March 29, 2026

Palm Sunday of the Lord’s Passion

Lectionary: 37 and 38

At the Procession with Palms – Gospel: Matthew 21:1-11

When Jesus and the disciples drew near Jerusalem
and came to Bethphage on the Mount of Olives,
Jesus sent two disciples, saying to them,
“Go into the village opposite you,
and immediately you will find an ass tethered,
and a colt with her.
Untie them and bring them here to me.
And if anyone should say anything to you, reply,
‘The master has need of them.’
Then he will send them at once.”
This happened so that what had been spoken through the prophet
might be fulfilled:
Say to daughter Zion,
“Behold, your king comes to you,
meek and riding on an ass,
and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden.”
The disciples went and did as Jesus had ordered them.
They brought the ass and the colt and laid their cloaks over them,
and he sat upon them.
The very large crowd spread their cloaks on the road,
while others cut branches from the trees
and strewed them on the road.
The crowds preceding him and those following
kept crying out and saying:
“Hosanna to the Son of David;
blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord;
hosanna in the highest.”
And when he entered Jerusalem
the whole city was shaken and asked, “Who is this?”
And the crowds replied,
“This is Jesus the prophet, from Nazareth in Galilee.”

At the Mass – First Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7

The Lord GOD has given me
    a well-trained tongue,
that I might know how to speak to the weary
    a word that will rouse them.
Morning after morning
    he opens my ear that I may hear;
and I have not rebelled,
    have not turned back.
I gave my back to those who beat me,
    my cheeks to those who plucked my beard;
my face I did not shield
    from buffets and spitting.

The Lord GOD is my help,
    therefore I am not disgraced;
I have set my face like flint,
    knowing that I shall not be put to shame.

Responsorial Psalm: 22:8-9, 17-18, 19-20, 23-24

R. (2a) My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

All who see me scoff at me;
    they mock me with parted lips, they wag their heads:
“He relied on the LORD; let him deliver him,
    let him rescue him, if he loves him.”
R. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

Indeed, many dogs surround me,
    a pack of evildoers closes in upon me;
They have pierced my hands and my feet;
    I can count all my bones.
R. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

They divide my garments among them,
    and for my vesture they cast lots.
But you, O LORD, be not far from me;
    O my help, hasten to aid me.
R. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me?

I will proclaim your name to my brethren;
    in the midst of the assembly I will praise you:
“You who fear the LORD, praise him;
    all you descendants of Jacob, give glory to him;
    revere him, all you descendants of Israel!”
R. My God, my God, why have you abandoned me? 

Second Reading: Philippians 2:6-11

Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God,
    did not regard equality with God
    something to be grasped.
Rather, he emptied himself,
    taking the form of a slave,
    coming in human likeness;
    and found human in appearance,
    he humbled himself,
    becoming obedient to the point of death,
    even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
    and bestowed on him the name
    which is above every name,
    that at the name of Jesus
    every knee should bend,
    of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth,    
    and every tongue confess that
    Jesus Christ is Lord,
    to the glory of God the Father.

Verse before the Gospel: Philippians 2:8-9

Christ became obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross.
Because of this, God greatly exalted him
and bestowed on him the name which is above every name.

Gospel: Matthew 26:14—27:66

One of the Twelve, who was called Judas Iscariot,
went to the chief priests and said,
“What are you willing to give me
if I hand him over to you?”
They paid him thirty pieces of silver,
and from that time on he looked for an opportunity
to hand him over.

On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread,
the disciples approached Jesus and said,
“Where do you want us to prepare
for you to eat the Passover?”
He said,
“Go into the city to a certain man and tell him,
‘The teacher says, “My appointed time draws near;
in your house I shall celebrate the Passover with my disciples.”‘”
The disciples then did as Jesus had ordered,
and prepared the Passover.

When it was evening,
he reclined at table with the Twelve.
And while they were eating, he said,
“Amen, I say to you, one of you will betray me.”
Deeply distressed at this,
they began to say to him one after another,
“Surely it is not I, Lord?”
He said in reply,
“He who has dipped his hand into the dish with me
is the one who will betray me.
The Son of Man indeed goes, as it is written of him,
but woe to that man by whom the Son of Man is betrayed.
It would be better for that man if he had never been born.”
Then Judas, his betrayer, said in reply,
“Surely it is not I, Rabbi?”
He answered, “You have said so.”

While they were eating,
Jesus took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and giving it to his disciples said,
“Take and eat; this is my body.”
Then he took a cup, gave thanks, and gave it to them, saying,
“Drink from it, all of you,
for this is my blood of the covenant,
which will be shed on behalf of many
for the forgiveness of sins.
I tell you, from now on I shall not drink this fruit of the vine
until the day when I drink it with you new
in the kingdom of my Father.”
Then, after singing a hymn,
they went out to the Mount of Olives.

Then Jesus said to them,
“This night all of you will have your faith in me shaken,
for it is written:
I will strike the shepherd,
and the sheep of the flock will be dispersed;
but after I have been raised up,
I shall go before you to Galilee.”
Peter said to him in reply,
“Though all may have their faith in you shaken,
mine will never be.”
Jesus said to him,
“Amen, I say to you,
this very night before the cock crows,
you will deny me three times.”
Peter said to him,
“Even though I should have to die with you,
I will not deny you.”
And all the disciples spoke likewise.

Then Jesus came with them to a place called Gethsemane,
and he said to his disciples,
“Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
He took along Peter and the two sons of Zebedee,
and began to feel sorrow and distress.
Then he said to them,
“My soul is sorrowful even to death.
Remain here and keep watch with me.”
He advanced a little and fell prostrate in prayer, saying,
“My Father, if it is possible,
let this cup pass from me;
yet, not as I will, but as you will.”
When he returned to his disciples he found them asleep.
He said to Peter,
“So you could not keep watch with me for one hour?
Watch and pray that you may not undergo the test.
The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
Withdrawing a second time, he prayed again,
“My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass
without my drinking it, your will be done!”
Then he returned once more and found them asleep,
for they could not keep their eyes open.
He left them and withdrew again and prayed a third time,
saying the same thing again.
Then he returned to his disciples and said to them,
“Are you still sleeping and taking your rest?
Behold, the hour is at hand
when the Son of Man is to be handed over to sinners.
Get up, let us go.
Look, my betrayer is at hand.”

While he was still speaking,
Judas, one of the Twelve, arrived,
accompanied by a large crowd, with swords and clubs,
who had come from the chief priests and the elders
of the people.
His betrayer had arranged a sign with them, saying,
“The man I shall kiss is the one; arrest him.”
Immediately he went over to Jesus and said,
“Hail, Rabbi!” and he kissed him.
Jesus answered him,
“Friend, do what you have come for.”
Then stepping forward they laid hands on Jesus and arrested him.
And behold, one of those who accompanied Jesus
put his hand to his sword, drew it,
and struck the high priest’s servant, cutting off his ear.
Then Jesus said to him,
“Put your sword back into its sheath,
for all who take the sword will perish by the sword.
Do you think that I cannot call upon my Father
and he will not provide me at this moment
with more than twelve legions of angels?
But then how would the Scriptures be fulfilled
which say that it must come to pass in this way?”
At that hour Jesus said to the crowds,
“Have you come out as against a robber,
with swords and clubs to seize me?
Day after day I sat teaching in the temple area,
yet you did not arrest me.
But all this has come to pass
that the writings of the prophets may be fulfilled.”
Then all the disciples left him and fled.

Those who had arrested Jesus led him away
to Caiaphas the high priest,
where the scribes and the elders were assembled.
Peter was following him at a distance
as far as the high priest’s courtyard,
and going inside he sat down with the servants
to see the outcome.
The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin
kept trying to obtain false testimony against Jesus
in order to put him to death,
but they found none,
though many false witnesses came forward.
Finally two came forward who stated,
“This man said, ‘I can destroy the temple of God
and within three days rebuild it.'”
The high priest rose and addressed him,
“Have you no answer?
What are these men testifying against you?”
But Jesus was silent.
Then the high priest said to him,
“I order you to tell us under oath before the living God
whether you are the Christ, the Son of God.”
Jesus said to him in reply,
“You have said so.
But I tell you:
From now on you will see ‘the Son of Man
seated at the right hand of the Power’
and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven.'”
Then the high priest tore his robes and said,
“He has blasphemed!
What further need have we of witnesses?
You have now heard the blasphemy;
what is your opinion?”
They said in reply,
“He deserves to die!”
Then they spat in his face and struck him,
while some slapped him, saying,
“Prophesy for us, Christ: who is it that struck you?”

Now Peter was sitting outside in the courtyard.
One of the maids came over to him and said,
“You too were with Jesus the Galilean.”
But he denied it in front of everyone, saying,
“I do not know what you are talking about!”
As he went out to the gate, another girl saw him
and said to those who were there,
“This man was with Jesus the Nazorean.”
Again he denied it with an oath,
“I do not know the man!”
A little later the bystanders came over and said to Peter,
“Surely you too are one of them;
even your speech gives you away.”
At that he began to curse and to swear,
“I do not know the man.”
And immediately a cock crowed.
Then Peter remembered the word that Jesus had spoken:
“Before the cock crows you will deny me three times.”
He went out and began to weep bitterly.

