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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 while his people were being slaughtered. He was lifted up, in the most
literal sense, and in being lifted up, he drew thousands upon thousands to
Christ. His death did not silence his message. It amplified it beyond anything
his living voice could have reached.
That is the paradox Jesus is describing in
today's Gospel. The lifting up of the Son of Man, on the cross, in apparent
defeat and humiliation, is the very moment of His greatest power, His greatest
revelation, His greatest drawing of souls to Himself. When you lift Him up,
then you will know who He is. The cross is not the contradiction of His
identity. It is the fullest expression of it.
Moses lifted up a bronze serpent in the desert,
and everyone who was bitten looked at it and lived. Jesus told Nicodemus, "So must the Son of Man be lifted up, so that everyone who believes may have
eternal life. The lifted-up thing. The thing that looks like defeat. That is
the thing that heals. That is the thing that draws. That is the thing Holy Week
is about to show us in its fullness.
One week from today, we will be in Holy Week.
Everything we have been building toward for six weeks is about to arrive. Walk
toward it with open eyes and an open heart, friends.
💭 Reflection Question
St. Oscar Romero was
literally lifted up, killed for his faith, and it drew multitudes to Christ.
How does his witness challenge the way you think about the cost of following
Jesus openly and faithfully in your own daily life?
📿 Today's Rosary - The Sorrowful Mysteries
Today's Focus
Mystery: The Crucifixion and
Death of Jesus
Jesus was lifted up
on the cross just as He described, and in that lifting up the centurion said
truly this was the Son of God, the good thief found paradise, and Mary and John
stood faithful at the foot of the Cross. As you pray the fifth Sorrowful
Mystery today, look up at the lifted Son of Man and let Him draw your heart
fully to Himself.
🌹 Our Lady of Fatima - Today's Connection
St. Oscar Romero was
devoted to Our Lady and is said to have had a deep Marian spirituality. He
understood what Our Lady of Fatima has always proclaimed, that following her
Son completely may cost everything, and that the cost is worth it. Her message
at Fatima was never a message of comfort and safety. It was a message of
courageous love in the face of a world that rejects the Gospel. Romero lived
that message to his last breath at the altar. As you pray your Rosary today, honor his memory and ask Our Lady to give you a fraction of his courage.
🕊️ Closing Prayer
Lord Jesus, You said
that when You are lifted up, You will draw all people to Yourself. Be lifted up
in my life today, in my words, my choices, my willingness to stand for truth.
St. Oscar Romero, pray for us. Our Lady of Fatima, walk with us. Amen.
©2026 James Dacey, Jr., OFS
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