 |
| Photo created by James Dacey, Jr. using Co-Pilot. |
Wednesday of the
Second Week of Lent • Lent 2026 • Year A • Beads of Joy Blog II
✝️ Today's Mass Readings
First Reading: Jeremiah 18:18-20
Responsorial Psalm: Psalm 31:5-6, 14, 15-16
Gospel: Matthew 20:17-28
📖 The Gospel - Matthew 20:17-28
Jesus pulls His
disciples aside on the road to Jerusalem and tells them plainly that He is going to
be handed over, mocked, scourged, and crucified, and on the third day He will be
raised. And before He even finishes, the mother of James and John comes forward
and asks, can my sons sit at Your right and left in the kingdom? Jesus looks at
them gently and says, you don't know what you're asking.
🙏 Gospel Reflection
I have always found
something deeply human and almost tender in this moment. Jesus has just
described His coming Passion, the most serious thing He has ever said to them,
and the disciples' response is to see how they can be a big part of it. It is
not that they are cruel or calculating. They simply cannot yet see what kind of
kingdom Jesus is building. They are still thinking in the old way, kings,
thrones, power, and honor. And Jesus is walking toward a cross.
Jeremiah, in the first reading, is himself
walking toward his own kind of cross; his enemies are plotting against him,
trying to silence his voice, repaying his prayers for them with persecution.
And he cries out honestly to God, "I stood before You and spoke in their favor." That is the posture of the true servant. Not someone who serves because it
feels good or gets rewarded, but someone who keeps serving even when it costs.
Jesus answers the disciples' question about
greatness, and He answered with a very powerful statement: whoever wants to be
great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be
your slave, just as the Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and
to give His life as a ransom for many. He is not just teaching a principle. He
is describing Himself. He is the answer to His own question about greatness.
Looking back on all the years of making
rosaries and giving them away, running Rosary Makers ministries, driving to churches
and shrines, sharing my faith in parking lots and at kitchen tables, and even now
on this blog that stretches back more than a decade, none of it felt like
greatness at any moment. It just feels like an amazing way to share the love of
Jesus with others. And maybe that is exactly the point. I don’t do this for any
personal gain or recognition. I do this in the hopes that you fall deeply in
love with our Lord and our Lady, just as I have.
💭 Reflection Question
Where in your life
right now are you still thinking about the kingdom in the old way, expecting
reward, recognition, or the seat of honor, and what would it mean to pick up your
own cross of humility, instead of waiting for the throne?
📿 Today's Rosary - The Sorrowful Mysteries
Today's Focus
Mystery: The Carrying of the
Cross
Jesus told His
disciples He would carry a cross, and then He did. He didn't just teach servant
leadership. He lived it all the way to Calvary. As you pray these decades
today, walk that road behind Him and ask for the grace to want what He wants,
not the throne, but the cross that leads to resurrection.
🌹 Our Lady of Fatima - Today's Connection
At Fatima, Our Lady
showed the children her Immaculate Heart surrounded by thorns, the thorns
placed there by the sins and ingratitude of humanity. Yet even in that image of
suffering, her posture was not one of anger or withdrawal but of continuous
intercession. She kept serving, and praying, and standing before God on our
behalf, like Jeremiah, who stood in the gap for the very people who were
plotting against him. That is the servant's heart that Our Lady models for us
today.
🕊️ Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, You came
not to be served but to serve. On the days when I want the throne, remind me to
be humble before You. On the days when I want the honor, remind me of the cross
You carry. Make my idea of greatness look more and more like Yours. Amen.
©2026 James Dacey, Jr., OFS
________________________________________________
Want to know more about My Spiritual Journey?
Read My Story: An Invitation
To Read My Story - My Testimony