When it was morning,
all the chief priests and the elders of the people
took counsel against Jesus to put him to death.
They bound him, led him away,
and handed him over to Pilate, the governor.

Then Judas, his betrayer, seeing that Jesus had been condemned,
deeply regretted what he had done.
He returned the thirty pieces of silver
to the chief priests and elders, saying,
“I have sinned in betraying innocent blood.”
They said,
“What is that to us?
Look to it yourself.”
Flinging the money into the temple,
he departed and went off and hanged himself.
The chief priests gathered up the money, but said,
“It is not lawful to deposit this in the temple treasury,
for it is the price of blood.”
After consultation, they used it to buy the potter’s field
as a burial place for foreigners.
That is why that field even today is called the Field of Blood.
Then was fulfilled what had been said through Jeremiah
the prophet,
And they took the thirty pieces of silver,
the value of a man with a price on his head,
a price set by some of the Israelites,
and they paid it out for the potter’s field
just as the Lord had commanded me.

Now Jesus stood before the governor, and he questioned him,
“Are you the king of the Jews?”
Jesus said, “You say so.”
And when he was accused by the chief priests and elders,
he made no answer.
Then Pilate said to him,
“Do you not hear how many things they are testifying against you?”
But he did not answer him one word,
so that the governor was greatly amazed.

Now on the occasion of the feast
the governor was accustomed to release to the crowd
one prisoner whom they wished.
And at that time they had a notorious prisoner called Barabbas.
So when they had assembled, Pilate said to them,
“Which one do you want me to release to you,
Barabbas, or Jesus called Christ?”
For he knew that it was out of envy
that they had handed him over.
While he was still seated on the bench,
his wife sent him a message,
“Have nothing to do with that righteous man.
I suffered much in a dream today because of him.”
The chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowds
to ask for Barabbas but to destroy Jesus.
The governor said to them in reply,
“Which of the two do you want me to release to you?”
They answered, “Barabbas!”
Pilate said to them,
“Then what shall I do with Jesus called Christ?”
They all said,
“Let him be crucified!”
But he said,
“Why? What evil has he done?”
They only shouted the louder,
“Let him be crucified!”
When Pilate saw that he was not succeeding at all,
but that a riot was breaking out instead,
he took water and washed his hands in the sight of the crowd,
saying, “I am innocent of this man’s blood.
Look to it yourselves.”
And the whole people said in reply,
“His blood be upon us and upon our children.”
Then he released Barabbas to them,
but after he had Jesus scourged,
he handed him over to be crucified.

Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus inside the praetorium
and gathered the whole cohort around him.
They stripped off his clothes
and threw a scarlet military cloak about him.
Weaving a crown out of thorns, they placed it on his head,
and a reed in his right hand.
And kneeling before him, they mocked him, saying,
“Hail, King of the Jews!”
They spat upon him and took the reed
and kept striking him on the head.
And when they had mocked him,
they stripped him of the cloak,
dressed him in his own clothes,
and led him off to crucify him.

As they were going out, they met a Cyrenian named Simon;
this man they pressed into service
to carry his cross.

And when they came to a place called Golgotha
—which means Place of the Skull —,
they gave Jesus wine to drink mixed with gall.
But when he had tasted it, he refused to drink.
After they had crucified him,
they divided his garments by casting lots;
then they sat down and kept watch over him there.
And they placed over his head the written charge against him:
This is Jesus, the King of the Jews.
Two revolutionaries were crucified with him,
one on his right and the other on his left.
Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying,
“You who would destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days,
save yourself, if you are the Son of God,
and come down from the cross!”
Likewise the chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him and said,
“He saved others; he cannot save himself.
So he is the king of Israel!
Let him come down from the cross now,
and we will believe in him.
He trusted in God;
let him deliver him now if he wants him.
For he said, ‘I am the Son of God.'”
The revolutionaries who were crucified with him
also kept abusing him in the same way.

From noon onward, darkness came over the whole land
until three in the afternoon.
And about three o’clock Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”
which means, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”
Some of the bystanders who heard it said,
“This one is calling for Elijah.”
Immediately one of them ran to get a sponge;
he soaked it in wine, and putting it on a reed,
gave it to him to drink.
But the rest said,
“Wait, let us see if Elijah comes to save him.”
But Jesus cried out again in a loud voice,
and gave up his spirit.

Here all kneel and pause for a short time.

And behold, the veil of the sanctuary
was torn in two from top to bottom.
The earth quaked, rocks were split, tombs were opened,
and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised.
And coming forth from their tombs after his resurrection,
they entered the holy city and appeared to many.
The centurion and the men with him who were keeping watch over Jesus
feared greatly when they saw the earthquake
and all that was happening, and they said,
“Truly, this was the Son of God!”
There were many women there, looking on from a distance,
who had followed Jesus from Galilee, ministering to him.
Among them were Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph,
and the mother of the sons of Zebedee.

When it was evening,
there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph,
who was himself a disciple of Jesus.
He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus;
then Pilate ordered it to be handed over.
Taking the body, Joseph wrapped it in clean linen
and laid it in his new tomb that he had hewn in the rock.
Then he rolled a huge stone across the entrance to the tomb
and departed.
But Mary Magdalene and the other Mary
remained sitting there, facing the tomb.

The next day, the one following the day of preparation,
the chief priests and the Pharisees
gathered before Pilate and said,
“Sir, we remember that this impostor while still alive said,
‘After three days I will be raised up.’
Give orders, then, that the grave be secured until the third day,
lest his disciples come and steal him and say to the people,
‘He has been raised from the dead.’
This last imposture would be worse than the first.”
Pilate said to them,
“The guard is yours;
go, secure it as best you can.”
So they went and secured the tomb
by fixing a seal to the stone and setting the guard. 

Reflection

At the Procession with Palms – Gospel: Matthew 21:1-11

In connection with narration of the triumphant entry of our Lord Jesus into Jerusalem, Saint Matthew, in Chapter 21, verse 5, quotes this prophecy from Zechariah: “Behold, your king comes to you, meek and riding on an ass, and on a colt, the foal of a beast of burden” (Zec 9:9).

Let us paraphrase to peel off the layers of irony happening in the story: the King of Israel, the King of the Jews, who is by Jewish tradition is also the King of the Universe, entered Jerusalem (which means City of Peace) for the last time on the occasion of the Passover, riding on a lowly donkey instead of a mighty horse which mighty emperors ride after a conquering victory. It is here that our Lord shall be violently crucified despite the fact that his name and fame of doing good deeds and miracles have been spreading around the towns from multiplying loaves of bread and fish to feed thousands, calming the storm, healing people with leprosy, giving sight to the blind and the raising of the dead to life, like Lazarus.

So why is it that locals of Jerusalem asked: “Who is this?” (Matt 21:10), which sadly admits that they don’t have the slightest clue that their God and savior made His victorious entry into Jerusalem that day, where the very Temple He cleansed is located, not to mention the claims that the Kingdom of heaven is here—not the Temple but in Him being the personification of  God’s Kingdom. It is no wonder that the rejection by His own people and of His Lordship through our sins was mentioned in St. John’s Prologue: “He came to his own home, and his own people received him not” (John 1:11). It is also no wonder that Jesus said: “Not everyone who says to me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only the one who does the will of my Father in heaven” (Matt 7:21).

We too reject Jesus each time we sin against God because sin is disobedience to the will of the Father and mocks and discredits the salvation of our Lord. He died on the Cross for our sins, to pay for our debt to God. Sin is a rejection of the eternal life offered by God to mankind. Therefore, may we always be aware that Jesus gave His life for us because of God’s unfathomable love for mankind.

At the Mass – Second Reading: Isaiah 50:4-7

“I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who plucked my beard; my face I did not shield from buffets and spitting” (Is 50:6). This is part of the “Suffering Servant” verses in Isaiah. We will be hearing more about this suffering servant on Good Friday when it is read at length.

Isaiah’s prophecy basically says that God will send us a person, a savior if you must, who will carry on his back, all the suffering and inequities of Israel or God’s people, as atonement for sins of the world. He will be humble and meek and that God will rescue him and exalt him for his obedience.

This servant will suffer for the people of God and we know Him to be our Lord Jesus—the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world. In fact, in today’s Second Reading, St. Paul’s letter to the Philippians confirms this when it says: “Christ Jesus, though he was in the form of God, did not regard equality with God something to be grasped. Rather, he emptied himself, taking the form of a slave, coming in human likeness; and found human in appearance, he humbled himself, becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil 2:6-8).

The Suffering Servant is indeed our Lord Jesus Christ who, though was in the form of God, didn’t regard his being God to lord it over those who both love him or reject him. Instead, he obeyed the will of the Father until the end even if it meant dying on the Cross.

Our Lord Jesus could have chosen not to go through with the Cross and opted for the easy way out. But he accepted the Cross even if mankind rejected him by sinning. He continued through the way of the Cross out of his great love for the Father and mankind. The Cross was the only way for man’s debt to God to get paid and Jesus was the only worthy sacrifice to the Father for the atonement of all the sin of the world – past, present and future.

