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
Gospel Acclamation: Verse Before the Gospel: Luke 8:11
Gospel: John 8: 21-30
Liturgical year 2026 (Cycle A/II)
Liturgical color: violet (or purple)

First Reading : Numbers 21:4‐9

The Israelites left Mount Hor by the road to the Sea of Suph, to skirt the land of Edom. On the way the people lost patience. They spoke against God and against Moses, ‘Why did you bring us out of Egypt to die in this wilderness? For there is neither bread nor water here; we are sick of this unsatisfying food.’
  At this God sent fiery serpents among the people; their bite brought death to many in Israel. The people came and said to Moses, ‘We have sinned by speaking against the Lord and against you. Intercede for us with the Lord to save us from these serpents.’ Moses interceded for the people, and the Lord answered him, ‘Make a fiery serpent and put it on a standard. If anyone is bitten and looks at it, he shall live.’ So Moses fashioned a bronze serpent which he put on a standard, and if anyone was bitten by a serpent, he looked at the bronze serpent and lived.

Responsive Psalm : Psalm 101(102):2‐3,16‐21

O Lord, listen to my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.
O Lord, listen to my prayer
  and let my cry for help reach you.
Do not hide your face from me
  in the day of my distress.
Turn your ear towards me
  and answer me quickly when I call.
O Lord, listen to my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.
The nations shall fear the name of the Lord
  and all the earth’s kings your glory,
when the Lord shall build up Zion again
  and appear in all his glory.
Then he will turn to the prayers of the helpless;
  he will not despise their prayers.
O Lord, listen to my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.
Let this be written for ages to come
  that a people yet unborn may praise the Lord;
for the Lord leaned down from his sanctuary on high.
  He looked down from heaven to the earth
that he might hear the groans of the prisoners
  and free those condemned to die.
O Lord, listen to my prayer and let my cry for help reach you.

Gospel Acclamation: 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

Jesus said to the Pharisees:
‘I am going away;
you will look for me
and you will die in your sin.
Where I am going, you cannot come.’
The Jews said to one another, ‘Will he kill himself? Is that what he means by saying, “Where I am going, you cannot come”?’ Jesus went on:
‘You are from below; I am from above.
You are of this world; I am not of this world.
I have told you already:
You will die in your sins.
Yes, if you do not believe that I am He,
you will die in your sins.’
So they said to him, ‘Who are you?’ Jesus answered:
‘What I have told you from the outset.
About you I have much to say
and much to condemn;
but the one who sent me is truthful,
and what I have learnt from him
I declare to the world.’
They failed to understand that he was talking to them about the Father. So Jesus said:
‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man,
then you will know that I am He
and that I do nothing of myself:
what the Father has taught me is what I preach;
he who sent me is with me,
and has not left me to myself,
for I always do what pleases him.’
As he was saying this, many came to believe 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)