Fourth Sunday of Lent

Reflection

As we begin this fourth week of Lent, we take a look at the beginning of a young shepherd’s journey to becoming King. Jesse presents seven of eight sons at the sacrifice and yet God knows David, who is out tending the sheep, is the one He will use to bring His son into the world. This same son, our Christ, brings light into our darkness and gives sight to the blind. He brings sinners back to union and provides all that is needed during this journey through the desert of Lent. 

On this fourth Sunday, we are given a small reminder of the light of Christ and, further, the conclusion of our Lenten struggles ushers in our redemption. The Gospel today depicts the story of the man born blind, calling to mind our own blindness. A man blind from birth gains his sight and the initial reaction is to deny he was ever blind, then to question if Jesus was able to heal him, and for some to remain in the darkness of doubt at the end. In curing the man’s blindness Jesus cures ours as well, but we — like the Pharisees — often are distracted by parts, failing to see the whole and choosing to not let Christ’s light radiate through us. 

As we near the end of this Lenten journey are we letting Christ’s light in with its many forms or are we discounting it for the means it comes to us? Let us choose light.

Prayer

Dear Lord, as we continue to walk with you in this desert of Lent, may we choose to let your light in, allowing it to radiate through us to those who have yet to see.

Nick Wracker, ’26

Scripture

First Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a
Psalm 23:1-3a, 3b-6
Second Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14
Gospel: John 9:1-41

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Saturday of the Third Week

Reflection

Today’s Gospel is a tough reminder of what humility actually looks like. It’s easy to look down on the Pharisee; his pride is so obvious, and his “gratitude” feels more like a performance than a prayer. But when I really sit with this, I realize I’m not always the tax collector I’d like to be.

The truth is, most of us want to be seen as “good”—both by God and the people around us. There’s a comfort in following the “prescription” of being a good Catholic, checking the boxes and feeling like we’re earning our way to heaven. But that’s exactly where pride hides. We start thinking our goodness is something we create.

In reality, we have nothing on our own. It isn’t gold-star behavior that makes us worthy; it’s simply that God loves us. Real humility is about letting go of the “us” part, and just being with God. It’s acknowledging Him as our life source and realizing it’s not a competition or a ladder we have to climb.

We don’t need to do more or be more. We don’t rise up to meet God through our own effort; He comes down to meet us exactly where we are. When we practice that kind of humility, we can finally stop performing, let go of that hidden pride, and just relax in His love.  

Prayer

Lord, help me to stop performing and simply learn to rest in Your love. Thank You for meeting me right where I am and reminding me that, in Your presence, I am already enough.

Monique Tetreault, ’97
Member of the Worshiping Community

Scripture

First Reading: Hosea 6:1-6
Psalm 51:3-4, 18-21b
Gospel: Luke 18:9-14

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Friday of the Third Week

Reflection

Lent invites us to return to God, return to what truly matters, and return to love. In Hosea, we hear a tender call to repentance that is not rooted in shame, but in trust. God asks us to bring our words honestly, to let go of the false securities we attach ourselves to, and to rediscover that healing and renewal come from God alone. This turning back is not a single moment, but a posture of the heart.

Jesus’ proclamation in Matthew, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand,” echoes this same urgency. Repentance is not merely mourning our mistakes, but a redirection of love, a choice: choosing the divine over the trivial, the eternal over the daily distractions that consume us. In times of uncertainty, division, and fear, Lent reminds us that loving God above all things grounds us when everything else feels unstable.

Mark’s Gospel brings this call into straight focus: love God with all our heart, soul, mind, and strength, and love our neighbor as ourselves. Jesus makes clear that no offering, argument, or ideology matters more than love lived out. In a world marked by polarization and distance, this command is both challenging and deeply necessary. Lent is not only about what we give up, but about what we choose to love, and how that love transforms the way we see God and one another. And in His image, we should be there to listen and love our neighbor. Now more than ever.

Prayer

Loving God, during this season of Lent, please turn our hearts back to You, help us love You above all else, and give us the grace to love our neighbors with courage and compassion in a divided world. In You I place all my trust, Amen.