This is proof that despite Adam and Eve’s fall from the Garden, God immediately set his salvation into motion and it shall be implemented by no less than his only begotten Son–Jesus, the God who saves.

Gospel: “Eli, Eli, lemasabachthani?”(Matthew 27:46)

“Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?”or My God, my God, why have you abandoned me, is today’s Responsorial Psalm from Psalm 22:1, which is also the fourth (4^th) of Seven Last Words of our Lord Jesus on the Cross, as recorded in the Gospels. Like the words “Amen”, “Talitha koum” in Mark 5:41 which means ‘Little girl, rise’, or “Marantha” in 1 Corinthians 16:22 & others, which means ‘Come Lord’, this is one of those phrases which is preserved in the original Hebrew-Aramaic language and written into Holy Scriptures.

In the context of a psalm, it is obviously a lament and a cry for help from a person who has been abandoned by God and left to a fate which his enemies are going to capitalize on, in unprecedented and violent ways. Like the Suffering Servant in the Book of Isaiah, the suffering person in this Psalm will endure much pain, including the pain of being abandoned by God, for a very short time just to fulfill what was written in scriptures.

Let us look into some typological significance between Psalm 22 and Matt 27 by making a parallel perusal:

Psalm 22: 8:“All who see me mock me; they curl their lips and jeer; they shake their heads at me…; Matt 27: 39: “Those passing by reviled him, shaking their heads…”

Psalm 22: 9: “He relied on the Lord—let him deliver him; if he loves him, let him rescue him”, Matt 27: 42: “…He saved others; he cannot save himself.

What do they tell us? It tells us that Jesus is the suffering servant referred to in Psalm 22 because all was foretold before they found their fulfillment in Him who was sent by God. It was He who had to suffer for the many: “Yet it was the will of the LORD to bruise him; he has put him to grief…” (Isaiah 53:10).

He is God but He chose to go through Good Friday because His death was the only way to save mankind. This is the kind of God that we worship – He does not spare anything for our sake even if He had to die on the Cross just to spare all of us from sure and everlasting death. “For God so loved the world that He gave his only begotten Son, that whoever believes in Him will not perish but have eternal life” (John 3:16).

Lastly, even though Psalm 22 opens with a lament, it ends with a message of hope and deliverance. We all know that after three (3) days, Jesus rose from death by His own power, according to Holy Scriptures. In the last verse of Psalm 22, we read this: “The generation to come will be told of the Lord, that they may proclaim to a people yet unborn the deliverance you have brought” (Psalm 22:32, NABRE).

The phrase “…proclaim to a people yet unborn” refers to generations after generations who will know that they have been delivered from death by God through His Suffering Servant who endured much pain just to save mankind because: “…unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains alone; but if it dies, it bears much fruit” (John 12:24).

Jesus said: “…and I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all men to myself” (John 12:32). The Crucifixion, horrific, violent, enigmatic and mystical as it is with all its layers and ironies, must be the central point of man’s contemplation because it is indeed the source of our salvation and life—that Jesus, who is true man and true God, gave His life to save mankind. In other words, God’s great love for mankind was manifested through the saving work of His only begotten Son on the Cross which includes the inescapable truth that the said event will draw all men to Jesus. Mankind—past, present and future, owes a debt of gratitude to Christ and His sacrifice on Good Friday. 

As Palm Sunday signifies the triumphant entry of Jesus into Jerusalem, the eternal city and city of peace, let us never forget that the victory was won for us by our Lord from Jerusalem. Ironically, Jesus conquered death by going through a horrific death. Jesus died for the sake of man even if man committed the greatest act of ingratitude in the history of the world and that is the crime of Deicide – the killing of God. But out of this Deicide came the greatest act of love ever witnessed, when our Lord Jesus laid down His life to make mankind righteous, friends with God again, and to elevate man into sons and daughters of the Kingdom.

Let us always allow Jesus, who is priest, prophet and king, to enter as king of our hearts, so we too can triumph over death forever.

A blessed Palm Sunday to everyone. 

– Gospel Reflection by Kuya Rommel Cecilio of SLRP Bible Apostolate Ministry 

March 22, 2026

Fifth Sunday of Lent

Lectionary: 34

First Reading: Ezekiel 37:12-14

Thus says the Lord GOD: 
O my people, I will open your graves 
and have you rise from them, 
and bring you back to the land of Israel.
Then you shall know that I am the LORD, 
when I open your graves and have you rise from them, 
O my people!
I will put my spirit in you that you may live, 
and I will settle you upon your land; 
thus you shall know that I am the LORD.
I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD.

Responsorial Psalm: 130:1-2, 3-4, 5-6, 7-8

R. (7) With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

Out of the depths I cry to you, O LORD;
    LORD, hear my voice!
Let your ears be attentive
    to my voice in supplication. 
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

If you, O LORD, mark iniquities,
    LORD, who can stand?
But with you is forgiveness,
    that you may be revered. 
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

I trust in the LORD;
    my soul trusts in his word.
More than sentinels wait for the dawn,
    let Israel wait for the LORD.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

For with the LORD is kindness
    and with him is plenteous redemption;
And he will redeem Israel
    from all their iniquities.
R. With the Lord there is mercy and fullness of redemption.

Second Reading: Romans 8:8-11

Brothers and sisters:
Those who are in the flesh cannot please God.
But you are not in the flesh; 
on the contrary, you are in the spirit, 
if only the Spirit of God dwells in you.
Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.
But if Christ is in you, 
although the body is dead because of sin, 
the spirit is alive because of righteousness.
If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, 
the one who raised Christ from the dead 
will give life to your mortal bodies also, 
through his Spirit dwelling in you.

Verse before the Gospel: John 11:25a, 26

I am the resurrection and the life, says the Lord;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will never die.

Gospel: John 11:1-45

Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany, 
the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil 
and dried his feet with her hair; 
it was her brother Lazarus who was ill.
So the sisters sent word to him saying, 
“Master, the one you love is ill.”
When Jesus heard this he said,
“This illness is not to end in death, 
but is for the glory of God, 
that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill, 
he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples, 
“Let us go back to Judea.”
The disciples said to him, 
“Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you, 
and you want to go back there?”
Jesus answered,
“Are there not twelve hours in a day?
If one walks during the day, he does not stumble, 
because he sees the light of this world.
But if one walks at night, he stumbles, 
because the light is not in him.” 
He said this, and then told them,
“Our friend Lazarus is asleep,
but I am going to awaken him.”
So the disciples said to him,
“Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.”
But Jesus was talking about his death, 
while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep. 
So then Jesus said to them clearly,
“Lazarus has died.
And I am glad for you that I was not there,
that you may believe. 
Let us go to him.”
So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples, 
“Let us also go to die with him.”

When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus 
had already been in the tomb for four days.
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away.
And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary 
to comfort them about their brother.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus, 
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
Jesus said to her,
“Your brother will rise.”
Martha said to him,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life; 
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, 
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”

When she had said this, 
she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying, 
“The teacher is here and is asking for you.”
As soon as she heard this,
she rose quickly and went to him.
For Jesus had not yet come into the village, 
but was still where Martha had met him.
So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her 
saw Mary get up quickly and go out,
they followed her, 
presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him, 
she fell at his feet and said to him, 
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping, 
he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said, 
“Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”
But some of them said, 
“Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man 
have done something so that this man would not have died?”

So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him, 
“Lord, by now there will be a stench; 
he has been dead for four days.”
Jesus said to her,
“Did I not tell you that if you believe 
you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
“Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me; 
but because of the crowd here I have said this, 
that they may believe that you sent me.”
And when he had said this,
He cried out in a loud voice, 
“Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands, 
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them,
“Untie him and let him go.”

Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began to believe in him.

Reflection

According to Paragraph 128 of the Catechism of the Catholic Church, a great tool for interpreting the Bible is a method called “typology” or “foreshadowing.” It is explained as follows: “The Church, as early as apostolic times, and then constantly in her Tradition, has illuminated the unity of the divine plan in the two Testaments through typology, which discerns in God’s works of the Old Covenant prefigurations of what he accomplished in the fullness of time in the person of his incarnate Son.”

It basically says that there are events in the Old Testament (OT) that parallel events in the New Testament (NT) because the former records prophecies and promises which were fulfilled in the NT at the coming of Jesus our Lord, noting that Jesus is the perfection of all the things God has planned. Jesus, as the Word of God, was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made” (John 1: 2-3).

This highlights the fact that God is in control of history and the plan of salvation was thought about from eternity, and fulfilled according to His plan and schedule. God is our Almighty, all-knowing and all-present Father. He has already seen everything from eternity.     

Today’s First Reading is a good example of OT prophecies which found fulfillment in the NT upon the coming of Jesus. Saint Augustine of Hippo beautifully expresses the typological relationship of the OT and the NT as one divine narrative, written by the same author – the Holy Spirit: “The new is in the old concealed; the old is in the new revealed.” In the First Reading, God promised to open the graves of His people who have died. Jesus, in the Gospel, comes as the one who gives life to God’s people: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die” (John 11: 25-26; see Matt 27: 52-53).  

