Discussion Questions
Holy Thursday
First Reading/Second Reading
Exodus 12:1-8, 11-14/1 Corinthians 11:23-26
FS1. While celebrating the Passover meal Jesus said, “Do this in remembrance of me.” What did he mean by “this”? Could “this” also mean a reenactment, i.e., lay down our lives, as Jesus did?
FS2. Pope Francis told the prisoners before he washed their feet that “Before giving us himself in his body and blood, Jesus risked himself for each one of us—risked himself in service—because he loves us so much. Being part of the body of Christ and serving our neighbor. Are the two tied together?
Jesus serves us today, here in Regina Coeli (prison). Jesus risks himself for each person. Jesus does not know how to wash his hands of people. He knows how to risk, for his name is Jesus, not Pontius Pilate. In going after the lost sheep, Jesus risks being wounded.
I am a sinner like you. But I represent Jesus today. (Pope Francis then invited the prisoners to think of the fact, as their feet were being washed by him, that Jesus took a risk with this man, a sinner, to come to me to tell me that he loves me.) This is service. This is Jesus. Before giving us himself in his body and blood, Jesus risked himself for each one of us—risked himself in service—because he loves us so much.”
Pope Francis tells inmates Jesus risks himself by serving others
April 18, 2019
Gospel
John 13:1-15
G1. “Do you realize what I have done for you?” Jesus asks. What is it that Jesus did for us when he washed the disciples’ feet? Do you think they realized at the time what was going on? When do you think they realized it? How are the washing of the feet and the Eucharist related?
G2. What are some ways you can “wash your neighbors’ feet”? Are there degrees of service to your neighbor? How high would you place “putting up with your neighbor”? How about “laying down your life”?
Holy Friday
First Reading
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
F1. What would cause God the Father to lay on Jesus “the iniquity of us all”? Why would God the Son accept this? How can they work together on this? What was the driving force? Do we call it “the Spirit”?
F2. The First Reading says, “Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away … ” Who today can relate to this part of Jesus’ suffering?
Second Reading
Hebrews 4:14-16; 5:7-9
S1. How does the following statement of Pope Francis relate to “let us confidently approach the throne of grace to receive mercy,” in this reading?
Jesus is never far from us sinners. He wants to pour out on us, without limit, all of his mercy.
Pope Francis, Twitter account
24 March 2014
S2. “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who in every respect has been tested as we are, yet without sin.” What does this mean to you? Why do we need a “sympathetic high priest”?
Gospel: Passion of our Lord Jesus Christ according to John
John 18:1-19:42
“You say I am a king. For this I was born and for this I came into the world, to testify to the truth. Everyone who belongs to the truth listens to my voice.” To what “truth” is Jesus testifying? Did Jesus come to dwell among us so we would know the truth? Is it related to love? How?
2. To what degree are you willing to testify to the truth?
3. “If you release him, you are not a friend of Caesar.” Do you make your decisions according to what you think is right, or according to what will bring you more friends?
4. “I thirst.” Was Jesus’ thirst for a drink or was it for each of us, and our love? How do you respond to such a thirst in your everyday life? For what do you thirst?
5. Here is Pope Francis’ explanation of Good Friday, for discussion:
Before the image of the crucified God, we will bring, in prayer, the many, the too many who are crucified in our time.
Let us make a list of all the wars that are being fought in this moment; of all the children who die of hunger; of children who have no education; of entire populations destroyed by wars, by terrorism. …
Now, in the hour of his supreme Sacrifice on the cross, he brings to fulfillment the task entrusted to him by the Father: he enters into the abyss of suffering, he enters into these disasters of this world, to redeem and transform. And this, only God’s love can do this.
By his wounds we have been healed (see 1 Pt 2:24), the apostle Peter says, by his death we have been reborn, all of us. And thanks to him, abandoned on the cross, no one will ever again be alone in the darkness of death. Never, he is always beside us: we need only open our heart and let ourselves be looked upon by him.
Pope Francis explains the meaning of Good Friday
America Magazine, March 31, 2021
Easter Vigil/Easter Sunday
First Reading
Acts 10:34a, 37-43
F1. What is the significance of the word “witness,” in the sentence, “We are witnesses of all that he did”? Peter uses it both as a noun (meaning “observer”) and a verb (meaning “corroborate,” “testify”). It is something you can be (how are you a witness?) and do (what is your action to witness to truth?).
F2. Should we witness with more than words? Peter bore witness in a different manner after the Resurrection than he did before Christ died. To what do you attribute this? Was he consumed by love for Christ and his Gospel? Could the source of strength for Peter be the same source for us?
Second Reading
Colossians 3:1-4
S1. “Brothers and sisters: If then you were raised with Christ, seek what is above.” (See later in Colossians 3 for Paul’s meaning of “above”). He says that we should put on heartfelt compassion. What does compassion look like in our immediate world and in the larger one? What cries of the poor “deeply move” you? Dying children in Ukraine? People suffering from effects of global warming, unhoused people and starvation?
Discuss Pope Francis’ statement:
We incarnate the duty of hearing the cry of the poor when we are
deeply moved by the suffering of others.
Evangelii Gaudium #193
S2. One of St Paul’s last directives was to let the peace of Christ control our hearts. How do you do that when you’re feeling negative, cynical, despondent, or paralyzed with fear? Where do you find help? What happened to the desolate women when they found the tomb empty?
Gospel
(Easter Vigil & Easter Sunday) Luke 24: 1-12
Easter: John 20:1-9 or Luke 24:1-12
G1. The same women who came to anoint his body in the morning had been with Jesus when he died. Were they deterred from their task by fear? Compare and contrast their behavior with some of Jesus’ other disciples.
Think about events like the Ukrainian war and protests against injustice. Is President Zelenskyy stopped by fear? Were people like John Lewis, Gandhi, Doctors without Borders, and Dorothy Day? Where is your courage on a scale of 1 to 10? Will it look different on every person and in every situation?
G2. What is it that allowed John to “see and believe,” to have this kind of clarity? Does love give you knowledge about a person, or insights into their behavior? In John, Jesus said “Whoever loves me, I will love him [her] and reveal myself to him [her]” (Jn 14:21). Is there a connection between Jesus’ statement and John’s “seeing and believing”?
Anne Osdieck
**From Saint Louis University