The Word today, Lent4A
- Admin
- Mar 13
- 2 min read
March 16 - February 21, 2026
Isaiah 65:17-21 Exultant optimism is perhaps not the mood of the times, but, it is the mood of this passage from Isaiah. One line anticipates the Gospel: no more will be found the infant living a few days only. Even the exaggerations are delightful.
John 4:43-54 John’s Gospel tells this familiar story with an intriguing twist: the parent is first called a “court official,” then a “man” and only towards the end, “the father.” Roles can dictate who we are!
St Patrick, bishop and missionary
Sirach 39:6-10 The reading celebrates the truly wise person, whose name and renown resonate across generations and cultures. St Patrick is a good example!
2 Timothy 4:1-8 The tone of the reading is a farewell reflection, looking back of a life’s achievements. It echoes St Patrick’s own Confessions —a recognition of grace on top of grace!
Matthew 13:24-38 The kingdom of God was the heart of Jesus’s own proclamation and that of all subsequent preachers and missionaries. The message is tolerant: don’t rush to judge or exclude: give people a chance!
Isaiah 49:8-15 The feeling of being abandoned led the prophet to affirm that God, like a mother to us, never ever forgets her people.
John 5:17-30 Part of the background to the opening verses is a contemporary Jewish discussion about whether God could really have ceased from creating, as it says in Gen 2:2. Part of the foreground is an anticipation of the raising of Lazarus, who will “hear his voice and live.”
St Joseph, husband of the BVM
2 Samuel 7:4-5, 12-14, 16 God’s fidelity through time is expressed in his commitment to the family of David, of which Jesus will be born.
Romans 4:13,16-18,22 Abraham trusted against all the odds — as did his later descendant Joseph.
Matthew 1:16,18-21,24 Joseph of the Gospels reminds us of Joseph of Genesis, who dreamed and who saved his family.
Wisdom 2:1, 2-22 There is a contemporary ring to this reading from the book of Wisdom: the godless resent the faith of the believers. Such resentment foreshadows the reaction to Jesus in today’s gospel.
John 7:1-2, 10, 25-30 Jesus certainly disconcerted those who met him, as we hear in this reading. Who is he really? Where is he from? Who sent him?
St Enda, abbot
Jeremiah 11:18-20 Jeremiah, always in difficulty because of his calling, places his full and total trust in God. The psalm captures it well: Lord God, I take refuge in you.
John 7:40-52 Again, there is a contemporary ring about the range of opinions and the discord triggered by the person and presence of Jesus. What do I believe? What difference does it make?
References
-United States Conference of Catholic Bishops. (2026w, March 15). Fourth Sunday of Lent. USCCB. https://bible.usccb.org/bible/readings/031526.cfm
-Sunday readings. (n.d.-s). Hearers of the Word. https://www.tarsus.ie/SundayReadings
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