First Reading: Ezekiel 37:12-14

“O my people, I will open your graves and have you rise from them, and bring you back to the land of Israel” (Ez 37:12).

To have a better understanding of this verse, we must go back to Genesis Chapter 3 and man’s ‘Fall in the Garden’. Because of original sin, our proto-parents were banished from the Garden of Eden and the gates of heaven were closed. It is for this reason that the plan of salvation commenced and will find fulfillment with the coming of our Lord Jesus the Christ because “He is the head of the body, the church. He is the beginning, the firstborn from the dead, that in all things he himself might be preeminent” (Col 1:18).

This tells us that through the death and resurrection of Jesus, the gates of heaven were opened again and the way to the God was revealed because Jesus is Himself the only Way to the Father; no one comes to the Father except by Jesus and He is the only acceptable sacrifice for the atonement of all the sins of mankind. His death on the Cross is what took away the sins of the world to save man from everlasting damnation.

God, throughout salvation history, called and sent prophets to bring His message of hope to mankind and in our First Reading today, it was the prophet Ezekiel. In other words, God sent prophets to announce the coming of the Messiah in one way or another. And when you piece them all together, you’ll know that it was all part and parcel of a grand plan which no one else can conceptualize and execute other than our God and Father.

Because of original sin, mankind was condemned to everlasting death due to Adam and Eve’s pride and disobedience. Their banishment from the Garden also meant that they couldn’t have any access to the Tree of Life in the Garden (see Gen 3:24). Therefore, all generations after our proto-parents inherited original sin, including the condemnation unto death. The passing down of original sin will continue until the last person is born before the Second Coming of Christ – the ‘parousia’ of our Lord at the end of time.

Because of God’s love for man, he gave us his only begotten Son that whoever believes in him may not perish but will have life eternal (see John 3:16). In other words, God brought the Tree of Life to man through the Cross of Jesus that we may have life once again through Christ. Jesus is the vine from whom all life flows and we have to be branches if we have to be with Him forever. Jesus is The Way, Truth and Life (see John 14:6).

In the Creed, we profess that when the Lord died He descended into the realm of the dead and on the third day, rose from death by His own power. All those who are worthy of eternal life were awoken from their graves, just like the prophecy in today’s First Reading. They entered life everlasting knowing that it was God, the only begotten Son of the Father, who woke them up in fulfillment of the promise in today’s Reading. In Psalm 6:5, it says: There are no graves for the souls of those who believe and love the Lord! God is always faithful! What He says is true! “I have promised, and I will do it, says the LORD” (Ezekiel 37:14).

In Saint Matthew, we read this account when our Lord died: “…the tombs also were opened, and many bodies of the saints who had fallen asleep were raised, 53 and coming out of the tombs after his resurrection they went into the holy city and appeared to many” (Matt 27:52). Today’s First Reading ends with this verse: “I will put my spirit in you that you may live, and I will settle you upon your land…” (Ez 37:14)

At the Baptism, the Holy Spirit hovered over our Lord like a dove. On the Cross, our Lord said: “Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit”; “it is complete”. Our Lord’s last breath pours out His Holy Spirit to undo the disobedience of Adam and Eve in His work of salvation. At Pentecost, the Holy Spirit came down like ‘tongues of fire’ thereby giving birth to the Bride of Christ, the Church – that’s us. What would be the common thing about these three Bible events, it would be the appearance of the Holy Spirit.

Saint Paul said: “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places…” (Ephesians 1:3). The phrase “every spiritual blessing” refers to the Holy Spirit who is Lord and giver of life. Jesus saved mankind by pouring out the Holy Spirit into our lifeless and dark world. Jesus may have ascended into Heaven and sits at the right hand of power but He is always present to us by the power of the Holy Spirit because of the will of the Father. Our Trinitarian faith, our faith in one God in three persons, is true and real.

Second Reading: Romans 8:8-11

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters” (Gen 1: 1-2), and then it continues: “…then the LORD God formed man of dust from the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living being” (Gen 2:7). Unfortunately, man lost the indwelling of the Spirit when they disobeyed God by eating the forbidden fruit. Thus, salvation is offered as a second chance, out of God’s great love for mankind.

On the Cross and before He expired, God’s Spirit has been poured out once again to the world when our Lord said: “Father, into thy hands I commend my Spirit” (Luke 23:46), and “It is finished” (John 19:30). This was manifested and confirmed in two Gospel narrations: First, on Easter night when Jesus tells the Apostles: As the Father has sent me, so I send you. Receive the Holy Spirit. The sins you forgive are forgiven; the sins you retain are retained; the Second was in Acts, at the new Pentecost, inside the cenacle room, which happened 50 days after Easter.

The Holy Spirit came to to mankind through the Cross, the Ascension and Pentecost. Baptism infuses our souls with the Spirit and gives us divine life. This is why St. Paul says in the Second Reading: “Those who are in the flesh cannot please God” (Rom 8:8). We can only be pleasing to God if and only if we are always guided by the Spirit and abide in the Lord.

In Baptism, we die to ourselves to embrace newness of life because we are born anew in water and Spirit (John 3:5), and thus, born from above (see John 3:3). Saint Paul says: “But you are not in the flesh; on the contrary, you are in the spirit, if only the Spirit of God dwells in you” (Rom 8:9). By virtue of our Baptism, we are no longer in the flesh because we become a child of God our Father, who is divine and holy. Our Christian identity is indelibly marked on us at baptism, making us sons and daughters of the Father because of the indwelling of the Holy Spirit in us. St. Paul says:  “Whoever does not have the Spirit of Christ does not belong to him.”

Saint Paul goes on: “But if Christ is in you, although the body is dead because of sin, the spirit is alive because of righteousness” (Rom 8:10).

In other words, we have been “made right or justified” in the eyes of the Father through the righteousness of Jesus Christ. Jesus became the sacrifice and atonement for our sins which cleansed us to start life anew. By His death on the Cross, the Holy Spirit was poured out for us to make us whole again. It is the same Lord and Holy Spirit which resuscitates our dead souls each time we go and avail of the Sacrament of Confession, Penance & Reconciliation: “If the Spirit of the one who raised Jesus from the dead dwells in you, the one who raised Christ from the dead will give life to your mortal bodies also, through his Spirit dwelling in you” (Rom 8:11).

On the Cross, at Easter and at Pentecost, the giving of the Holy Spirit is God’s guarantee of life everlasting. Abiding by our Lord Jesus is what enables us to be blessed, to be sacred and pleasing to the Father because through Him, in Him and with Him, in the unity of the Holy Spirit, we can praise and glorify God forever and ever, Amen.

Gospel: John 11:1-45

In today’s Gospel, Jesus says: “I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live, and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.”

Jesus is the author of all life because He is Life personified. In our faith, to believe that Jesus is God is essential and imperative. Not to believe that Jesus is God negates what Christianity is all about and there is nothing to hope for in the end. To believe in Jesus is to believe that He is God and Life. As the Word of God, he has authority over heaven and earth and He has power over life and death. Nothing came to be without Jesus and this is the reason why our Lord can declare that He is the resurrection and the life, and that He is the promised salvation of the Father.

To believe in Jesus is to know and believe all the above-mentioned things, to worship Him as Lord and God, and to nurture a relationship with Him through daily conversion—which requires that we leave our past life of sin and death, and embrace the newness of life with Jesus as the Lord of our lives because only in Him are we resurrected and born anew—a new life in God our Father.

A blessed Fifth Sunday of Lent to everyone.

– Gospel Reflection by Kuya Rommel Cecilio of SLRP Bible Apostolate Ministry 

March 15, 2026

Fourth Sunday of Lent

Lectionary: 31

First Reading: 1 Samuel 16:1b, 6-7, 10-13a

The LORD said to Samuel:
“Fill your horn with oil, and be on your way.
I am sending you to Jesse of Bethlehem,
for I have chosen my king from among his sons.”

As Jesse and his sons came to the sacrifice,
Samuel looked at Eliab and thought,
“Surely the LORD’s anointed is here before him.”
But the LORD said to Samuel:
“Do not judge from his appearance or from his lofty stature,
because I have rejected him.
Not as man sees does God see,
because man sees the appearance
but the LORD looks into the heart.”
In the same way Jesse presented seven sons before Samuel,
but Samuel said to Jesse,
“The LORD has not chosen any one of these.”
Then Samuel asked Jesse,
“Are these all the sons you have?”
Jesse replied,
“There is still the youngest, who is tending the sheep.”
Samuel said to Jesse,
“Send for him;
we will not begin the sacrificial banquet until he arrives here.”
Jesse sent and had the young man brought to them.
He was ruddy, a youth handsome to behold
and making a splendid appearance.
The LORD said,
“There—anoint him, for this is the one!”
Then Samuel, with the horn of oil in hand,
anointed David in the presence of his brothers;
and from that day on, the spirit of the LORD rushed upon David.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 23: 1-3a, 3b-4, 5, 6

R. (1) The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want.
In verdant pastures he gives me repose;
beside restful waters he leads me;
he refreshes my soul.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

He guides me in right paths
for his name’s sake.
Even though I walk in the dark valley
I fear no evil; for you are at my side
With your rod and your staff
that give me courage.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

You spread the table before me
in the sight of my foes;
you anoint my head with oil;
my cup overflows.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Only goodness and kindness follow me
all the days of my life;
and I shall dwell in the house of the LORD
for years to come.
R. The Lord is my shepherd; there is nothing I shall want.

