of the Gospel wouldbe about the courage and certainty on our part to identify and take action onthe source of the problems that always confuse and disturb our lives. Ineveryone, there could be one or two major weaknesses possible to be the sourceof problems. For example arrogance or laziness, if it is confirmed that this alradybecomes "thorn" or "Judas Iscariot” in our houses or communities,we must take action upon it immediately. In our family, community and society, there must becourage and certainty in revealing the hidden source or person who always makestrouble. If the identification is able to be made, there would be a solutionfor it.Let us pray. In the name of the Father... O Lord Almighty,may we remain steadfast in our faith in You, even though there is a threat fromthose who are hostile and want to harm us. Hail Mary full of grace... In thename of the Father...