Photo: Parish Retreat

 

Poem: “A Light Exists in Spring” by Emily Dickinson

 A Light exists in Spring

Not present on the Year

At any other period –             

When March is scarcely here

 

A Color stands abroad

On Solitary Fields

That Science cannot overtake

But Human Nature feels.

 

It waits upon the Lawn,

It shows the furthest Tree

Upon the furthest Slope you know

It almost speaks to you.

 

Then as Horizons step

Or Noons report away

Without the Formula of sound

It passes and we stay – 

 

A quality of loss

Affecting our content

As Trade had suddenly encroached

Upon a Sacrament

Photo: Saint Cecilia

 

Poem: Before the fruit is ripened by the sun, by Thomas Troeger

 Before the fruit is ripened by the sun,

Before the petals or the leaves uncoil,
Before the first fine silken root is spun,
A seed is dropped and buried in the soil.

Before the Easter alleluias ring,
Before the massive rock is rolled aside,
Before the fear of death has lost its sting,
A just and loving man is crucified.

Before we gain the grace that comes through loss,
Before we live by more than bread and breath,
Before we lift in joy an empty cross,
We face with Christ the seed’s renewing death.

Poem: “The First Spring Day” by Christina Rossetti

 I wonder if the sap is stirring yet,

If wintry birds are dreaming of a mate,

If frozen snowdrops feel as yet the sun

And crocus fires are kindling one by one:

Sing, robin, sing:

I still am sore in doubt concerning Spring.

 

I wonder if the springtide of this year

Will bring another Spring both lost and dear;

If heart and spirit will find out their Spring

Or if the world alone will bud and sing:

Sing, hope, to me;

Sweet notes, my hope, soft notes of memory.

 

The sap will surely quicken soon or late,

The tardiest bird will twitter to a mate;

So Spring must dawn again with warmth and bloom,

Or in this world, or in this world to come:

Sing, voice of Spring.

Till I too blossom and rejoice and sing.

Phogo: St. Cecilia

 

Poem: “Spring Equinox” By: R. S. Thomas

Do not say, referring to the sun

“It’s journey northward has begun,”

As though it were a bird, annually migrating,

That now returns to build in rich trees

Its nest of golden grass. Do not belie

Its lusty health with words such as imply

A pallid invalid recuperating.

The age demands the facts, therefore be brief – 

Others will sense the simile – and say:

“We are turning towards the sun’s indifferent ray.” 

Photo: Two Figures

 

Joseph, the Husband of Mary

This passage from Luke’s Gospel tells us certain aspects of his character. He was a law-abiding believer who wanted to bring up his family in the faith. In his fatherhood, he shows that parenting is not about control but being faithfully present. Like any parent, Joseph does not understand his son, and yet, he remains committed to his wellbeing. He does not scold or yell at Jesus for taking off and visiting the Temple; he does not demand an explanation but seeks to understand. Through trying to understand, he is trying to love Jesus more like the way God treats us – slow to anger, abounding in kindness, and rich in mercy.

Did Joseph feel anxious about losing Jesus. You bet. He felt the heartache of his child not being safe by his side. He models what love does: He goes back to Jerusalem, searches for his son, and does not rest until he finds him. It teaches us that when we seem to lose touch with Jesus through doubt, distraction, or suffering, we have to keep searching.

Joseph, like any concerned parent, realizes that Jesus is his son, but not his possession. Jesus, like you, are independent of your parents. In this case, Joseph had to let Jesus belong first to his Abba Father, before belonging to Joseph. It must have hurt Joseph to hear that he is no longer the primary figure in the consciousness of Jesus, yet it is not a rejection of Joseph, but a reordering of who he is to Jesus. Joseph knows something fundamental: control is an illusion. Many of us fight for control. We never quite get it because it doesn’t exist. Joseph has to hold onto Jesus in reverence.