Second Reading: Ephesians 5:8-14

Brothers and sisters:
You were once darkness,
but now you are light in the Lord.
Live as children of light,
for light produces every kind of goodness
and righteousness and truth.
Try to learn what is pleasing to the Lord.
Take no part in the fruitless works of darkness;
rather expose them, for it is shameful even to mention
the things done by them in secret;
but everything exposed by the light becomes visible,
for everything that becomes visible is light.
Therefore, it says:
“Awake, O sleeper,
and arise from the dead,
and Christ will give you light.”

Verse Before the Gospel: John 8:12

I am the light of the world, says the Lord;
whoever follows me will have the light of life.

Gospel: John 9:1-41

As Jesus passed by he saw a man blind from birth.
His disciples asked him,
“Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents,
that he was born blind?”
Jesus answered,
“Neither he nor his parents sinned;
it is so that the works of God might be made visible through him.
We have to do the works of the one who sent me while it is day.
Night is coming when no one can work.
While I am in the world, I am the light of the world.”
When he had said this, he spat on the ground
and made clay with the saliva,
and smeared the clay on his eyes,
and said to him,
“Go wash in the Pool of Siloam” —which means Sent—.
So he went and washed, and came back able to see.

His neighbors and those who had seen him earlier as a beggar said,
“Isn’t this the one who used to sit and beg?”
Some said, “It is, “
but others said, “No, he just looks like him.”
He said, “I am.”
So they said to him, “How were your eyes opened?”
He replied,
“The man called Jesus made clay and anointed my eyes
and told me, ‘Go to Siloam and wash.’
So I went there and washed and was able to see.”
And they said to him, “Where is he?”
He said, “I don’t know.”

They brought the one who was once blind to the Pharisees.
Now Jesus had made clay and opened his eyes on a sabbath.
So then the Pharisees also asked him how he was able to see.
He said to them,
“He put clay on my eyes, and I washed, and now I can see.”
So some of the Pharisees said,
“This man is not from God,
because he does not keep the sabbath.”
But others said,
“How can a sinful man do such signs?”
And there was a division among them.
So they said to the blind man again,
“What do you have to say about him,
since he opened your eyes?”
He said, “He is a prophet.”

Now the Jews did not believe
that he had been blind and gained his sight
until they summoned the parents of the one who had gained his sight.
They asked them,
“Is this your son, who you say was born blind?
How does he now see?”
His parents answered and said,
“We know that this is our son and that he was born blind.
We do not know how he sees now,
nor do we know who opened his eyes.
Ask him, he is of age;
he can speak for himself.”
His parents said this because they were afraid of the Jews,
for the Jews had already agreed
that if anyone acknowledged him as the Christ,
he would be expelled from the synagogue.
For this reason his parents said,
“He is of age; question him.”

So a second time they called the man who had been blind
and said to him, “Give God the praise!
We know that this man is a sinner.”
He replied,
“If he is a sinner, I do not know.
One thing I do know is that I was blind and now I see.”
So they said to him,
“What did he do to you?
How did he open your eyes?”
He answered them,
“I told you already and you did not listen.
Why do you want to hear it again?
Do you want to become his disciples, too?”
They ridiculed him and said,
“You are that man’s disciple;
we are disciples of Moses!
We know that God spoke to Moses,
but we do not know where this one is from.”
The man answered and said to them,
“This is what is so amazing,
that you do not know where he is from, yet he opened my eyes.
We know that God does not listen to sinners,
but if one is devout and does his will, he listens to him.
It is unheard of that anyone ever opened the eyes of a person born blind.
If this man were not from God,
he would not be able to do anything.”
They answered and said to him,
“You were born totally in sin,
and are you trying to teach us?”
Then they threw him out.

When Jesus heard that they had thrown him out,
he found him and said, “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”
He answered and said,
“Who is he, sir, that I may believe in him?”
Jesus said to him,
“You have seen him,
the one speaking with you is he.”
He said,
“I do believe, Lord,” and he worshiped him.
Then Jesus said,
“I came into this world for judgment,
so that those who do not see might see,
and those who do see might become blind.”

Some of the Pharisees who were with him heard this
and said to him, “Surely we are not also blind, are we?”
Jesus said to them,
“If you were blind, you would have no sin;
but now you are saying, ‘We see,’ so your sin remains.

Reflection

The Fourth Sunday of Lent is called “Laetare Sunday”.  The word comes from the Latin ‘laetare’, the singular imperative of laetari: which means “to rejoice”. Like Gaudete Sunday during Advent, Laetare Sunday is intended as a break from the rigors of our Lenten preparations for the great feast of Easter, telling us that at the end of all these fasting, praying, corporal acts of mercy and charity, we can hope for the mercy of God because His salvation has already been fulfilled – Jesus, our Savior. Lent also ushers us into Holy Week which is the week that changed the world.

Because of Good Friday and Easter Sunday, we now have a clear path to salvation and it is through Jesus the Christ and no one else. Jesus is the only way to the Father. Salvation is abiding in Jesus who died on the Cross for our sins.

First Reading: “There—anoint him, for this is the one!”

The First Reading recalls the story of how God chose David to be his son (with small “s”) and anointed (with small “a”) one, and future King of Israel. Jesse, the father, had many sons but God selected the young David from among them. God chose David due to the pureness of his heart, a heart which is after God’s heart. What did David’s pure heart get him? Well, here are some of them:

[1] As a teenager, he gets to slay Goliath the giant, making it known that God was with him.

[2] He becomes King of Israel after Saul.

[3] He gets the Covenant promise which says that his kingdom will stand forever (2 Sam 7:16).

Why is David’s kingdom going to last forever? Because his throne shall never be vacated and there will come a time when someone from Heaven will sit on it – Jesus, the Anointed (with a capital “A”) One and the only begotten Son (with a capital “S”) of God. Because of St. Joseph and our Blessed Mother, Jesus lineage goes back to David. It is no surprise that on Palm Sunday, when Jesus made His triumphant entry into Jerusalem, the crowds were shouting “Hosanna to the Son of David” (Matt 21:9). In Jesus, the prophecies that the Messiah will come from the line of David and establish the Kingdom of Israel forever were fulfilled. The Kingdom is none other than the Church established by Jesus in Matthew chapter 16.

What do these things tells us?

[1] God is faithful. What He says is true and what He promises He delivers. His will be done.

[2] Those after God’s heart are rewarded with privileges but also laden with responsibilities.

[3] God’s ways are not our ways, as shown in His choice of David. We just have to trust God. 

God knows everything. Nothing escapes His vision: For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, says the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways and my thoughts than your thoughts.  (Isaiah 55:8-9)

Baptism Anoints Us to become Children of God

Because of the baptism, death and resurrection of our Lord Jesus, we too were anointed with oil like King David during our baptism. Therefore, we not only become God’s child, we too are called to preach Jesus to the world as priest, prophet and king – the fulfillment of the promised salvation. We are called to live out our baptism by dying to ourselves so that we too can rise like our Lord Jesus.  

Gospel: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?”

Like last Sunday, today’s Gospel is from St. John’s account about the life of our Lord Jesus. If Jesus claimed that he was the Living Water last week, today he claims that he is the Light of the World; in Latin: the Lux-In-Domino. He is the Light that darkness cannot put out.

In the First Reading, we discussed God’s choosing David as His anointed son (with small letters “a” and “s”) instead of his other brothers. He was an unlikely choice because he was just a young man who was just delivering food to his older brothers in the battlefield. But God chose him over everybody else because He can see inside our hearts.

It is a matter of trusting Him who knows everything and believing in Him who is Almighty. In the same way, why is it that the majority of the Apostles come from very humble states in life? Why did Jesus choose Peter to be our first pope? Only God knows us inside and outside. The Holy Spirit is more than enough for us to have the power to trust God.

The question: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” was asked by our Lord to the blind beggar by the Pool of Siloam. The blind man just regained his sight from Jesus. It was a miracle that can only be performed by a divine and almighty being. Is there still any doubt about the divinity of Jesus?

In today’s world of so much inclination to accumulation of wealth and believing in the slogan of “just do it” by a popular sport shoe manufacturer, we are asked: What do we really believe in? Do you believe in right and wrong? If you say I side with what is ‘right’, how much are you willing to sacrifice for the cause of righteousness?

Do you believe in justice or giving each person his due? If you do, what are you willing to do to advance the cause of to justice especially those who have less and are marginalized? Do you believe in helping others in your own personal capacity instead of just relying on government through the taxes you pay?

There are many things that shout to us nowadays. If it is not climate change, it would be LGBTQIA+ or women’s rights. If it is not religious freedom, it might be religious fundamentalism. If it is not government subsidy, it is fighting tax increases.

