Reading from the Gospel, Sunday March 29 (click here)

Liturgical Day: Sunday March 29
   Gospel (Mk 14, 1 to 15.47): Two days before the Passover and Unleavened Bread. The chief priests and scribes sought how they might take by stealth and kill him. They said, "Not during the feast, lest there be an uproar of the people."

Being Him in Bethany in the house of Simon the leper, reclining at table, there came a woman who brought an alabaster jar of pure spikenard, very costly; She broke the jar and poured it on his head. There were some who said to themselves indignantly, "Why this waste of perfume? You could have sold this perfume for three hundred denarii and I have given it to the poor ". And grumbled against her. But Jesus said, "Let her alone. Why do you trouble? He has done a good work in me. Because poor always ye have with you and you can let them whenever you wish; but me ye have no good. He has done what it could. It has anointed my body for burial. I tell you, wherever the gospel is preached in the whole world, will also talk about what she has done to his memory. "

Then Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve, went to the chief priests to betray. Upon hearing them, they were glad, and promised to give him money. And he was looking how would deliver in a timely manner.

The first day of Unleavened Bread, when the Passover lamb was sacrificed, tell his disciples, "Where do you want to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?". Then, sent two of his disciples and said to them, "Go into the city; shall meet you a man bearing a pitcher of water; and follow him wherever he enters, say to the owner of the house, 'The Teacher asks: Where is my room where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?'. He will teach on the top floor a large, furnished and ready room; there prepare for us. " The disciples left, came to the city, and found as he had told them and prepared the Passover.

When evening comes Him with the Twelve. And while lying ate, Jesus said, "I tell you, one of you will betray me, who eats with me." They began to be sorrowful and tell one after another: "Am I?". He said, "One of the twelve who dips with me in the dish. For the Son of man goeth as it is written of Him, but woe to that man by whom the Son of man is betrayed! Better for that man had not been born. "

And as they were eating, he took bread, blessed it, broke it and gave it and said, "Take, this is my body." Then he took a cup and given thanks, he gave it, and they all drank of it. And said, "This is my blood of the covenant, which is shed for many. I tell you no longer drink of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God. " And sung a hymn, they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Jesus said to them, "You will all fall away, for it is written: 'I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.' But after I am raised up, I will go before you into Galilee. " Peter said, "Even if all fall, I do not." Jesus says, "I say to you today, this very night, before the cock crows twice, you will deny me three." But he insisted: "If I have to die with you, I will not deny you." And they all said the same thing.

They go to a place which was called Gethsemane, and saith unto his disciples, "Sit here while I pray." Took Peter, James and John, and began to feel terror and anguish. And he said: "My soul is sorrowful to the point of death; Stay here and watch. " And going a little farther, fell on the ground and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. And said, "Abba, Father !; all things are possible unto thee; this cup from me; Yet not what I will, but what thou wilt. " Come then and found them sleeping; and said to Peter, "Simon, do you sleep ?, or you not watch one hour? Watch and pray, lest ye enter into temptation; the spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak. " And away again, he prayed, saying the same words. He came again and found them sleeping, for their eyes were heavy; they did not know what to say. Comes a third time and said to them, "Now you can sleep and rest. Enough is enough. It's time. Behold, the Son of Man is betrayed into the hands of sinners. Arise! Let's go! Behold, he who will betray me is near. "

He was still talking when suddenly Judas, one of the Twelve, accompanied by a crowd with swords and staves, from the chief priests and the scribes and the elders were present. He who betrayed him gave them a sign: "Whomsoever I shall kiss, that is, take him, and lead him away safely." Upon arrival, she approaches him and tells him, "Rabbi," and kissed him. They seized him and took him. One of these, drew his sword and struck the servant of the high priest, and cut off his ear. And speaking Jesus said, "as against a robber you have come out with swords and clubs? I was daily with you in the temple teaching, and you did not arrest me. But it is so that the Scriptures be fulfilled. " And they all fled leaving him. A young man was wearing only a canvas; and he stopped. But he left the linen cloth, escaped naked.