Rosemary Yargici
Director of International Student and Scholar Services 

Scripture

First Reading: Hosea 14:2-10
Psalm 81:6c-11ab, 14, 17
Gospel: Mark 12:28-34

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Thursday of the Third Week

Reflection

Lent invites us to listen—deeply, honestly, and courageously. In today’s reading from Jeremiah, God laments a people who hear His voice but do not act on it. This is not just an ancient critique; it is a mirror held up to our own lives. On college campuses, we are surrounded by voices—deadlines, expectations, activism, ambition, anxiety. Yet amid all that noise, God asks a simple thing: “Walk in all the ways that I command you.”

Psalm 95 echoes this call: “If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.” Hardened hearts can look like burnout, cynicism, or disengagement—common realities for students juggling pressures, faculty navigating institutional demands, and staff carrying unseen burdens. Lent challenges us to pause and soften, to resist the temptation to numb ourselves spiritually.

In the Gospel, Jesus reminds us that neutrality is not an option: “Whoever is not with me is against me.” Lent is not about perfection but about choosing—again and again—to stand with Christ.

As a campus community, may this season help us reclaim attentiveness, integrity, and courage, so that hearing God’s voice leads us to lives of justice, compassion, and hope, and in the spirit of the Society of St. Edmund, let us know, love, and serve God through the lives we lead on and off campus.

Prayer

Dear Lord, As we continue our Lenten journey, let us connect with the ways that you have called us to walk, and be a model to encourage others to choose Your ways over the ways of the world. Those times where we may experience exhaustion, let us remember to turn to you for strength and encouragement. As we journey toward Good Friday, and eventually Easter, let us never forget that you walk with us, and have experienced these challenges and joys as well.

Dr. Ansel Augustine
Saint Michael’s College Board of Trustees

Scripture

First Reading: Jeremiah 7:23-28
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9
Gospel: Luke 11:14-23

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Wednesday of the Third Week

Reflection

The first thing that strikes me about today’s readings is the concept of rules and laws. The idea of strict rules and laws makes me bristle, but when I think about the importance of rules in my own house-hold with kids, I have a different perspective. Why do we have rules in our family? Is it to show that I’m the all-powerful parent? No! We have rules to establish harmony in the household, to keep everyone safe and healthy, and most importantly, we do it out of love. If I didn’t care about the outcome, I wouldn’t bother enforcing rules for my kids.

I believe that the same is true for the rules that God gives us. We are given “statutes and decrees” in the Bible that guide us on how to live a peaceful and fruitful life. God is not demanding us to follow these rules, but rather guiding us to follow a path that will give us “wisdom and intelligence.” God does this because He loves us. How lucky we are to have this guidance in our lives!

The final words of the first reading challenge us to not only follow the law, but to “teach them to your children and to your children’s children.” May we use this time during Lent to better understand how we can follow God’s guidance in our lives and spread His love and wisdom to those around us.

Prayer

Holy Father, we ask you to open our eyes to the ways we have strayed from You. Guide us back to the right paths, helping us to draw closer to You by more closely following Your ways.

Erin Guzowski, ’03

Scripture

First Reading: Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9

Psalm 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20
Gospel: Matthew 5:17-19

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Tuesday of the Third Week

Reflection

But with contrite heart and humble spirit let us be received…as we follow you unreservedly; for those who trust in you cannot be put to shame. Daniel 3: 39, 41

Even now, says the LORD, return to me with your whole heart; for I am gracious and merciful. Joel 2: 12-13

As I reflect on the readings for today, I am struck by the reminder of the deep love granted to each of us as we navigate our pieces of life’s path. There is an acknowledgement that we may stumble along the way and, yet, with each turn, we have the opportunity to be wholly welcomed home by our gracious and merciful God. I’m uplifted by the sense of hope I find in this and am grateful to be able show up genuinely and humbly and be met with love for standing strong in what I believe; my values, my faith, my God.

The first reading reminds me that even in the most fiery and difficult times, when we are walking in the light of Jesus, we are held close and safe. By remaining authentic to self and our foundational values, God takes care of us. These hopeful sentiments help me feel prepared in a new way for all that lies ahead, including those inevitable moments when I may be calling for grace. Today’s Gospel challenges us to forgive, “not seven times but seventy-seven times” (Matthew 18: 22) which may, at times, feel like a big task. And yet, I appreciate the challenge we are given to forgive self and others, repeatedly; we deserve it and our world deserves it. What a beautiful practice for the Lenten season.