There is a lot of noise in the background. Perhaps, confusion is really a great tool of the devil to divide and conquer man by making us fight against each other. Each person has an opinion about things and too many of them cause confusion, not realizing that confusion was really the plan in the first place by the evil which sows doubt and confusion among us. Don’t get us wrong, God caused diversity in the world to test our openness in finding common ground in our differences. We may be different due to race or creed but we are all God’s creation. We are all brothers and sisters because we came from one God who is Father of us all, and we are all called to love one another. This fact must be the point of our unity.

In all these noise and humming, including peer pressure and the standards of morality get moved and consequentially, visions and points of view get blurred. We hear some say “what is true for you may not be true for me”, which can easily apply to the Ten Commandments, thereby relegating them into mere suggestions and not the law on morality.

The battle lines between good and evil have long been drawn and they are clear. Why? Because, the founder and leader of the forces of good is God himself and his Word does not compromise with evil. Equipped with free will, the decision boils down to us humans: Are we for good or not?

This question is very much related to Jesus’ question to the blind beggar because He is the embodiment of truth and goodness. WHO REALLY IS JESUS TO YOU?  IS HE THE LORD OF YOUR LIFE OR NOT? If He is your Lord, do you obey Him all the time, most of the time, sometimes or not at all?

Remember, the operative word in the question of Jesus to the blind beggar is “believe”, which comes from having faith and which also includes trust – belief, faith and trust.

Belief in God, which can only come from the power of the Holy Spirit, is what opens our eyes of faith to the truth so that we can wholeheartedly trust Jesus, who is The Truth, even during the most difficult times in our lives. Our faith must be big enough that we can rejoice even in the midst of much suffering and pain. The blind beggar by the Pool of Siloam has been there practically all his teen and adult life waiting for someone to help him get into the pool and be cured of his blindness. Jesus came and restored his sight. In his poverty, which was due to his blindness, a voice spoke and asked him: Do you believe in the Son of Man?… You have seen him, the one speaking with you is he. He said: “I do believe, Lord” – and that, my friends, is the right answer.

How often does Jesus ask us if we do believe that He is Lord: every day, every time and all the time? Therefore, daily conversion and daily communion with Him who is Lord are the only things needed for rejoicing. To truly believe that Jesus is Lord of our lives, which causes us to live out our Christian faith and even get persecuted for it, is really a cause to “Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for in the same way they persecuted the prophets who were before you” (Matt. 5:11-12).

A blessed Fourth Sunday of Lent to everyone.

– Gospel Reflection by Kuya Rommel Cecilio of SLRP Bible Apostolate Ministry 

March 1, 2026

Second Sunday of Lent, Lectionary: 25

Reading 1: Genesis 12:1-4a

The LORD said to Abram:
“Go forth from the land of your kinsfolk
and from your father’s house to a land that I will show you.

“I will make of you a great nation,
and I will bless you;
I will make your name great,
so that you will be a blessing.
I will bless those who bless you
and curse those who curse you.
All the communities of the earth
shall find blessing in you.”

Abram went as the LORD directed him.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 33:4-5, 18-19, 20, 22.

R. (22) Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

Upright is the word of the LORD,
and all his works are trustworthy.
He loves justice and right;
of the kindness of the LORD the earth is full.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

See, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

Our soul waits for the LORD,
who is our help and our shield.
May your kindness, O LORD, be upon us
who have put our hope in you.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.

Reading 2: 2 Timothy 1:8b-10

Beloved:
Bear your share of hardship for the gospel
with the strength that comes from God.

He saved us and called us to a holy life,
not according to our works
but according to his own design
and the grace bestowed on us in Christ Jesus before time began,
but now made manifest
through the appearance of our savior Christ Jesus,
who destroyed death and brought life and immortality
to light through the gospel.

Verse Before the Gospel: Cf. Matthew 17:5

From the shining cloud the Father’s voice is heard:
This is my beloved Son, hear him.

Gospel: Matthew 17:1-9 (The Transfiguration)

Jesus took Peter, James, and John his brother,
and led them up a high mountain by themselves.
And he was transfigured before them;
his face shone like the sun
and his clothes became white as light.
And behold, Moses and Elijah appeared to them,
conversing with him.
Then Peter said to Jesus in reply,
“Lord, it is good that we are here.
If you wish, I will make three tents here,
one for you, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”
While he was still speaking, behold,
a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,
then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him.”
When the disciples heard this, they fell prostrate
and were very much afraid.
But Jesus came and touched them, saying,
“Rise, and do not be afraid.”
And when the disciples raised their eyes,
they saw no one else but Jesus alone.

As they were coming down from the mountain,
Jesus charged them,
“Do not tell the vision to anyone
until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

Reflection

First Reading

Today’s First Reading tells us about God calling Abram (before his name was changed to Abraham in Genesis 17) to leave his town and residence in Ur of the Chaldees (in present-day Iraq) and go to a place that God will show him. In other words, God wanted him to relocate to a place he doesn’t know and a place which might pose problems for him. That place will someday be known as Palestine (the promise land) and his descendants, through his grandson Jacob (a.k.a. Israel), shall inherit it. God’s purpose was for him to start a life there with his wife Sarai (who will later be called Sarah), to test his resolve and to designate territory for His chosen people.

To relocate to a place you’ve never been before is already a problem. He wasn’t very young when God called him out of Ur and that made it harder. They were also childless at this point which meant that they couldn’t rely on anybody in the family to help them. The terrain is desert and difficult and water sources are few.

God’s Covenant Promises & Abraham’s Leap of Faith

Fast-forward and let’s all remember that like Abraham, God calls all of us to participate in salvation history by helping others to reach Heaven. In the case of Abraham, he was tested and he did fail in some of the tests. However, Abraham was still blessed with Covenant promises: [1] God changed his name from “Abram” which means ‘exulted father’, to “Abraham” which means ‘father of many nations’, with the promise that he shall have descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and sand in the shore, and his name will be made great among nations; [2] Because of the Covenant, his son Isaac will continue the Covenant blessings of God unto generations of Israelites, and Abraham’s other children shall all be blessed and have royal titles; and [3] Because of Abraham’s fatherhood, God’s Kingdom shall be established through Jesus, thereby fulfilling God’s promised salvation for His people.

Let’s not forget that Abraham was asked to relocate to an unfamiliar place without resources and infrastructure. He had to do it all and he did it because his heart was after God’s heart. He also had faith and he trusted Him even when things seemed unreasonable, illogical and immoral. Case in point, when God asked him to offer his son Isaac as a holocaust. Though dreadfully difficult, he complied and before he could slay his own son, an angel stayed it and God spoke with an oath:

“By myself I have sworn…because you have done this, and have not withheld your only son, I will bless you, and I will multiply your descendants as the stars of heaven and as the sand which is on the seashore. And your descendants shall possess the gate of their enemies, and by your descendants shall all the nations of the earth bless themselves, because you have obeyed…” (Genesis 22:16-18, abbreviated)

The promises to Abraham came with an oath—imagine that! God didn’t need to swear on it but He did it just to prove that His Word is true and can be trusted because He is what He says He is – God, the Lord and Almighty. Abraham’s trust in God is something we should emulate and those who put their trust in God the Father are rewarded like him because he believed and trusted. How much do we really trust God in our daily lives?

Gospel: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him” (Matt 17:5)

The story of the Transfiguration is found in the three (3) synoptic Gospels and it comes right after Jesus mentions His death and resurrection to His disciples. There are two (2) messages from our Lord Jesus worth pointing out when He foretells about His death and resurrection:

First, “If any man would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me (Matthew 16:24); and, Second, “Truly, I say to you, there are some standing here who will not taste death before they see the Son of man coming in his kingdom” (Matt 16:28).

When Jesus was baptized by St. John, the Father’s voice was heard from above saying: This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. At the Transfiguration, the Father’s voice is once again heard from above saying almost the same thing but this time, with the command: listen to him.

We are commanded by no less the Father to listen to His only begotten Son because everything that the Father said is summed up in one word: JESUS. We often hear the phrase “Jesus is the Word of God” but do we really know what this means?

It is in our daily conversion into the image of Christ that makes us pleasing to the Father. We are called to be more Christ like every day and become alter Christos for others so that they too can see and feel His presence. We become more Christ-like by abiding, listening and obeying what He commanded us to do, starting with: “…love one another as I have loved you” (John 13:34).

Saints Peter, James and John had the unique privilege of being witnesses to our Lord’s transfiguration on Mount Tabor. From Peter’s reaction, they were awed no doubt at what they saw because what they experienced was nothing less than the glory of God in Jesus. They even had a bonus – they saw Moses and Elijah speaking with Jesus; Moses who represents the law and Elijah who represents the prophets. All these converge and are incorporated in Jesus who is the law of God, the Word of God, the Lamb of God and the Eternal High Priest of Heaven and earth.

Reflecting on the Father’s command to listen to Jesus, allow us to direct you to what our Blessed Mother told the servants at the Wedding at Cana, which is what we ought to do daily: “…do whatever He (Jesus) says” (see John 2:5).

