Father Chris Looby

  Good Friday draws us to the final moments of Jesus’ life—to words that are few, but full of meaning: “I thirst”… “It is finished.” “I thirst.” On one level, it is simple. Jesus is dying. His body is exhausted, broken, dehydrated. The One who created the oceans now asks for a drop of water. But this is more than physical thirst. He thirsts for us. He thirsts for the hearts of those who have abandoned Him… for Peter who denied Him… for the crowds who turned away… for every sinner in every age. He thirsts for love. He thirsts for souls. Even now, from the cross, Jesus is not thinking about Himself. He is thinking about us. And that means something for us today. Because Jesus still says, “I thirst.” He thirsts for our faith… our trust… our return… our love. And then, those final words: “It is finished.” Not, “I am finished.” But, “It is finished.” The mission is complete. The work the Father gave Him is fulfilled. Sin is defeated. Love has gone all the way to the end....

  Tonight we enter the upper room. On the night before He died, Jesus gathers with His disciples for a meal. They expect something familiar—a Passover meal, prayers, tradition. Instead, Jesus does something unexpected. He gets up from the table… takes off His outer garment… kneels down… and begins to wash their feet. This is not just a kind gesture. It is shocking. The Teacher becomes the servant. The Master takes the place of the lowest slave. And then He says: “I have given you a model to follow.” That action—more than anything else—explains everything that happens this night. Because on this same night, Jesus also gives us the Eucharist. He takes bread, blesses it, breaks it, and gives it to them, saying: “This is my Body, given up for you.” The hands that wash feet… are the same hands that break the bread. The love that kneels before the disciples… is the same love that gives itself in the Eucharist. The Eucharist is not just something we receive. It is the very life of Christ—...

“Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?” That line comes early in the Passion we just heard. The disciples are asking Jesus for directions. They know the Passover is coming. They know something important is about to happen. And they want to get it right. So they ask: Where do you want us to prepare? And that same question is quietly being asked of each one of us today: Where do you want to prepare for Him? Not in a room in Jerusalem—but in your life. Because Holy Week is not something we just watch… it’s something we enter. So how do we prepare? First, we prepare with time . Holy Week is different. It asks more of us. Maybe that means coming to Holy Thursday, Good Friday, the Easter Vigil. Maybe it means setting aside extra time for prayer. If we don’t make space, we miss it. Second, we prepare with honesty . The Passion we just heard is not just a story about people long ago. It includes all of us. There are moments when we are like Peter—wanting to be faithful, ...

 Throughout the Mediterranean region and ancient Palestine, oil was the symbol of vital strength. The fruit of the olive tree was really the basic food back then—perhaps even more than daily bread is for us today. At the same time, oil was also medicine—the medicine with which strength, rest, and peace were restored to the body. Athletes who entered the arena anointed their bodies with oil so that they would be soft, supple, strong, and lively—not dried out. As you know, a special feature of today’s Chrism Mass is the sign of oil. Christ means “the anointed one.” Oil has taken on a new meaning in the Christian sacraments. The sacraments remind us of the earthly life of Jesus, of the world out of which he steps to meet us. Our understanding of Christianity is this: the Christian is in a battle with Satan in our world. The anointing in Baptism suggests that the Christian is anointed by the Lord in order to enter the drama of history, prepared to battle the forces of evil. When we ...

  In today’s Gospel, Martha says something that may be one of the most honest prayers in the entire Bible. When Jesus arrives after Lazarus has died, Martha says to Him: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” That line probably sounds familiar to many of us. It’s the kind of thing people say when they are grieving, when something painful has happened, when life has not unfolded the way they hoped. Lord, if you had been here… If you had been here, this illness would not have happened. If you had been here, my loved one would not have died. If you had been here, things would be different. But notice something important. Martha does not say these words behind Jesus’ back. She says them to Him . Her grief, her disappointment, even her confusion—she brings it directly to Christ. That’s an important lesson for us. Faith does not mean pretending everything is fine. Faith means bringing our pain honestly to God. But Martha doesn’t stop there. She continues: “But ev...