Jesus answered, "Will you lay down your life for me? Amen, amen, I say to you, the cock will not crow before you deny me three times." John 13:38

Peter (the Rock) must have been dumbfounded to hear this. He must have been thinking to himself that he would never deny Jesus. Yet he did, even though it was told to him too.

How many times have we too denied Jesus? Such as when someone asks us if we are Catholic, Christians, do we keep silent, or do we ask another question instead of replying. Or when we get up on Sunday, knowing we should go to Mass, but instead we set out to go elsewhere, and end up never going to Mass. Just think of how many times we do this as Christians, we deny Jesus far more than Peter ever did.

We have so much in our life today, but the one thing that is so very important, faith and trust in a loving God. Unfortunately we spend most of our lives trying to imitate evil, rather than imitate the one who truly gives us life. The big question is why! Why do we prefer to deny? Are we afraid to know Jesus? Are we afraid of life? Lots of questions, can we answer them. Peter eventually got it. Can we?

I am reminded of the adults I go to school with and how, when a test or quiz is about to be given, they whine, it's too much. All I can think about is the children I teach and them whining too. We are whiners at heart is seems, when it doesn't go the way we want it to.

Did the apostles whine too when Jesus asked them "Will you lay down your life for me?" Possibly. Would we whine about this question, or would we offer to take his place on the cross.

Mary not only anointed Jesus, she adored Him as He was alive. She gave her treasure to Him, she honored Him. Do we honor Jesus in such a way? Jesus said we will always have the poor, how right He is too. The poor are not only those who lack material wealth, the poor are also those who lack faith, those who dishonor Jesus. We come to his banquet with unbelief in our hearts, how truly poor we are then. Mary knew what her sacrifice cost her, but her sorrow was far greater in the loss of our Lord. She knelt at Jesus feet and bathed His feet with her tears, knowing she was going to lose Jesus to the hands of death in a short time as He foretold. Do we kneel at Jesus feet and let our tears bath Him too? Do we go to Reconciliation with sorrow in our hearts to promise not to sin again? God keeps His promise, it is His covenant. How poor are we then?

I always try to find out something, when I don't know what it is. So this afternoon while at Chapel I somehow knew about Seraphim, that this was an angel. But where in the order of angels is he. So I looked it up and this is what I found from (Catholic Online). Seraphim is from the Choir of Angels.

Here is what is written:

Seraphim, These are the highest order or choir of angels. They are the angels who are attendants or guardians before God's throne. They praise God, calling, "Holy Holy Holy is the Lord of Hosts". the only Bible reference is Isaiah 6:1-7. One of them touched Isaiah's lips with a live coal from the altar, cleansing him from sin. Seraphim have six wings, two cover their faces, two cover their feet, and two are for flying.

Amazingly I didn't know this, as I am still learning. But for me it is always a wonder when little bits of heavenly things come. It as if it's a glimpse into God's life when we are open to His graces. Some where later on I will find out why Seraphim was given a thought. For now I will write to keep it fresh.

Today we celebrate the arrival of Jesus into Jerusalem, to the cry of Hosanna, Blessed is he who comes.

We have a great tradition that celebrates this coming. As Jesus passes over them, we symbolically take these palms to our homes to remind us of what Jesus is about to endure for our salvation.

In this world of ours today, it is so easy to forget what Jesus did for us by coming into Jerusalem they way he did. We see that with his entrance, and the particular use of palms, on this day of days, is for us to realize that he has us in the palm of his hands. That no matter what he is about to suffer, we are in his care.

When I gaze at the Crucifix on my wall, and the palm nestled between Jesus and the cross, I'm always reminded of this day. Not so much what we hear at Mass, but somehow a vision of Jesus riding upon a colt dressed all in white with many people laying down a path for him. It always reminds me of our own path in life, how Jesus not only laid down his life for us, he helps pave the way too. He guides us along the way. Those who have eyes will see, those who have ears will hear, and they will know.

So Jesus no longer walked about in public among the Jews, but he left for the region near the desert, to a town called Ephraim; and there he remained with his disciples. John 11:54

Jesus by now, has become unpopular for his miracles. These miracles should be turning these people around, bringing them to a belief in God's salvation, his truth. But Jesus needs to leave, the division is beyond what he expected.

We do this ourselves, we see it in the way we are, and in the many political systems around the world. When something is good, it is taken away, hidden from sight. We set out to destroy what is good, to put wrong in its place.

It is God's plan to remove sin so we may live, but we have not turned around. We still do as the Sanhedrin did. Plan to remove Jesus, because he reminds us to live in God, to follow a way that some believe would remove their pleasure. The pleasure to control, manipulate, destroy others by use of power, in other words to remove the Commandments that are from God. It ends up that we believe in God but we do not want to be reminded that we are to live a way that will give us life.

In this it's easy to understand why Jesus did not want to walk in public, he knew of their desire to end his life, their dislike of what he stands for, because it would mean change. That the way they live and teach would need to be conformed to the teaching that Jesus is all about God's love. They refused to see, just as we tend to do the same.

Father, I pray for your love to embrace the world, to help us not be as the Sanhedrin, but as your Son teaches, to love you.