They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, elders and scribes gathered. And Peter followed him afar off, even into the palace of the high priest, and he sat with the servants, and warmed himself at the fire. The chief priests and the whole council sought testimony against Jesus to put him to death; but they found none. For many bore false witness against Him, but the evidence did not match. Some got up and gave this false testimony against him: "We heard him say, 'I will destroy this temple made with hands and in three days I will build another made without hands.'" And also in this case matched his testimony. Then the high priest stood up and stood in the midst, and asked Jesus, "Have you no answer? What is it which these witness against thee? '. But he was silent and answered nothing. The high priest asked again: "Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed?". And Jesus said, "Yes, I am, and will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power, and coming with the clouds of heaven." The High Priest robes tears and says, "What need have we of witnesses? You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think? ". All condemned him as deserving death. Some began to spit on him, covering his face and gave him blows, as he said, "Guess," and the servants received him with blows.

While Peter was below in the courtyard, comes one of the maids of the high priest and seeing Peter warming himself, looking attentively and said: "You also were with Jesus of Nazareth." But he denied it: "I neither know nor understand what you say," and went out into the doorway, and a rooster crowed. I saw the maid and again began to say to the bystanders, "This is one of them." But he denied it again. Shortly afterwards, the bystanders again said to Peter, "Surely you are one of them then you are also a Galilean." But he, he began to curse and swear, "I do not know this man of whom ye speak." Immediately a rooster crowed a second time. And Peter remembered what Jesus had said: "Before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three." And he began to mourn.

Soon, at dawn, they prepared a meeting the chief priests with the elders and scribes and the whole council and, having bound Jesus, led him away and delivered him to Pilate. Pilate asked him, "Are you the King of the Jews?". He replied: "Yes, you say." The chief priests accused him of many things. Pilate again asked: "Have you no answer? See how many things they accuse you. " But Jesus no longer answered anything, so that Pilate marveled.

Each Party gave them the freedom of a prisoner, whom they asked. There was one called Barabbas, who was imprisoned with those rebels in the uprising had committed murder. People rose and began to ask what it used to be accorded. Pilate answered, "Will ye that I release unto you the King of the Jews?". Then he realized that the chief priests had delivered him for envy. But the chief priests moved the people to say they let go rather Barabbas. But Pilate said to them again, "And what am I to do with you call the King of the Jews?". People shouted again, "Crucify him." Pilate said to them, "But what evil has he done?". But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify him!". Pilate, wishing to satisfy the crowd, released Barabbas unto them, and delivered Jesus, when he had scourged him, to be crucified.

The soldiers led him away into the palace, that is, the Praetorium and called the whole cohort. He dressed in purple and plaiting a crown of thorns, they gird. And they began to salute him, "Hail, King of the Jews!". And they smote him on the head with a reed, and did spit upon him, bending his knees, fell down before Him. And when they had mocked him, they took off the purple, they put their clothes and him out to crucify him.

And they forced a passerby, Simon of Cyrene, coming from the country, the father of Alexander and Rufus, to carry his cross. They lead you to the place Golgotha, which means: Calvary. They gave him wine mixed with myrrh, but he did not take it. Crucify him and his garments among them, casting lots to see what each should take. It was the third hour, and they crucified him. And she put the registration of the charge against him: "The King of the Jews." With him they crucified two robbers, one on his right and one on his left. And those who passed by derided him, wagging their heads and saying, "Hey, you !, to destroy the temple and build it in three days, save thyself down from the cross!". Likewise the chief priests mocking among themselves with the scribes, saying, "He saved others; himself he can not save. The Christ, the King of Israel !, come down now from the cross, that we may see and believe. " Also reviled which were crucified with Him.

When the sixth hour darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. At the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, "Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?" Which means "My God, my God !, why have you forsaken me?". At this some of the bystanders said, "Look, calling Elijah." And one ran and soaked a sponge in vinegar, put it on a reed, and gave him to drink, saying: "Let, let's see if Elijah comes to take him down." But Jesus uttered a loud cry and breathed his last.

And the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. When the centurion, who stood facing him, which had expired in that way, he said, "Truly this man was the Son of God." There were also women looking on from a distance, including Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the less and of Joses, and Salome, who followed him and served him when he was in Galilee, and many others who came up with him to Jerusalem.

And at sunset, as was the preparation, that is, the day before the Sabbath, Joseph of Arimathea, a respected member of the Council, which also waited for the kingdom of God, and had the courage to go to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus . Pilate he were already dead strange and summoning the centurion, he asked him if he was long dead. He learned from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph who bought a linen cloth, he took down from the cross, wrapped him in the linen cloth and laid him in a sepulcher which was hewn in stone; He then rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joseph saw where he was laid.

  Your brother in Christ, Father Santiago