Prayer

Loving God, may we turn toward your kindness and mercy with open and whole hearts. May you grant us the compassion and strength to forgive genuinely, even in the hardest of times. Amen.

Lara Scott
Director of Mobilization of Volunteer Efforts (MOVE)

Scripture

First Reading: Daniel 3:25, 34-43

Psalm: 25:4-5ab, 6-9

Gospel: Matthew 18:21-35

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Monday of the Third Week

Reflection

Today’s reading is a shocker. Luke reports that the community in Nazareth is furious at Jesus’ preaching. And what did Jesus have “the nerve” to say?

Jesus reminded this community of believers that in desperate times, God, while seemingly absent, showed mercy to non-Jews: a general from Syria and a widow in Sidon. This is in the context of resistance to Jesus announcing the “good news” of the kingdom and call for repentance, which includes the conventionally “righteous”.

What has this ancient event have to do with us? One interpretation raises a foundational question. Do we recognize when someone, or some situation, is presenting to us a “prophetic” word that asks us to deepen our relation-ship with God, and in our own unique way become a brighter, purer light in darkening times?

But if this is to capture a key aspect of today’s reading, it has to be a prophetic word that initially we won’t hear because of distractions, or even not want to hear, because of strong passions aroused by violence inflicted on people and the truth.

This prophetic word when it arrives is certainly not one of social quietism. But rather, embodies in action, awareness of the image of God in all, and at the same time, that we too are flawed servants of the coming Kingdom, a Kingdom so very different from the “realist” kingdom of the “strong”.

Prayer

The prayer of St. Francis can illuminate the way. “Lord, make me an instrument of thy peace; where there is hatred, let me sow love…where there is doubt, faith; where there is despair, hope; where there is darkness light…”

Peter Tumulty
Professor Emeritus of Philosophy

Scripture

First Reading: 2 Kings 5:1-15

Psalm 42:2-3; 43:3-4

Gospel: Luke 4:24-30

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Third Sunday of Lent

Reflection

What did you think when you heard that the Samaritan woman had “five husbands”? Is the gospel about the conversion of a loose woman?

The encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman occurred amid significant religious, political, and social tensions. Jews and Samaritans viewed each other as heretics and enemies, and it was unconventional for a man and woman to meet alone.

Our prejudices lead to dangerous assumptions, particularly regarding the Samaritan Woman’s character. The text doesn’t confirm our negative assumptions. There are other possible explanations, such as widowhood or mitigating circumstances.

The gospel is a lesson on how to handle differences and overcome division and tensions. When the woman pitted the Jewish and Samaritan approaches to God against one another, Jesus led her beyond doctrinal and ritual differences. Jesus thirsted for her to know God as he did.

Despite her not actively seeking the Messiah, Jesus initiates a conversation, asks for a drink, and offers her “the gift of God” – “living waters”.

The gospel teaches us to transcend race, gender, and social status in our interactions and outreach, inviting everyone to God. The story shifts worship from a specific place to an internal, spiritual reality, worshipping God “in spirit and truth.”

Jesus offers “living water” that satisfies deep human needs through a relationship with him that brings true joy. The woman’s transformation leads her to share her story, demonstrating powerful, personal evangelism that draws others to Jesus.

Prayer

Ever-loving God, gift us with living waters that will wear down our differences and overcome our divisions and tensions. Satisfy our thirst for a deeper and richer relationship with you and others as we drink from the well of faith, hope, and love. Amen.

