March 21, 2026 Saturday of the Fourth Week of Lent Gospel: John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30
In today’s Liturgy of the Word, the Gospel passage from Saint John presents us with a scene where the crowd debates because of the words spoken by Jesus.
We often interpret the events around us according to the general patterns of things. Just as those Jews who lived with Jesus, when they heard Him say, “Let anyone who thirsts come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture says: ‘From within him there shall flow rivers of living water,’” (Jn 7:37b-38), they judged Jesus arbitrarily based on their own understanding of His words, and this judgment caused division among them (cf. Jn 7:41-44). This was because they followed the impulses of the flesh rather than being guided by the Holy Spirit.
Our understanding of God’s will can sometimes be like that of the Jews, the chief priests, and the Pharisees of Jesus’ time. In their view, since God is merciful and almighty, He would surely deliver His servants from all suffering. Therefore, when God did not bless His servants as they had hoped, they concluded that those who preached the Gospel of the Kingdom were of evil intent, and thus they refused to listen to their proclamation (cf. Jn 7:45-49). They even refused to hear the noble testimony given by those who worshiped the Father in spirit and truth, and who bore witness to the truth they believed in (cf. Jn 7:50-53). As we draw closer to Holy Week, let us change our past perceptions of Jesus and the Kingdom of God He proclaimed. Instead of seeing God as people of this changing world do, let us understand Him correctly under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, and live out the Word of God worthily.
May the working of your mercy, O Lord, we pray, direct our hearts aright, for without your grace we cannot find favor in your sight. 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
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.
March 19, 2026 Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse of the Blessed Virgin Mary Gospel: Matthew 1:16, 18-21, 24A or Luke 2:41-51A
Today the universal Church celebrates the feast day of St. Joseph. First, I wish all brothers and sisters in Christ who have St. Joseph as their patron a happy name day celebration. Second, I also wish all parishes that have St. Joseph as their patron a happy parish feast day.
The Liturgy of the Word today offers two Gospel passages about St. Joseph. St. Matthew the Evangelist reveals what happened before the birth of Jesus Christ, while St. Luke the Evangelist depicts when Jesus was twelve years old, conversing with the scribes in the Temple, and the dialogue between Him and the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph, who had anxiously searched for Him for three days and three nights. These two evangelists, each in their own appropriate way, present to us a vivid picture of the Holy Family of Nazareth, from which we can also see St. Joseph’s obedience and the Blessed Virgin Mary’s humility.
The world we live in is filled with material pleasures and permeated by individualism and consumerism. People often center themselves, prioritizing the fulfillment of various needs in their lives, without placing God’s Word in their hearts at all, living out the spirit and joy of the Gospel in daily life—still less like St. Joseph, who, though unable to understand God’s will at the moment, out of filial love and trust in God, carried out God’s will. Though he could not understand everything Jesus said and did in the Temple, he did not rush to judge, nor did he directly reprimand Jesus. Instead, he chose to contemplate, like the Blessed Virgin Mary, to see what God’s will truly was.
Perhaps we might think that Jesus would be rebellious, but the opposite is true. He did not disobey the Blessed Virgin Mary and St. Joseph; on the contrary, He chose to obey, setting an example for us. Therefore, on this feast day of St. Joseph, let us together offer a prayer to God:
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that by Saint Joseph’s intercession your Church may constantly watch over the unfolding of the mysteries of human salvation, whose beginnings you entrusted to his faithful care. 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.
全属于祢 
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