The closing words of this passage is quite important. Jesus had to return to Nazareth with Joseph and Mary to learn obedience. His parents were his first and primary teachers and what happened in the home in daily, ordinary life was crucial for the education of Jesus. Sometimes, daily life can be monotonous and boring, but this is the stuff that matters. Holiness is done daily within the home and at school, and his quiet unremarkable part of the day is essential. The guidance of Joseph and Mary was needed in order to Jesus to learn what it meant to be faithful to his Abba, Father. It is the ordinariness of life that is quite extraordinary. Jesus was formed by the example of Joseph, the one who was patient, consistent, and faithful. The reason we are saved by Jesus is because he was obedient to God, even to the point of death. He learned that obedience at home in unremarkable ways. We have to understand that our daily showing up and doing our best is seldom flashy, bold, or exciting, but it is the time that Christ is being formed in us. Joseph never speaks in the Gospel, but his life is essential to God’s plan. So is yours.

What does this all mean for us? It means that we have to know that Jesus loves us in the ordinariness of daily life. It means that your teachers, guidance counselors, administrators, and the sisters are doing all they can to show you the faithful, silent witness of Joseph so that you can know Jesus in your life. It means that holiness is ordinary and seemingly unremarkable because we cannot see it in order to name it. It means that God is never going to stop trying to find you. God will not stop looking. Sometimes we might feel like a part of us is unlovable. God is going to keep looking for you to tell you that you are lovable, that God wants to bring you into friendship, that God wants you to see yourself the way God sees you. Think of this school as the Temple to where Jesus was drawn. He learned about God from the elders, but mostly from his classmates and family. This is an exciting journey, one in which this whole school and the sisters stand before you like Joseph urging the very best for you and calling you forth as the saints that you are.

Into New Life: The Fifth Sunday in Lent 2026

                                                           Into New Life:

The Fifth Sunday in Lent 2026 

March 22, 2026

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Ezekiel 37:12-14; Psalm 130; Romans 8:8-11; John 11:1-45

 

The story of Lazarus is compelling because it is one of the final scenes before Holy Week and it gives us hope in the Resurrection. It teaches us how to live now especially when we are faced with the death of a loved one. Two of the most emotional lines are found in the Gospel: “Jesus wept,” and “See how much he loved him.” It tells us something about the heart of God who finds sorrow in our misfortune.

 

The Ezekiel passage shows us the God opens the graves of the Israelites and calls them to rise from them. Jesus acts in the place of God when he opens the tomb of his friend, Lazarus, who can now rise to new life. Jesus changes around the Jewish belief about a future resurrection when he says, “I am the resurrection and the life.” He makes sure that Martha knows that the resurrection is not only a future belief or an event that happens to Jesus after the Crucifixion. He tells her that resurrection is about a relationship with Christ now. He tells her that eternal life begins when we believe, not only when we die. 

 

What does this mean for us. Belief in Jesus means that we can live differently now because Christ has own back. We can leave fears behind because fear is not faith, and faith calls us to leave our tombs and experience the fullness of life. Martha asks Jesus, “Why didn’t you come sooner?” and he tells us what matters is not time, but belief. The only time that matters is now, and belief in Jeus will take care of take care of all manner of things.

 

While Jesus raises Lazarus to life, and by implication, Jesus raised people to new life, he asks the community to help remove the bandages. He says, “Untie him.” There are so many layers of relationships that bind and limit people, and Jesus wants the community to set Lazarus free, to see us free of the restrictions that community places upon us. To do this, we must forgive. We encourage others and speak life-giving and life-sustaining words. We heal fractured relationships and we reconcile our suffering. What does Jesus do: He infuses his love into death. He weeps for Lazarus and loves him back to life. Jesus does the same for us. Therefore, it is important for us to put love into places where lost has been lost or where love is absent. It is the power of this love that heals, and it is given to us because we have eternal life. 

