March 14, 2026 Saturday of the Third Week of Lent Gospel: Luke 18:9-14 Imitate the Tax Collector, Humbly Recognizing Our Unworthiness
Today is the Saturday of the Third Week of Lent. The Gospel passage taken from Saint Luke recounts the scene of a Pharisee and a tax collector praying in the Temple. We know the Temple was a place of worship and adoration of God. So too is our present-day church: within its walls, hidden in the tabernacle, is the Word of God made flesh; there is the altar, the lectern, and the choir, which sings hymns praising God; there are lectors who proclaim God’s Word in language we can understand; there is our beloved priest, who preaches from the Ambo; and there are the people of God, who approach the altar to pay homage to God according to their custom and in obedience to the Church’s teachings. The Pharisee Jesus speaks of refers to those Jews who strictly observed the laws of God but emphasized external rituals, sought the praise of others, and often clashed with Him. Some biblical scholars note that tax collectors abandoned their faith, betrayed their own people for money, and became exploiters even of the poor. Thus, in our eyes, neither of these two men was righteous—both were sinners. From the Pharisee’s prayer (cf. Luke 18:11-12), we see his heart: he desired recognition from God, considering himself righteous and condemning those he deemed unworthy to pray to God. He hoped God would publicly condemn the tax collector, just as he did. To him, the God who heard his prayers was one who rewards the good and punishes the wicked—and by “good,” he meant those who obeyed the laws he had added to God’s commandments. The tax collector was different: unlike the Pharisee (cf. Luke 18:13), he did not boast of his own deeds. He dared not even lift his eyes to God, setting an example for us.
As we come to church today, let us imitate this tax collector: sit quietly before the altar, not boasting as the Pharisee did, but offering a prayer to God in the simplest words. This simple prayer is: “Lord, have mercy on me, a sinner, that I may fix my gaze on Your mysteries.”May He grant us various graces according to His holy will.
Rejoicing in this annual celebration of our Lenten observance, we pray, O Lord, that, with our hearts set on the paschal mysteries, we may be gladdened by their full effects. 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 13, 2026 Friday of the Third Week of Lent Gospel: Mark 12:28-34
We often act like the scribe in the Gospel, believing that by following the basic principles of worldly laws, we can survive and improve our lives. We even become calculating, seeking the greatest return for the smallest cost. We also often resemble that scribe, searching among the sacred words proclaimed by the Church—the very precepts taught to us by our Lord Jesus Christ, the commandments—for those that benefit us. We reject whatever seems disadvantageous, following only the laws we deem important while neglecting those we consider secondary. This tendency stems from our Original Sin; sin makes us restless and robs us of true freedom. Today, Jesus teaches us two commandments: “Hear, O Israel! The Lord our God is Lord alone! You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind, and with all your strength.’ The second is this: ‘You shall love your neighbour as yourself.’ There is no other commandment greater than these.” (cf. Mk 12:29-31) He does not intend to abolish the other commandments, but rather to reveal the essence of the Ten Commandments given by God to Moses on Mount Sinai. For us, the Ten Commandments are not a burdensome set of rules, but a law of love. God asks us to love Him, saying, “I, the Lord, show mercy to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (cf. Ex 20:6), and He further asks us to do good to others (cf. Ex 20:12-17). All this corresponds perfectly with what Jesus said. In this Lenten season, let us never forget to encounter God through prayer, to daily read the Word of God, and to listen to His teachings. In our lives, let us always follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, living according to the spirit of the Gospel.
Pour your grace into our hearts, we pray, O Lord, that we may be constantly drawn away from unruly desires and obey by your own gift the heavenly teaching you give us. 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 12, 2026 Thursday of the Third Week of Lent Gospel: Luke 11:14-23
In our lives, we often face criticism for all that we do. Especially when we spontaneously assist those who are lonely and vulnerable, those who witness our good deeds may, like the crowds who saw Jesus driving out demons (cf. Lk 11:15-16), believe that our achievements are not from good works but from satisfying our own desires to gain praise in this fleeting world.
How should we act when we endure such criticism, that we may be worthy of God’s blessing? If we debate with those who hold different views on certain matters and try to outwit them with our own reason, we would, as Jesus said (cf. Lk 11:17-19), lose the peace God originally bestowed upon us, leading us to fall into eternal perdition together in hatred for one another. But if we strive to learn from Christ, “the One lifted up from the earth [who] will draw all to Himself” (cf. Jn 12:31B-32), we will discover this: in the eyes of the world, the cross was once an instrument of extreme cruelty, sowing hatred among people; yet for those who, through Baptism in Christ, “have crucified the old self with Christ, so that the self belonging to sin might die and we might no longer be slaves to sin” (cf. Rom 6:6); who “rely on the Holy Spirit to put to death the misdeeds of the body and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit, becoming children of God” (cf. Rom 8:13-14); and who share “the one cup of blessing which we bless, and the one bread which we break, and are all united in Jesus Christ” (cf. 1 Cor 10:1-17)—for these, the cross is not an instrument of division, but a sign of reconciliation with the Father and all His creation. For the Christ lifted high on the cross once “with loud cries and tears, offered prayers and supplications to the One who could save Him from death” (cf. Heb 5:7). As He hung on the cross, He prayed to the Father: “Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing” (cf. Lk 23:34).
We implore your majesty most humbly, O Lord, that, as the feast of our salvation draws ever closer, so we may press forward all the more eagerly towards the worthy celebration of the Paschal Mystery. 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
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