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