Today begins the most solemn week in all of Christendom: Holy Week. This year’s Holy Week will likely be one of the most memorable of all the Holy Week celebrations in my twenty-six years as a priest. We have journeyed for forty days through this season of Lent, and as we have moved through it, we have intensified our prayer, fasting, and acts of charity.

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During my 30-day Ignatian retreat, my spiritual director asked if I had ever brought my anger into prayer. For nearly twenty years, I struggled with anger. Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal to throw at someone; you get burned first. The teacher who belittled me never knew the depth of my trauma. For years, I withheld forgiveness. I became an angry child and, later, an angry adult, entombed in hatred and vowing never to be put down again. Anger became my defense against threats.

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The first reading narrates Israel's experience during their exodus from Egypt. While they were on their journey, they complained of a lack of water and food and blamed Moses, reminiscing about their better days in Egypt. This scene parallels the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman in the Gospel of John. She comes to draw water at the well, but her physical thirst symbolizes a deeper spiritual thirst. Like Israel, she has searched for satisfaction in places that ultimately leave her empty. Jesus reveals that He alone can give "living water" that becomes a spring within, welling up to eternal life.

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The Transfiguration of Jesus is both a revelation and a reassurance. On the high mountain - traditionally identified as Mount Tabor - Jesus Christ revealed His divine glory to Peter, James, and John. This moment came immediately after Jesus foretold His Passion. The disciples were confused and afraid. The Transfiguration was heaven's reassurance: the suffering to come was not defeat but fulfillment.

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As it were, God allows us to be tempted in our resolve to do good and avoid evil. But our failures and sins should not lead us to despair and hopelessness. St. Augustine acknowledges human weakness but says that grace is stronger than sin. We can overcome temptations if we know how to pray and flee. We can overcome our hopelessness if we trust Divine Mercy. The message of St. Faustina Kowalska, who spread devotion to Divine Mercy, reminds us of this: to trust in God despite repeated failures. Thus, when temptation starts to grow, just let it go! The best way to stop a fire is to stop it while it is still small and low.

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In the Gospel, Jesus teaches His disciples that righteousness must not be confined to mere observance of the law. True righteousness goes beyond fulfilling what is required by going the "extra mile." I tell you, unless your righteousness surpasses that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will not enter the kingdom of heaven. Here, He reminds us that we cannot use adherence to the law as an escape from true righteousness. I have come not to abolish but to fulfill. Though the religious leaders breathed a sigh of relief hearing this statement from Jesus, it did not keep them from sending spies to monitor Jesus' movements, activities, and teachings.

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Jesus tells us the simplest and most basic description of what a Christian should be - i.e., the salt of the earth and a light of the world. We are called to make a difference in this world. To be like salt is to be of substance, and to be like light is to be of radiance, to give glory to God.

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In the days of the prophet Zephaniah, around 700 BC, the Lord promised to care for the "remnants of Israel," the humble and lowly who seek refuge in Him.

Building on this promise, Jesus teaches the disciples who are truly blessed by revealing the Beatitudes, which provide the scriptural foundation of true and lasting peace. His message-"Blessed are the poor in spirit, for theirs is the Kingdom of Heaven"-reflects a central scriptural theme: God consistently favors the anawim, the poor, lowly, and humble. Contemporary discourse calls this God's preferential option for the poor.

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The reading from Isaiah is paired with the Gospel because Matthew sees the prophecy fulfilled in Jesus' revelation of Himself in Galilee. During this time, the kingdom of Israel was divided into two (2): the Northern Kingdom and the Southern Kingdom of Judah. Both, unfortunately, were in a state of decadence and destruction. So, when the Assyrians, the dominant empire of the time, expanded to their southern borders, they invaded the northern tribes of Israel, and the land of Zebulun and Naphtali was the first to be destroyed and to experience darkness. These two tribes of Galilee were once allotted to the two Sons of Jacob and part of the twelve tribes of Israel.

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John the Evangelist masterfully weaves the theme of the Lamb of God throughout his Gospel and the book of Revelation. In his writings, Jesus is presented as the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world - a deeply meaningful title, rooted in the sacrificial traditions of the Old Testament. The image of the lamb, innocent and unblemished, already carried powerful symbolism for the Jewish people. In the Temple liturgy, an innocent lamb was sacrificed as a burnt offering, emphasizing the victim's innocence and the totality of the offering. This act of sacrifice provided a vivid foreshadowing of the Savior: The Lamb of God.

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A call from my cousin in Michigan brought back a flood of memories. She asked if I could baptize their first grandchild - a request that fills me with both honor and nostalgia. Just last year, I celebrated the marriage of my niece, and now, their first child, a boy, has arrived. I remember the days in the Philippines, cuddling my nieces and nephews. Time flies: they're grown, some now in the US, and my cousins turn to me for weddings - and, now, baptisms.

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In the Gospel, the Magi from the East, tasked by King Herod to seek the newborn Jesus, found themselves transformed by their encounter with Him. They came, they saw, and they were conquered - not by power, but by the humble presence of the Child Jesus. Their journey did not end at the manger; instead, it marked a new beginning. Choosing not to return to Herod, they went home "by another way," symbolizing a break from their old paths and a commitment to a new vision and mission.

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