You must die.

"Christ was handed over, to gather into one the scattered children of God." (Communion Antiphon: Cf. John 11: 52).

Saturday 4th April 2020 of the 5th week of Lent is the feast of St Isidore (560 - 636), Bishop and Doctor of the Church. Isidore was Bishop of Seville in Spain and a leading light in the Church in Spain. He initiated many local Church councils. St Isidore earned his place among the Doctors of the Church by his rigorous scholarship especially his extensive Encyclopedia (Etymologies) which was popular up to the Middle Ages.

We are on the Eve of Palm Sunday, the beginning of Holy Week. The plot to kill Jesus has thickened at this point. Who wants to kill Jesus and who will benefit most from His disappearance from the religious-political scene?
“You know nothing, nor do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people, so that the whole nation may not perish.” (John 11: 49 - 50).
This is the voice of the High Priest, Caiaphas. He provides a powerful motive for the criminal conspiracy. The fate of Jesus is sealed.

The plan of the Father for the salvation of the world has taken a definitive path to victory. Is God the Father incapable of stopping the execution of His beloved Son Jesus? Or all the evils in the world? Just one word will stop them. "In the most mysterious way God the Father has revealed his almighty power in the voluntary humiliation and Resurrection of his Son, by which he conquered evil."
The Cross has been ordained by the Father from eternity to be the means of our Salvation. No Cross, No Crown. No Trials. No Triumph.

As we enter the most holy Week of the year, we pray for the grace to understand the meaning of the Cross in our lives.

Daily Bible Verse @ SeekFirstcommunity.com