The question for us is, “Who needs my love to be freed from the shackles of life? How can my love give someone new life?” We, as community, help others live freely. What fear do I carry with me that prevents me from living to my full potential? Whose love do I need to liberate me from what holds me back? Jesus wants to give us newness of life, a renewed sense of energy and engagement, a meaningful purpose. We belong to him because his love has the power over death. His love knows no boundaries. His love is what transforms our world into a liberating breath of life. Hear Jesus speaks the words, “Untie Lazarus. Untie your loved one. Untie you.” Then our work begins. We then let each other go free. 

 

Scripture for Daily Mass

Monday: (Daniel 13) Daniel’s sharp advocacy skills spare the life of Susannah who has been unjustly accused of immoral sexual relationships.

 

Tuesday: (Numbers 21) As the wandering Israelites passed through the desert near the Red Sea, many are bitten by seraph serpents, but Moses erected a bronze serpent that he lifted up for those bitten to gaze upon the image and be cured. 

 

Wednesday: (Isaiah 7) Annunciation: Ahaz is tempted by the Lord to ask for a sign but he will not. The Lord gives it anyways: the virgin shall conceive and bear a son named Emmanuel.

 

Thursday: (Genesis 17) The Lord said to Abraham: You are to become the father of a host of nations. You will become fertile; kings will stem from you.   

 

Friday: (Jeremiah 20) Terror on every side. Let us denounce him. The Lord is with me like a mighty champion.

 

Saturday: (Ezekiel 37) My dwelling shall be with my people. I will be their God and they shall be my people.   

 

Gospel: 

Monday: (John 8) A woman caught in adultery is brought to Jesus for a verdict, but he does not answer as he calls upon those who are without sin to cast the first stone. 

 

Tuesday: (John 8) Jesus tells the Pharisees that they will lift up the Son of Man and will then realized that I AM. 

 

Wednesday: (Luke 1) Gabriel was sent to Mary of Nazareth to inform her that she has been chosen by the Lord to bear a son who will be called holy, the Son of God.

 

Thursday: (John 8) Whoever keeps my words will never see death. Abraham rejoiced to see my day; he saw it and was glad.

 

Friday: (John 10) The Jews picked up rocks to stone Jesus, but he wanted to know for which of the works he was condemned. He went back across the Jordan and remained there.

 

Saturday: (John 11) Many came to believe in Jesus. Caiaphas asked, “do you consider that it is better for you that one man should die instead of the people?”

 

Saints of the Week

 

March 23: Toribio of Mogrovejo, bishop (1538-1606) was a Spanish law professor in Salamanca who became the president of the Inquisition in Granada. As a layman, he was made the Archbishop of Lima, Peru and became quickly disturbed at the treatment of the native populations by the European conquerors. He condemned abuses and founded schools to educate the oppressed natives. He built hospitals and churches and opened the first seminary in Latin America.

 

March 25: The Annunciation of the Lord celebrates the announcement that God chose to unite divinity with humanity at the conception of Jesus. God sent the angel Gabriel to Mary to inform her of God’s intentions to have her conceive the future Messiah. The boy’s name was to be Jesus – meaning “God saves.” This date falls nine months before Christmas Day. 

 

This Week in Jesuit History

 

• March 22, 1585: In Rome, Fr. General received the three Japanese ambassadors with great solemnity in the Society's Church of the Gesu. 
• March 23, 1772: At Rome, Cardinal Marefoschi held a visitation of the Irish College and accused the Jesuits of mismanagement. He removed them from directing that establishment. 
• March 24, 1578: At Lisbon Rudolf Acquaviva and 13 companions embarked for India. Among the companions were Matthew Ricci and Michael Ruggieri. 
• March 25, 1563: The first Sodality of Our Lady, Prima Primaria, was begun in the Roman College by a young Belgian Jesuit named John Leunis (Leonius). 
• March 26, 1553: Ignatius of Loyola's letter on obedience was sent to the Jesuits of Portugal. 
• March 27, 1587: At Messina died Fr. Thomas Evans, an Englishman at 29. He had suffered imprisonment for his defense of the Catholic faith in England. 
• March 28, 1606: At the Guildhall, London, the trial of Fr. Henry Garnet, falsely accused of complicity in the Gunpowder Plot.