March 17, 2026
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Or Optional Memorial of Saint Patrick, Bishop
Gospel: John 5:1-16

Today the Church celebrates the Optional Memorial of St. Patrick, Bishop. The account of his life tells us: the Saint was a fifth-century Romano-British missionary and Bishop of Ireland. He is called the “Apostle of Ireland,” the principal patron saint of Ireland, and also the patron saint of St. Brigid of Kildare, St. Columba, and Nigeria. In his autobiography Confessio, he wrote: “At the age of sixteen, I was captured by Irish pirates from my home in Britain and taken as a slave to Ireland. I lived there for six years, tending flocks, until I escaped and returned to my family. After being ordained a priest, I returned to preach the Gospel in the main part of Ireland and its western regions. In my later years, I served as a bishop, though little is known about where I carried out my work.”

Today, the passage from the Gospel according to St. John describes Jesus’ healing at Bethesda:

We often see beggars along the roadsides—many of them, like those gathered around the five porticoes of the Pool of Bethesda, suffer from various ailments: the blind, the lame, the paralyzed, all waiting for assistance (Jn 5:1-3). Yet when we encounter them in life, we often dismiss them as professional beggars and refuse to offer aid.

Before we knew God, we too were like the man paralyzed for thirty-eight years, longing for His mercy (Jn 5:5-7). By reason of original sin, we are stained with sin from birth. Though we may move freely in the world, our souls remain under the power of the devil and his minions—bound by the slavery of sin and death, yearning for God’s redemption.
The moments we encounter God are often unexpected: when passing by a church, our hearts are moved by the prayers and sacrifice of praise offered by those who worship the Father in spirit and truth (Jn 4:23). At such times, our souls impel our bodies to draw closer to God. Christ, rich in mercy, then heals us with His infinite compassion, just as He did the paralytic of thirty-eight years (Jn 5:8-9), freeing us from the bondage that sin inflicts upon our souls.

Today, let us imitate the paralytic healed by Jesus no longer be bound by the logic and rules of this world, which often hinder our journey to God. Only the words of Jesus Christ and the world of God He reveals to us can grant us true freedom.

May the venerable exercises of holy devotion shape the hearts of your faithful, O Lord, to welcome worthily the Paschal Mystery and proclaim the praises of your salvation. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica