Beads of Joy Blog II (2025 - 2026)

🌿 Sunday, March 29, 2026 Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord Photo created by James Dacey, Jr. using Co-Pilot. Palm Sunday of the Passion of the Lord • Year A • Lent 2026 • Year A • Beads of Joy Blog II ✝️ Today's Mass Readings Procession Gospel: Matthew 21:1-11 First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24 Second Reading: Philippians 2:6-11 Passion Gospel: Matthew 26:14 - 27:66 📖 The Gospel - Matthew 21:1-11 & Matthew 26:14 - 27:66 He rides in on a donkey. The crowds wave palm branches and cry Hosanna. The whole city is shaken. Who is this? This is Jesus, the prophet from Nazareth. And then in the same liturgy, the longest Gospel of the year, everything unfolds. Judas. The Last Supper. Gethsemane. The arrest. The denial. The trial. The scourging. The cross. It is finished. 🙏 Gospel Reflection Palm Sunday is the most dramatic bipolar day in the entire liturgical year. I say bipolar for a reason. We begin it waving palms and cr...

🌿 Saturday, March 28, 2026 One Man Should Die for the People Caiaphas Prophesied Without Knowing Photo created by James Dacey, Jr. using Co-Pilot. Saturday of the Fifth Week of Lent • Lent 2026 • Year A • Beads of Joy Blog II ✝️ Today's Mass Readings First Reading: Ezekiel 37:21-28 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 85:9-10, 11-12, 13-14 Gospel: John 11:45-56 📖 The Gospel - John 11:45-56 After the raising of Lazarus, many believe in Jesus, but some report to the Pharisees, and the chief priests call a council. They are afraid that if we let him go on like this, everyone will believe. And Caiaphas says, it is better that one man die for the people than that the whole nation perish. And John tells us, he did not say this on his own. He prophesied. And from that day, they planned to put Jesus to death 🙏 Gospel   Reflection This is an extraordinary moment in the Gospel of John. Caiaphas intends his words as cold political calculation; one man sacrificed for the survival of the ...

🌿 Friday, March 27, 2026 They Picked Up Stones Jesus Escapes Their Anger Photo created by James Dacey, Jr. using Co-Pilot. Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent • Day of Abstinence • Lent 2026 • Year A • Beads of Joy Blog II ✝️ Today's Mass Readings First Reading: Jeremiah 20:10-13 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 18:2-3, 3-4, 5-6, 7 Gospel: John 10:31-42 📖 The Gospel - John 10:31-42 They picked up stones to throw at Jesus. He asks them, for which good work are you stoning me? They say, not for any good work but for blasphemy. Jesus reasons with them, quotes Scripture, and invites them to look at the evidence of His works. They try to arrest Him. Jesus escapes and goes back across the Jordan, where many came to believe in Him. 🙏 Gospel Reflection Jeremiah opens today with an honest and raw prayer. He has been mocked, threatened, and denounced by his own friends. He hears whispering on every side, denounce him, let us denounce him. And he pours it all out before God without softenin...

🌿 Thursday, March 26, 2026 Before Abraham Was - I AM Photo created by James Dacey, Jr using Co-Pilot. Thursday of the Fifth Week of Lent • Lent 2026 • Year A • Beads of Joy Blog II ✝️ Today's Mass Readings First Reading: Genesis 17:3-9 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 105:4-5, 6-7, 8-9 Gospel: John 8:51-59 📖 The Gospel - John 8:51-59 Jesus makes the most extraordinary claim in the entire Gospel of John, before Abraham came to be, I AM. The crowd is outraged. Abraham is dead. The prophets are dead. Who do you make yourself out to be? And Jesus says, " Your father Abraham rejoiced to see my day. He saw it and was glad. And then, before Abraham was, I AM." And they picked up stones to throw at Him. 🙏 Gospel Reflection Before Abraham was, I AM. Two words that contain all of eternity. Not I was. Not I existed before Abraham. I AM, the same divine name God spoke to Moses from the burning bush. The great I AM who has no beginning and no end. The eternal present tense of God...

🌿 Wednesday, March 25, 2026 Behold, I am The Handmaid of the Lord The Annunciation of the Lord Photo created by James Dacey, Jr. using Co-Pilot. Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord • Year A • Lent 2026 • Year A • Beads of Joy Blog II ✝️ Today's Mass Readings First Reading: Isaiah 7:10-14 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 40:7-8, 8-9, 10, 11 Second Reading: Hebrews 10:4-10 Gospel: Luke 1:26-38 📖 The Gospel - Luke 1:26-38 The angel Gabriel comes to Mary in Nazareth. Hail, full of grace, the Lord is with you. Mary is troubled and ponders what this greeting means. Gabriel tells her, " You will conceive and bear a son, and you shall name Him Jesus. He will be great, Son of the Most High. His kingdom will have no end." Mary says, “How can this be?” And then Mary says the words that changed all of human history: Behold, I am the handmaid of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word. 🙏 Gospel Reflection Stop and think about what day this is. March 25th. The ...

🌿 Tuesday, March 24, 2026 When You Lift Up the Son of Man He Will Draw All People to Himself Photo created by James Dacey, Jr. using Co-Pilot. Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent • Memorial of St. Oscar Romero • Lent 2026 • Year A • Beads of Joy Blog II ✝️ Today's Mass Readings First Reading: Numbers 21:4-9 Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 102:2-3, 16-18, 19-21 Gospel: John 8:21-30 📖 The Gospel - John 8:21-30 Jesus tells the Pharisees; I am going away, and where I am going you cannot come. He says, " When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM. And that He does nothing on His own, He speaks only what the Father has taught Him. And as He spoke these words, many came to believe in Him. 🙏 Gospel Reflection Today we remember St. Oscar Romero, the Archbishop of San Salvador, who was shot dead while celebrating Mass on March 24, 1980. He was killed because he refused to stop speaking the truth to power, refused to stop defending the poor, refused to be silent...