And they came  into Jerusalem again and while he was walking in the precincts of the Temple, the chief priests and the scholars and the elders  came to him, and they said to him: ‘By what kind of authority do you do these things? Who gave you this authority to do these things?’ 

But Jesus said to them: ‘I will ask you one question, and answer me, and I will say to you by what authority I do these things. The baptism of John – from heaven or from people? Answer me.’

And they debated between themselves: If we say “From heaven”, he will say “Why did you not believe him?” But should we say “From people…?” – they feared the crowd, for all held that John really was a prophet. And they answered Jesus: ‘We do not know.’ and Jesus said to them, ‘Neither do I say to you by what authority I do these things.”

Teach us, good Lord,
to serve thee as thou deservest;
to give and not to count the cost;
to fight and not to heed the wounds;
to toil and not to seek for rest;
to labour and not to ask for any reward,
save that of knowing that we do thy will,
through Jesus Christ our Lord.
Amen

St Ignatius

And as they passed by early in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. And Peter remembered and said ‘Teacher, look – the fig tree which you cursed, withered.’

And Jesus replied to them:
‘Have faith in God.

Truly I say to you all: if someone says to this mountain
‘Be lifted up and be thrown into the sea
and they do not doubt in their heart, 

          but believe what they say is happening, 
it will done for them.

Because of this, I say to you:
Whatever you pray and ask for 
– believe that you have received – 
and it will be done for you. 

And whenever you stand praying, 
forgive whatever you have against someone,
and your Father who is in heaven
will forgive your trespasses too.’

Grant, Lord,
that we may hold to you without parting,
worship you without wearying,
serve you without failing;
faithfully seek you,
happily find you,
and forever possess you,
the only God,blessed now and for ever.
Amen

St Anselm

And they came into Jerusalem, and having entered the temple precincts he began to throw out the sellers and the buyers in the precincts, and he overturned the tables of the money-changers and and the seats of the sellers of doves, and he would not allow any thing to be carried through the precincts.

And he taught: them: ‘Is it not written:

“My house is called a house of prayer, for all the nations?”

But you have made it a cave of robbers.’

And the chief priests and the scholars heard him, and they sought how to kill him. For they feared him, for all the crowd were amazed at his teaching. And when it was late, they left the city.

Thank you, dear Jesus,
for all you have given me,
for all you have taken away from me,
for all you have left me.

Thomas More (c.1478-1535)

And he entered Jerusalem, into the Temple precinct and when he had  looked around at everything, it being already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. 

And on the next day, when they had left Bethany, he was hungry.  And seeing at a distance a fig tree, with leaves he went to see if perhaps he would find  anything on it, and having come to it he found nothing, except leaves.  For it was not the season for figs. 

And responding, he said ‘Never, ever  may anyone eat from you.’ And his disciples heard him. 

Then follows the cleansing of the Temple

19  And when it was late, they left the city.

And as they passed by early in the morning, they saw the fig tree withered from the roots. And Peter remembered and said ‘Teacher, look – the fig tree which you cursed, withered.’

Lord, make me an instrument of your peace:
Where there is hatred, let me sow love;
Where there is injury, pardon;
Where there is discord, union;
Where there is doubt, faith;
Where there is despair, hope;
Where there is darkness, light;
Where there is sadness, joy,
For your mercy and for your truth’s sake. Amen

And when they were close to Jerusalem, in the vicinity of Bethphage and Bethany, near the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples and said to them:

‘Go into the village ahead of you and immediately as you enter it, you will find a colt tied, upon which nobody has sat. Untie it and bring it. And if someone says to you ‘“Why are you doing this?”  say “The Lord needs it, and he will send it back here immediately.

And they went and found a colt tied to a door, outside in the street and they untied it. 

And some people, standing there, said to them: ‘Why do you untie the colt?’ And they said to them as Jesus had said, and they allowed them. And they brought the colt to Jesus and placed their cloaks on it, and he sat upon it. 

And many people spread their cloaks on the road, others ‘greenery’, having cut it in the fields.  Those who went before and those who followed were crying:

‘Hosanna, 
Blessed is the one who comes in the name of the Lord.
Blessed is the coming kingdom of our father, David. 
Hosanna in the highest.’

And he entered Jerusalem, into the Temple precinct and when he had  looked around at everything, it being already late, he went out to Bethany with the twelve. 

---

Zechariah 9:9

Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion!
    Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem!
Behold, your king is coming to you;
    righteous and having salvation is he,
humble and mounted on a donkey,
    on a colt, the foal of a donkey.

Ps 118:25-26

Save us, we pray, O Lord!
    O Lord, we pray, give us success!

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!
    We bless you from the house of the Lord.

O Lord Jesus Christ,
stay beside me to defend me,
within me to guide me,
before me to lead me,
and above me to bless me,
that with you and in you,
I may live, and move and have my being,
for ever and ever.
Amen.