Rev. Richard Myhalyk, S.S.E., B.S. Chemistry ’66

Scripture

First Reading: Exodus 17:3-7
Psalm 95:1-2, 6-9
Second Reading: Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
Gospel: John 4:5-42 

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Saturday of the Second Week

Reflection

The Lord is Kind and Merciful. How many times are we reminded in both the Old and New Testament that God is loving and merciful? In the first reading, Micah references over and over God’s forgiveness and the looking past our transgressions, pardoning of our sin; how He does not hold a grudge but rather is more delighted in being able to show clemency. This theme is repeated in the Responsorial with an emphasis on God’s love for us, not a focus on our sins. Luke’s gospel is a parable that we have heard many times as adults and children that tells us a story that is sometimes hard to understand. The one son is loyal to his father and seemingly chooses to do all the “right” things. The other son was given the same opportunity as far as his equal share of his father’s estate. However, he chose to go out and live a life of self-indulgence. As a parent, I can understand that there was a sense of disappointment that the second son did not use his share to benefit himself and his future. But the son is loved nevertheless and the father waited and hoped for his son to return. And when he did, he was welcomed with open arms. The sons were very much loved not because of what they did or did not do but because they were his sons, his off-spring. The father did not “persist in anger” but rather celebrated in compassion his love for each of them.

God is waiting for us with open arms like the father in the parable. God’s kindness and mercy prevail no matter our choices.

Prayer

“The Lord is kind and merciful.” Please instill and nurture in me kindness and forgiveness. Help me to welcome and embrace humankind with compassion as You, oh Lord, do with each of us.

Barbara Gaida, M.Ed. ’01
Member of the Worshipping Community

Scripture

First Reading: Micah 7:14-15, 18-20
Psalm 103:1-4, 9-12
Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Friday of the Second Week

Reflection

How many times in Jesus’ parables do we find the opposite of worldly wisdom? We think we’ve grasped bits of how to be successful and live a good life, only to find an unexpected person or event enters our story? I’m surprised almost daily by a new perspective or outcome emerging out of left field. Imagine the disbelief of Joseph’s jealous and murderous brothers when they find him in Egypt, lord and ruler of all the king’s possessions. Their father’s favorite son, whom they had sold into slavery, turns out to be their people’s savior in the midst of famine.

In Matthew’s Gospel parable about the greedy vineyard tenants, the landowner assumes that his son will be respected as the heir and all will be well. Not so. The unfaithful laborers will kill him and lose every-thing. The vineyard (God’s Kingdom) will go to people who will produce good fruit.

Likewise, in referring to himself, Jesus notes that “The stone the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; by the Lord has this been done and it is wonderful in our eyes.”

The psalm calls us to “remember the marvels the Lord has done”, in times gone by and in our own lives. Our Lord provides for and loves us beyond measure, so we pray...

Prayer

Loving Father of us all, help us recognize and give thanks for the cornerstones you provide in our lives. Amen.

Jan Hancock, M’12, P’99, P’09
Chapel Choir

Scripture

First Reading: Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13a, 17b-28a
Psalm 105:16-21
Gospel: Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website

Thursday of the Second Week

Reflection

Today’s readings have a common theme of God-centered generosity of heart in contrast to rejection of God, turning instead to a false god of earthly prosperity.

Psalm 1 was written as a preface to the Psalter most likely during King David’s reign around 1,000 BC or later. Jeremiah, a priest and prophet (c.570 BC – 650 BC), would have known Psalm 1 and borrowed its imagery for today’s first reading. Both readings describe relationship with God as a tree planted near a stream, its roots stretching to the water’s life-giving nourishment for fruitful blessings. The heart turned away from God is “as chaff that the wind blows away” (Psalm 1) or as a shrub planted in the barren salt lands (Jeremiah). Loving relationship with God brings us nourishment of faith, hope and charity, and a pathway to everlasting life. The Gospel translates the Old Testament imagery into the parable of the rich man and poor Lazarus. In this passage and throughout Jesus’ ministry, we hear that God favors the poor and brings heavenly re-lief to the suffering. Our actions of generosity, recognizing Christ among us, are key to salvation.

Prayer

We ask the intersession of our patron saints to inspire generosity of heart and to embolden our actions to respond to the needs of the poor. We pray that our Lenten prayers and actions will bring us and others closer to you, God, our Love.

Ann Cousins
Member of the Worshipping Community

Scripture
First Reading: Jeremiah 17:5-10
Psalm 1:1-4, 6
Gospel: Luke 16:19-31

Daily Scripture readings can be found online at the USCCB website