Human Trials and God’s Grace - Tuesday, March 31, 2026

Tuesday, March 31, 2026 My Catholic Life

 

Reclining at table with his disciples, Jesus was deeply troubled and testified, “Amen, amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.” John 13:21

Love, betrayal, divine glory, and human weakness permeate today’s Gospel, offering us a contrast of emotions and experiences to ponder. All forms of joys and trials affect our lives. Life is not “a bed of roses,” as the old saying goes. Besides joy, love, and excitement, we are touched by hurt, anger, fear, and anxiety. The same was true of Jesus’ human experience with His disciples...Through no fault of His own, Jesus was a polarizing figure. Some people loved Him deeply—such as His Blessed Mother, John, Mary of Bethany, and Mary of Magdala—while others despised Him, such as the scribes and Pharisees. Today’s Gospel presents us with another figure whose life added great drama to the Gospel story—not because he loved or hated Jesus with passion—but because he was greedy and spiritually misguided.

Today we read Saint John’s account of the Last Supper. Jesus and His disciples were gathered in the Upper Room to celebrate the Passover meal. He began by washing the disciples’ feet, a profound act of humble service.

After this, Jesus prophesied that one of the Twelve would betray Him.

When John, the Beloved Disciple, asked who the traitor was, Jesus identified Judas by handing him...act of intimate friendship and trust. At that moment, “Satan entered him.” With both meekness and authority, Jesus told Judas: “What you are going to do, do quickly.” And immediately, “Judas took the morsel and left at once. And it was night” (John 13:27, 30). The night’s unfolding drama did not end with Judas’s betrayal. Jesus also revealed to Peter, “Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times” (John 13:38).

Though Jesus was God, He was also fully human, capable of feeling every human emotion to a much greater degree than we are, due to the perfection of His humanity. Therefore, within Jesus’ human soul we discover a profound contrast of emotions to the full range of human experience... He felt their pain, confusion, and anger far before they did, and He felt those emotions much deeper than they ever would. Only His mother, who would stand by Him faithfully at the Cross, would experience the depth of human suffering that Jesus felt within His soul.

Why would God take on human nature and permit Himself to experience such pain? Because all human emotions—even pain—-needed to be intermingled with divine love. Because of the hypostatic union, all of Christ’s human experiences—whether joyful or sorrowful—were perfectly united with divine love and transformed into sources of grace for those whom He loves. His courageous entrance into His Passion makes it possible for us to endure our own human trials with His strength, hope, and peace.

Reflect today on your life and the experiences you endure and enjoy. If some experiences are overwhelming, know that Jesus perfectly understands, deeply empathizes, and offers a remedy. He invites you into His own trials, promising you His divine strength to untangle confusion and flood you with peace. Unite the blessings you enjoy with Jesus’ Passion as well. Among Jesus’ greatest earthly delights was the love His mother lavished upon Him, especially as she stood faithfully at the foot of the Cross. With our Lord, receive your blessings with gratitude and allow them to strengthen you so that you may endure your own daily trials, guided by His meekness and authority, leading you to a share in His Resurrection.

My empathetic and understanding Lord, by taking on our human nature, You permitted Yourself to experience everything we experience. Though sinless, You endured the effects of sin with suffering and love. Please draw me into Your human joys and trials so that I can live my life in You, by You, and through You, receiving grace through Your humanity so as to share in Your glory and divinity. Jesus, I trust in You.

 

Source: mycatholic.life