17 March 2026 (Tuesday) / Tuesday of the 4th week of Lent (optional commemoration of Saint Patrick, Bishop, Missionary) / Lenten Weekday/ Saint Patrick, Bishop, Missionary / Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent

17 March 2026 (Tuesday)

Tuesday of the 4th week of Lent (optional commemoration of Saint Patrick, Bishop, Missionary)

Lenten Weekday/ Saint Patrick, Bishop, Missionary.
Tuesday of the Fourth Week of Lent.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: Ezekiel 47: 1-9, 12
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 45(46):2‐3,5‐6,8‐9ab
Verse Before the Gospel: Psalms 51: 12a, 14a
Gospel: John 5:1‐3,5‐16
Liturgical year 2026 (Cycle A/II)
Liturgical color: violet (or purple)

First Reading : Ezekiel 47:1‐9,12

The angel brought me to the entrance of the Temple, where a stream came out from under the Temple threshold and flowed eastwards, since the Temple faced east. The water flowed from under the right side of the Temple, south of the altar. He took me out by the north gate and led me right round outside as far as the outer east gate where the water flowed out on the right‐hand side. The man went to the east holding his measuring line and measured off a thousand cubits; he then made me wade across the stream; the water reached my ankles. He measured off another thousand and made me wade across the stream again; the water reached my knees. He measured off another thousand and made me wade across again; the water reached my waist. He measured off another thousand; it was now a river which I could not cross; the stream had swollen and was now deep water, a river impossible to cross. He then said, ‘Do you see, son of man?’ He took me further, then brought me back to the bank of the river. When I got back, there were many trees on each bank of the river. He said, ‘This water flows east down to the Arabah and to the sea; and flowing into the sea it makes its waters wholesome. Wherever the river flows, all living creatures teeming in it will live. Fish will be very plentiful, for wherever the water goes it brings health, and life teems wherever the river flows. Along the river, on either bank, will grow every kind of fruit tree with leaves that never wither and fruit that never fails; they will bear new fruit every month, because this water comes from the sanctuary. And their fruit will be good to eat and the leaves medicinal.’

Responsive Psalm : Psalm 45(46):2‐3,5‐6,8‐9ab

The Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
God is for us a refuge and strength,
  a helper close at hand, in time of distress,
so we shall not fear though the earth should rock,
  though the mountains fall into the depths of the sea.
The Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
The waters of a river give joy to God’s city,
  the holy place where the Most High dwells.
God is within, it cannot be shaken;
  God will help it at the dawning of the day.
The Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
The Lord of hosts is with us:
  the God of Jacob is our stronghold.
Come, consider the works of the Lord,
  the redoubtable deeds he has done on the earth.
The Lord of hosts is with us: the God of Jacob is our stronghold.

Verse Before the Gospel: Psalms 51: 12a, 14a
12a, 14a A clean heart create for me, O God; give me back the joy of your salvation.
(1. [For the choirmaster Of David When the prophet Nathan had come to him because he had gone to Bathsheba] Have mercy on me, O God, in your faithful love, in your great tenderness wipe away my offences;
2. wash me clean from my guilt, purify me from my sin.
3. For I am well aware of my offences, my sin is constantly in mind.
4. Against you, you alone, I have sinned, I have done what you see to be wrong, that you may show your saving justice when you pass sentence, and your victory may appear when you give judgement,
5. remember, I was born guilty, a sinner from the moment of conception.
6. But you delight in sincerity of heart, and in secret you teach me wisdom.
7. Purify me with hyssop till I am clean, wash me till I am whiter than snow.
8. Let me hear the sound of joy and gladness, and the bones you have crushed will dance.
9. Turn away your face from my sins, and wipe away all my guilt.
10. God, create in me a clean heart, renew within me a resolute spirit,
11. do not thrust me away from your presence, do not take away from me your spirit of holiness.
12. Give me back the joy of your salvation, sustain in me a generous spirit.
13. I shall teach the wicked your paths, and sinners will return to you.
14. Deliver me from bloodshed, God, God of my salvation, and my tongue will acclaim your saving justice.
15. Lord, open my lips, and my mouth will speak out your praise.
16. Sacrifice gives you no pleasure, burnt offering you do not desire.
17. Sacrifice to God is a broken spirit, a broken, contrite heart you never scorn.
18. In your graciousness do good to Zion, rebuild the walls of Jerusalem.
19. Then you will delight in upright sacrifices,-burnt offerings and whole oblations -- and young bulls will be offered on your altar.)

Gospel : John 5:1‐3,5‐16

There was a Jewish festival, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem. Now at the Sheep Pool in Jerusalem there is a building, called Bethzatha in Hebrew, consisting of five porticos; and under these were crowds of sick people – blind, lame, paralysed – waiting for the water to move. One man there had an illness which had lasted thirty‐eight years, and when Jesus saw him lying there and knew he had been in this condition for a long time, he said, ‘Do you want to be well again?’ ‘Sir,’ replied the sick man ‘I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is disturbed; and while I am still on the way, someone else gets there before me.’ Jesus said, ‘Get up, pick up your sleeping‐mat and walk.’ The man was cured at once, and he picked up his mat and walked away.

Now that day happened to be the sabbath, so the Jews said to the man who had been cured, ‘It is the sabbath; you are not allowed to carry your sleeping‐mat.’ He replied, ‘But the man who cured me told me, “Pick up your mat and walk.” They asked, ‘Who is the man who said to you, “Pick up your mat and walk”?’ The man had no idea who it was, since Jesus had disappeared into the crowd that filled the place. After a while Jesus met him in the Temple and said, ‘Now you are well again, be sure not to sin any more, or something worse may happen to you.’ The man went back and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had cured him. It was because he did things like this on the sabbath that the Jews began to persecute Jesus.

For our reflection today:

Jesus asks the paralytic a question that may seem superfluous: “Do you want to be well?” (v. 6). Instead, it is a necessary question, because when one is stuck for so many years, even the will to heal may fade. Indeed, this man replies in a more articulate way to Jesus’ question, revealing his true vision of life. He says first of all that he has no-one to immerse him in the pool: so he is not to blame, but the others who do not take care of him. This attitude becomes the pretext for avoiding responsibility. Instead, Jesus helps him to discover that his life is also in his hands. He invites him to get up, to raise himself up from his chronic situation, and to take his stretcher (cf. v. 8). That mat is not to be left or thrown away: it represents his past of sickness, his history. Until that moment, the past had blocked him; it had forced him to lie like a dead man. Now it is he who can take that mat and carry it wherever he wishes: he can decide what to make of his history! It is a matter of walking, taking responsibility for choosing what road to take. And this is thanks to Jesus! (Leo XIV - General Audience, 18 June 2025)

Jonathan Fabian Ginunggil,
Pelayan Atasan Tertinggi / Most High Servant,
Yesus, Maria, Yusuf Pelayanan Kasih / Jesus, Mary, Joseph Ministry of Love 
(Blessed and Saints and the Nine Choirs of Angels)

My vocation is Blessed and Saints.

"I am the most humble of all the Saints in Heaven" Mary, Mother of God."

"I am the handmaid of the Lord, said Mary ‘let what you have said be done to me."

Mother Mary is the most humble Saint in Heaven and she is also the Mother of God for us all
(Luke 1:38)