(unknown)

And they came into Jericho.

And when he was leaving Jericho, with his disciples and with a large crowd – Bartimaeus (son of Timaeus) a blind beggar, was sitting beside the road. 

And having  heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out:
‘Son of David, Jesus, have mercy on me.’

And many sternly ordered him to be silent.

But he shouted even more:
‘Son of David, have mercy on me.’ 

Jesus stopped and said: ‘Call him.’
and they called the blind man, saying to him
‘Take heart, get up, he is calling you.’ 

Having thrown off his cloak and  jumped up, he came to Jesus. 

And Jesus responded to him ‘What do you want me to do for you?’

The blind man said to him: ‘Rabbouni, I want to see again.’

And Jesus said to him:
‘Go, your faith has saved you.’
and immediately he saw again
and he followed him on the road.

O thou, who art the light of the minds that know thee,
the life of the souls that love thee,
and the strength of the wills that serve thee;
help us so to know thee that we may truly love thee;
so to love thee that we may fully serve thee,
whom to serve is perfect freedom.
Amen

And Jacob* and John, the sons of Zebedee, came to him saying ‘Teacher, we want you to do for us whatever we ask you.’

He said to them ‘What do you want me to do for you?’

And they said to him: ‘Grant to us that one of us will sit at your right and one at your left in your glory. ‘

But Jesus said to them: ‘ You do not understand what you are asking for.
Can you drink the cup which I drink
or be baptised with the baptism with the baptism I will be baptised with? ‘

But they said to him ‘We can.’

But Jesus said to them:
‘The cup which I drink, you will drink,
and you will be baptised with the baptism with which I will be baptised,

but to sit at my right or left is not mine to give.
But it will be given to those for whom it is prepared.’

But the ten hearing this, began to be angry about Jacob and John. 

And when Jesus had called them together, he said :
You understand that those who are seen to be rulers of the pagans lord it over them
and their great ones tyrannise them.
It is not so among you,
but whoever wishes to be great,
let them be among you as your servant,
and whoever wishes among you to be first will be a slave of everyone. 

For even the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve,
and give his life a ransom for many. ‘

*James

God be in head and in my understanding;
God be in my eyes and in my looking;
God be in my mouth and in my speaking;
God be in my heart and in my thinking;
God be at my end and at my departing.

Peter began to say to him: ‘Look, we have left everything and followed you. 

Jesus said: ‘Truly I say to you, there is no-one who has left house, or brothers, or sisters, or mother or father or children or fields because of me and because of the gospel who will not receive, now in this time,  a hundred times house and brothers and sisters and mothers and children and fields with persecution, and in the coming age ‘eternal life. 

‘But there will be many that are first last and last first. ‘

They were on the road,  going up to Jerusalem,  and Jesus was going ahead of them, and astonished, the followers were fearful, and taking aside the twelve again, he began to tell them the things about to happen to him: ‘Look, I am going up into Jerusalem, and the Son of Man will be handed over to  the High Priests and the scholars, and they will condemn him to death and they will hand him over to the pagans, and they will mock him, and spit on him and scourge him and they will kill him. And after three days he will rise. ‘

Eternal Light, shine into our hearts;
Eternal Goodness, deliver us from evil;
Eternal Power, be our support;
Eternal Wisdom, scatter the darkness of our ignorance:
That we may seek your face
with all our heart and mind and soul and strength. Amen.
Alcuin

And when he had gone out onto the road, one person, having run up to him and having knelt before him, asked him : ‘Good teacher, what must I do in order to receive the life of the new age?’

But Jesus said to him ‘Why do you say “good”? Nobody except God is good. You know the commandments: “Do not murder.” “Do not commit adultery.” “Do not steal.” “Do not bear false witness.” Do not cheat. “Honour your father and mother.” 

And he said to him: ‘Teacher, I have kept myself from all these from my youth.’ 

Jesus having looked directly at him, loved him and said to him: ‘One thing you lack, go, whatever you have sell, and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven, and come, follow me! 

But shocked because of the saying, he left, sad. 

For he had many possessions.

God, give me grace to accept with serenity
the things that cannot be changed,
Courage to change the things
which should be changed,
and the Wisdom to distinguish
the one from the other.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as a pathway to peace,
Taking, as Jesus did,
This sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it,
Trusting that You will make all things right,
If I surrender to Your will,
So that I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with You forever in the next.

Amen.

And they were bringing to him little children in order that he might lay his hands on them. But the disciples rebuked them. 

Jesus having seen this, was angry and said to them: ‘Let the little children come to me, do not try to stop them, for the Kingdom of God belongs to ones such as these. 

Truly I say to you, whoever does not receive the Kingdom of God as a little child (receives it), will not enter it.’

 And having put his arms around them he blessed them, placing his hands on them. 

Be thou my vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that thou art –
Thou my best thought, by day or by night;
Waking or sleeping, thy presence my light.