THE SECRET OF LIFE IS HERE At the beginning of Holy Week, the Church recalls the great gift given to us by God the Father, sending His Only Son to show us the magnificence and greatness of His Love for us; despite our sins, with a mix of our own virtues and shortcomings. Those who manage to understand the happenings in the last week of Jesus’ mortality on Earth are free to boast about having discovered “the secret of life”; those who do not will definitely find it difficult to live this life fully. On Palm Sunday, we commemorate Jesus triumphant entry into Jerusalem. His arrival is received with the joy and praise of those who already knew and loved Him. However, just a few days later, these same people would condemn Him by loudly asking the Roman governor Pontius Pilate to release a criminal [Barabbas] and kill Jesus. Here we see two groups of followers, the smallest, made up of those who had actually understood who Jesus was, that He was at the summit of His earthly life in His service to God. The other group was made up of those who failed to recognize who Jesus was or at the very least chose to close their hearts and did not want to listen to or believe in Him. About that arrival in Jerusalem, the Gospel says “Jesus wept over the city” (Luke 19:41). For though He was received as a king, the Lord knew that the crowds were hard at heart and most of them would stay lost in that hardness. Also, Jesus tears must also have been due to the fact that one of His closest disciples would betray Him. Something very similar is happening in our times. Many choose to harden their hearts to God‘s call of Jesus Love made to their soul and keep on rejecting Him with indifference or malice. God is saddened by those who, having known Him in their soul, failed to live in His Love today. During that week, what we know today as Holy Week, Jesus revealed to His disciples immense things previously unknown to them. At the Last Supper, just before His Passion and Death, Jesus explained once again that He would be offered in Sacrifice for the Redemption of our sins and the Salvation that would lead us to Eternal Life. He said “this is My Body given for you; do this in remembrance of Me.” (Luke 22:19); thereby establishing a whole host of sacraments to channel God’s grace for our Salvation. The Apostles, His friends, and students had a hard time understanding these revelations about a “New Covenant” of God with those who believed in Him. Jesus is a few hours away from His martyrdom and undoubtedly, His human part is suffering. He is about to voluntarily surrender Himself to His enemies for the Love of the Father and humankind. The perfect “Man” will be judged, sacrificed, and martyred as a criminal. All for His Love for…