March 20, 2026
Friday of the Fourth Week of Lent
Gospel: John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30

In today’s liturgy of the Word, the Gospel from St. John describes Jesus’ deeds in Galilee and Jerusalem during the time of the Feast of Tabernacles and the Feast of Dedication.

From the words of those inhabitants of Jerusalem, we can see a divided society. The Jews of Jesus’ time lived under the colonial rule of the Roman Empire, and thus they longed for Jesus to be the Messiah who would lead them to defeat the Roman Empire and establish a wealthy, independent, and glorious Israelite empire. However, Jesus told them:You know me, and you know where I am from. But I have not come on my own; rather, it is the One who is true—whom you do not know—who sent me. I know Him because I am from Him, and He sent me (cf. Jn 7:28). Therefore, they sought to arrest Jesus, for they wanted to eliminate a Messiah who was completely contrary to their ideas and not in line with their expectations.

Today, we too are doing the same thing. For we also package Jesus into the image we desire according to our own understanding of God’s Word, so that even though we have received Christian baptism and the anointing of the Holy Spirit, our minds and hearts are not attuned to Christ and His Spirit, refusing to be illuminated by the “true light that enlightens everyone”(cf. Jn 1:9).Therefore, in this Lenten season, let us rely on the Holy Spirit, mortify all unruly impulses of the flesh, and with a longing for eternal happiness, properly prepare our souls and live each day well.

O God, who have prepared fitting helps for us in our weakness, grant, we pray, that we may receive their healing effects with joy and reflect them in a holy way of life. 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. Amen.

©Totus Tuus 2026
Cum Approbatione Ecclesiastica