Second Reading

Bear your share of hardship for the gospel with the strength that comes from God. (2 Tm 1:8b)

In the First Reading, we see Abraham in total obedience and trust to the Father’s Word by doing God’s bidding. He listened, trusted and obeyed God even when circumstances appeared difficult, pointless and confusing.

In the Gospel, God our Father commands us to listen to Jesus, His Word. To listen to Jesus is not for God’s benefit but for our sake. Obeying God’s Word may be inconvenient at times and may bring us suffering instead of riches. But those who persevere in the faith are rewarded with the only prize that matters: eternal life.

Because of original sin, man has to toil and make the land productive for food and his existence. In other words, man has been cursed to work all his life. This is the reason why a life full of hardships seems to follow us wherever we go. In this connection, Saint Paul mentions in the verse we above-quoted that we do have to share in the hardship of making the Gospel known throughout the world, starting with our own lives. If we have been enjoined in Genesis to toil and work for our food and necessities in order to survive, the same effort is required of us today with regard to our faith. Failure to give our share makes us “unproductive” in our faith which may result in losing our faith and our life. Remember what St. Paul said: “work out our salvation with fear and trembling” (Phil 2:12).

To persevere in the faith in our world filled with trappings is an impossibility and this is the reason why we need God’s power and guidance to make us easily and even willingly accept the difficulties in life and see them as opportunities for holiness, particularly if the suffering is a consequence of offering our life for others and that the means of resolving the suffering is in accordance with the Gospel. Otherwise, if the means are unjust, it is valueless.

We are all called to be holy because our Father in Heaven is holy. Isn’t that what we say in our Lord’s Prayer: “Our Father in Heaven, hallowed by thy name.” However, we can only be holy if we have Jesus in us because He is the grace of God; He is the blessing and the fulfillment of the promised salvation of the Father to all mankind.

Trust in God, listen to Jesus and call upon the Holy Spirit for guidance.

A blessed Second Sunday of Lent to everyone.

– Gospel Reflection by Kuya Rommel Cecilio of SLRP Bible Apostolate Ministry 

Feb 22, 2026

First Sunday of Lent, Lectionary: 22

First Reading: Genesis 2:7-9; 3:1-7

The LORD God formed man out of the clay of the ground
and blew into his nostrils the breath of life,
and so man became a living being.

Then the LORD God planted a garden in Eden, in the east,
and placed there the man whom he had formed.
Out of the ground the LORD God made various trees grow
that were delightful to look at and good for food,
with the tree of life in the middle of the garden
and the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Now the serpent was the most cunning of all the animals
that the LORD God had made.
The serpent asked the woman,
“Did God really tell you not to eat
from any of the trees in the garden?”
The woman answered the serpent:
“We may eat of the fruit of the trees in the garden;
it is only about the fruit of the tree
in the middle of the garden that God said,
‘You shall not eat it or even touch it, lest you die.’”
But the serpent said to the woman:
“You certainly will not die!
No, God knows well that the moment you eat of it
your eyes will be opened and you will be like gods
who know what is good and what is evil.”
The woman saw that the tree was good for food,
pleasing to the eyes, and desirable for gaining wisdom.
So she took some of its fruit and ate it;
and she also gave some to her husband, who was with her,
and he ate it.
Then the eyes of both of them were opened,
and they realized that they were naked;
so they sewed fig leaves together
and made loincloths for themselves.

Responsorial Psalm: Ps 51:3-4, 5-6, 12-13, 17

R. (cf. 3a) Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Have mercy on me, O God, in your goodness;
in the greatness of your compassion wipe out my offense.
Thoroughly wash me from my guilt
and of my sin cleanse me.

R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

For I acknowledge my offense,
and my sin is before me always:
“Against you only have I sinned,
and done what is evil in your sight.”
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

A clean heart create for me, O God,
and a steadfast spirit renew within me.
Cast me not out from your presence,
and your Holy Spirit take not from me.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Give me back the joy of your salvation,
and a willing spirit sustain in me.
O Lord, open my lips,
and my mouth shall proclaim your praise.
R. Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

Second Reading: Romans 5:12-19

Brothers and sisters:
Through one man sin entered the world,
and through sin, death,
and thus death came to all men, inasmuch as all sinned—
for up to the time of the law, sin was in the world,
though sin is not accounted when there is no law.
But death reigned from Adam to Moses,
even over those who did not sin
after the pattern of the trespass of Adam,
who is the type of the one who was to come.
But the gift is not like the transgression.
For if by the transgression of the one, the many died,
how much more did the grace of God
and the gracious gift of the one man Jesus Christ
overflow for the many.
And the gift is not like the result of the one who sinned.
For after one sin there was the judgment that brought condemnation;
but the gift, after many transgressions, brought acquittal.
For if, by the transgression of the one,
death came to reign through that one,
how much more will those who receive the abundance of grace
and of the gift of justification
come to reign in life through the one Jesus Christ.
In conclusion, just as through one transgression
condemnation came upon all,
so, through one righteous act,
acquittal and life came to all.
For just as through the disobedience of the one man
the many were made sinners,
so, through the obedience of the one,
the many will be made righteous.

Verse Before the Gospel: Matthew 4:4b

One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.

Gospel: Matthew 4:1-11

At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert
to be tempted by the devil.
He fasted for forty days and forty nights,
and afterwards he was hungry.
The tempter approached and said to him,
“If you are the Son of God,
command that these stones become loaves of bread.”
He said in reply,
“It is written:
One does not live on bread alone,
but on every word that comes forth
from the mouth of God.”

Then the devil took him to the holy city,
and made him stand on the parapet of the temple,
and said to him, “If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down.
For it is written:
He will command his angels concerning you
and with their hands they will support you,
lest you dash your foot against a stone.”
Jesus answered him,
“Again it is written,
You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.”
Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain,
and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence,
and he said to him, “”All these I shall give to you,
if you will prostrate yourself and worship me.”
At this, Jesus said to him,
“Get away, Satan!
It is written:
The Lord, your God, shall you worship
and him alone shall you serve.”

Then the devil left him and, behold,
angels came and ministered to him.

Reflection

First Reading: Two Unique Trees in the Garden of Eden

There are two (2) trees in the middle of the Garden of Eden: Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil (see Gen 2:17) and the Tree of Life (see Gen 3: 22 & 24). They were placed by God because of the significance they have in man’s salvation. Between the two, it is the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil that God prohibits Adam and Eve not to even touch, lest they die.

Curiously, these two trees are in the same place, as if to say that they do co-exist with each other and are even symbiotic in their existence. Notice that these trees embody powers exclusive to God and which He also personifies, they are: life—the power to exist which is the very essence and nature of God, and omniscience—knowing everything, including what is good and evil. He has seen all the good in the world because he created everything to be good. He knows all the evil in this world but is not and never will be the author of evil.

The Tree of Life does not initially prove its significance in the beginning of Genesis because Adam and Eve were created by God with the preternatural gifts of innocence and immortality. Innocence gave them purity of heart and mind, and they had no knowledge of evil because they were created for the good by God himself. They were immortals and had no immediate or pressing need for the Tree of Life. Though immortal, they possessed everlasting life which could be lost by giving into the temptations of the devil and disobeying God’s will.

Since God is also the personification of love, Adam and Eve’s, who were created out of love, had to be tested in their love for God, just like all love relationships get subjected to. We all know that they failed and disobeyed God because they gave in to the lie. God tested Adam and Eve in the Garden by allowing the devil to enter it and do what he always does—to lie and murder souls. God prohibited even the touching of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. Adam and Eve were weak in contrast to the devil. Though God gave us free will, He knew that mankind wouldn’t stand a chance against the devil, if man tried to fight evil alone. To make things worse, when man fell by eating the fruit from the Forbidden Tree, he became broken and as a consequence, weaker against the forces of darkness.

Man’s free will or freedom to choose is the same thing that God gave the angels, and because some of them didn’t want God’s perpetual light, everlasting life and refused to serve Him, they staged a rebellion (see Rev 12), lost and got evicted out of Heaven. Those evicted are the “pioneers” of darkness in this world and they have been called as diablo or Satan, which means: those who seek the separation of man from God and the accuser of man in the divine court.

These two trees will merge in the Cross of Christ.

Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil

Now, let’s take a look at the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil.

Recall that “The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to till it and keep it” (Gen 2:15). To “till” obviously referred to exert effort to make the soil productive and allow flora to flourish. To “keep” meant to protect and secure the garden. The Levite priests who guard the Ark of the Covenant and the Jerusalem Temple understood their said duty as drawn from this Adamic charge in Genesis. With this command, together with the words “fill the earth and subdue it” (in Gen 1:28), God installs Adam as priest who is to mediate between creation and the Almighty.

To till is not only about calling Adam to become a farmer and produce food. It is a sweeping decree to see to it that what God has created should be made fruitful because everything has a purpose: to produce fruit for man’s use and to glorify God in creation.

But the duty to keep the Garden also raises questions. Why would God order it to be kept secure and why the prohibition of ‘taking fruit’ from the said Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil?

