24 March 2026 (Tuesday) / Lenten Weekday / Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent

24 March 2026 (Tuesday)

Lenten Weekday.
Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent.

Readings from the Bible of the Roman Catholic Church:

First Reading: Numbers 21: 4-9
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 102: 2-3, 16-18, 19-21
Verse Before the Gospel: Luke 8:11
Gospel: John 8: 21-30

First Reading: Numbers 21: 4-9

4 And they marched from mount Hor, by the way that leadeth to the Red Sea, to compass the land of Edom. And the people began to be weary of their journey and labour:
5 And speaking against God and Moses, they said: Why didst thou bring us out of Egypt, to die in the wilderness? There is no bread, nor have we any waters: our soul now loatheth this very light food.
6 Wherefore the Lord sent among the people fiery serpents, which bit them and killed many of them.
7 Upon which they came to Moses, and said: We have sinned, because we have spoken against the Lord and thee: pray that he may take away these serpents from us. And Moses prayed for the people.
8 And the Lord said to him: Make brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign: whosoever being struck shall look on it, shall live.
9 Moses therefore made a brazen serpent, and set it up for a sign: which when they that were bitten looked upon, they were healed.

Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 102: 2-3, 16-18, 19-21

R. (2) O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
2 Hear, O Lord, my prayer: and let my cry come to thee.
3 Turn not away thy face from me: in the day when I am in trouble, incline thy ear to me. In what day soever I shall call upon thee, hear me speedily.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
16 And the Gentiles shall fear thy name, O Lord, and all the kings of the earth thy glory.
17 For the Lord hath built up Sion: and he shall be seen in his glory.
18 He hath had regard to the prayer of the humble: and he hath not despised their petition.
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.
19 Let these things be written unto another generation: and the people that shall be created shall praise the Lord:
20 Because he hath looked forth from his high sanctuary: from heaven the Lord hath looked upon the earth.
21 That he might hear the groans of them that are in fetters: that he might release the children of the slain:
R. O Lord, hear my prayer, and let my cry come to you.

Verse Before the Gospel: Luke 8:11
11 "The seed is the word of God, Christ is the sower; all who come to him will live for ever"
(11. 'This, then, is what the parable means: the seed is the word of God.
12. Those on the edge of the path are people who have heard it, and then the devil comes and carries away the word from their hearts in case they should believe and be saved.
13. Those on the rock are people who, when they first hear it, welcome the word with joy. But these have no root; they believe for a while, and in time of trial they give up.
14. As for the part that fell into thorns, this is people who have heard, but as they go on their way they are choked by the worries and riches and pleasures of life and never produce any crops.
15. As for the part in the rich soil, this is people with a noble and generous heart who have heard the word and take it to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance).

Gospel: John 8: 21-30

21 Again therefore Jesus said to them: I go, and you shall seek me, and you shall die in your sin. Whither I go, you cannot come.
22 The Jews therefore said: Will he kill himself, because he said: Whither I go, you cannot come?
23 And he said to them: You are from beneath, I am from above. You are of this world, I am not of this world.
24 Therefore I said to you, that you shall die in your sins. For if you believe not that I am he, you shall die in your sin.
25 They said therefore to him: Who art thou? Jesus said to them: The beginning, who also speak unto you.
26 Many things I have to speak and to judge of you. But he that sent me, is true: and the things I have heard of him, these same I speak in the world.
27 And they understood not, that he called God his Father.
28 Jesus therefore said to them: When you shall have lifted up the Son of man, then shall you know, that I am he, and that I do nothing of myself, but as the Father hath taught me, these things I speak:
29 And he that sent me, is with me, and he hath not left me alone: for I do always the things that please him.
30 When he spoke these things, many believed in him.

For our reflection today:

Today’s first reading speaks to us of the people’s journey through the desert. We can imagine them as they walked, led by Moses. At a certain point, “the people became impatient on the way” (Num 21:4). They are tired, water supplies are low and all they have for food is manna, which, although plentiful and sent by God, seems far too meagre in a time of crisis. And so they complain and protest against God and against Moses: “Why did you make us leave?...” (cf. Num. 21:5). They are tempted to turn back and abandon the journey. During such moments of disorientation – the Bible says – poisonous serpents come and bite the people, and many die. This causes the people to repent and to turn to Moses for forgiveness, asking him to beseech the Lord so that he will cast out the snakes. Moses prays to the Lord, and the Lord offers a remedy: a bronze serpent set on a pole; whoever looks at it will be saved from the deadly poison of the vipers. What is the meaning of this symbol? God does not destroy the serpents, but rather offers an “antidote”: by means of the bronze serpent fashioned by Moses, God transmits his healing strength, namely his mercy, which is more potent than the Tempter’s poison. (Francis - Homily in the Holy Mass with the rite of marriage in the feast of the exaltation on the Holy Cross)

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)