Adam and Eve, who had the preternatural gift of innocence, didn’t know evil because they were created from pure goodness and love. It is this innocence that God wanted preserved. Partaking of the forbidden fruit not only caused man to give in to the devil’s temptation and disobey God. It also opened their eyes to evil: “…the serpent said to the woman, “You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Gen 3: 4-5). Perhaps, Adam and Eve were so naïve that they didn’t know that they were being lied to. Sadly, whatever consequence was attached to disobedience, which includes losing their divine innocence and life, didn’t seem devastating enough for them that they were willing to forego everything in favor of the lie.

Side Note: “And their eyes were opened…”

There are only two (2) Bible verses which mention the phrase “their eyes were opened.” The first is in Genesis 3:7: “Then the eyes of both were opened, and they knew that they were naked; and they sewed fig leaves together and made themselves aprons.” After eating the forbidden fruit, Adam and Eve’s eyes became open to the truth about the existence of good and evil in the world and lost their innocence and immortality. Adam and Eve, together with the entire human race, now have shame and have forfeited life when they disregarded God’s warning. When they were banished from the Garden, entry was prohibited until it was opened by the one who died on the Cross and rose from death.

The second verse is found in Luke 24:31: “And their eyes were opened and they recognized him; and he vanished out of their sight.” On the Road to Emmaus from Jerusalem, St. Clopas and companion met this unrecognized man who walked with them for a good 12 miles and to their amazement, opened up to them Scriptures and how the crucified Jesus was the Messiah Israel was promised salvation by God.

The eye opening in Genesis was a consequence of Adam and Eve’s disobedience and death. Having known what good and evil are, God said: “Behold, man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever.” Man’s disobedience to God is a grave sin and now, because of this, entered pride, malice, shame and guilt. If man didn’t know evil, everything he did wouldn’t be sinful for he knew nothing about evil and sin. But now that he does know evil and sin, it makes him one like God without God—very much like the devil which possesses supernatural powers to be used for mocking God and the ruin of souls. On the other hand, the eye opening on the Road to Emmaus was a consequence of Jesus revealing Himself in the breaking of the bread, which takes away the consequences of the disobedience of Adam and Eve in Genesis.

To keep the Garden meant that Adam must defend it because his spouse Eve is in it. The Devil was permitted to get in and made his move, not with Adam, but with Eve. Now, the face of evil makes his appearance. At that point in time, there is good and evil before man and the knowledge about them is represented in the Tree. Evil was allowed to enter only to shake Adam and Eve’s resolve and loyalty, and to make them distinguish what is good from what is evil. Adam was tested in the Garden to make him aware what is it they stand to lose if he didn’t fulfill his duty of keeping it.

Please note that what entered the Garden is a fallen angel, a creature far more superior to man. But this fallen angel entered appearing like a serpent or more specifically—a scary and frightening being which lost all his angelic beauty. Now that Adam sees him, does he still remember his duty to keep the Garden? Is he willing to confront this demonic leviathan? Adam should have concluded that this entity is NOT supposed to be there and he must be expelled with God’s help.

Adam’s first mistake was not seeking God’s help outright. Yes, fear could have overcome him but that would have impelled him more to cry out to God for help. Instead of laying his life down for his bride, who was already being “attacked” by the Devil himself, he chooses to stay mum and derelict about it and left the negotiating and decision making to his wife.

The Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil was a tree of testing. What was it supposed to test? It was supposed to test our use of the gift of free will, our power to choose between good and evil, between right and wrong. It is free will that gives us the power to choose to become moral, immoral and amoral. It is this tree which God attached the great prohibition and warning to Adam, when Eve wasn’t yet around: “You may freely eat of every tree of the garden; but of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil you shall not eat, for in the day that you eat of it you shall die” (Gen 2:16-17). Note: Holiness can only be achieved with God in our hearts and minds.

Man’s innocence was lost through the beguiling lies of the Devil, tempting them to take from the Forbidden Tree: “You will not die. For God knows that when you eat of it your eyes will be opened, and you will be like God, knowing good and evil” (Genesis 3:4-5). Unfortunately, Adam and Eve failed big time and thus came original sin, the cause of our concupiscence and proclivity toward sin.

Our Lord Jesus became flesh and dwelt amongst us to tell us and prove to us that He has defeated sin and death; He has defeated the Devil. That even if our proto parents have failed the test or even if we have failed the test, Jesus gave mankind a fresh start by paying for all the sin in the world through His death on the Cross. Jesus came to be baptized in the Jordan so that we too could be baptized in water and spirit that brings us new life; a baptism which brings us rebirth and makes us born from above.

Tree of Life

22″Behold, the man has become like one of us, knowing good and evil; and now, lest he put forth his hand and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever” — 23therefore the LORD God sent him forth from the garden of Eden, to till the ground from which he was taken. 24He drove out the man; and at the east of the garden of Eden he placed the cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to guard the way to the tree of life.

Let’s start with the premise that our God is the absolute good and the personification of good. He only wills the good in what He created, particularly in man which He fashioned in His own image, after His own likeness. He creates man only for the good because goodness means life and true life is about doing what is good. God can’t will what is not good because goodness is His very nature and essence. Whatever is against God is evil—this is an absolute rule!

Goodness is about a life of being with God. Just remember that a life with God requires grace. Yes, we received grace through the indwelling of the Holy Spirit when we were baptized and in the reception of the other Sacraments. But sin and becoming lukewarm in the faith can easily defeat us because we are weak and broken due to original sin. Therefore, we have to want to live a life of grace. If we become complacent in our faith, if we take holiness for granted, we won’t stand a chance against the forces of evil. Except for Jesus, no one has won against evil without grace.

Life should NOT be about a life dedicated to the accumulation of material possessions. Possessions may make life more convenient but they are NOT the source of holiness. They are supposed to be possessed only for the reason of doing the good, not for selfish and evil reasons.

We know what the Tree of Life is or what it stands for. The Tree of Life is the source of the life, the source of goodness and all that is good. This Tree of Life makes its definitive appearance in the New Testament in the Cross because the one who died on it is the source of all life, Jesus. He gave His life so that we can have His life, the divine life. Remember, the divine life is the only kind of life in Heaven and it is the only standard for entry into God’s abode. In fact, it is the only life worth living here on earth.

Whenever we sin, especially mortal sin, we die. But the Cross opened up the gates of Heaven because from the Cross, life poured out and together with it was payment for all the sin of the world.

The Third Tree: The Cross

One may say that the Cross is the sum of all trees in man’s salvation history. If Adam went and eat from the wrong tree, our Lord Jesus went to the right tree—the Cross, so that He could give us the right fruit: the Bread of Life in the Eucharist.

For first century Jews and Romans, crosses were there from which criminals hung and fight for their lives; a violent symbol of justice and punishment for what evil people did.

In the case of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Cross meant liberation. Even if the first century Jews and Romans have seen the Cross of Christ as a Roman execution, we know that such view was limited because it offered much more than a Roman execution. The Cross of Christ was no less than the brutal execution of an innocent man; it was also Deicide – the killing of God. The Cross is the symbol of the greatest evil man is capable of and that is to execute God. Man didn’t believe that Jesus is God and that is why we killed Him with our sins. Our sins caused the Cross. In a way, the Cross is also a reminder of what happens when we kill God in our hearts and minds. When we walk away from God, we fall into the clutches of evil and die. Like the salt which lost its taste, we will just be thrown along the pathway to be trampled upon.

The Cross is also the greatest symbol of love man has ever seen. It is an act of unconditional love from God who is Father, Son and Holy Spirit. Because the Cross, thou hast redeemed the world. Good Friday was an emptying of life from the Cross to all mankind so that man can be resurrected with Christ on the last day. This is why the Cross is the Tree of Eternal Life.

The Cross is also the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil because through it, the greatest evil was performed. But through it also, the greatest good came forth when Jesus poured out His life just to save mankind. The Cross is the symbol for us to look at and reflect about the goodness of God and the example showed us by Jesus when He was with us. From the Cross, Jesus speaks, not only on Good Friday, but until the end of time. In Jesus is life and goodness, and it took the greatest evil for us to know how much good there is in the world.

Lastly, the Cross is man’s liberation from the bondage of sin. Please consider that the Cross relates to Adam. How? Adam was gifted with the preternatural gift of immortality. So, why would God put a Tree of Life in the middle of the Garden if Adam was already immortal? Adam should have no need for the Tree of Life if he were already immortal. Because of the Crucifixion of our Lord on the Cross, we now know why Adam needed the Tree of Life and what applies to Adam applies to all mankind – we all died due to pride and disobedience and it is the Cross, the Tree of Life, which saved us.

This Lent, let us all remember that our objective in life is to reach Heaven and for that to be realized, we must be holy enough to draw from the Tree of Life. Our battles on this earth emanate from our resilience and strength to side with Truth, Good and Holy, and we can only know them if we draw from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil, so that we can do the good and fight evil. In other words, we have to start living the holy life by embracing our crosses daily because by doing so, we do God’s will and glorify Him in what we do and say.

Today’s Responsorial Psalm is so appropriate because we need mercy and anybody who says that he does not is a fool: Be merciful, O Lord, for we have sinned.

A blessed First Sunday of Lent to everyone.

– Gospel Reflection by Kuya Rommel Cecilio of SLRP Bible Apostolate Ministry