March 27, 2026 // Friday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s First Reading: Jeremiah 20:10-13
Reflect on the Word //
I lit a candle and lay in bed, not quite tired, the silence marked by the occasional falling acorn on the roof. In that space, gold haloes on the ceiling and warm shadows in the corners, I found myself wrestling with the Lord, desires and disappointments rising up along with the “sunset” scent of my candle. I found myself asking Him what I was supposed to do with my life, and—the underlying question—didn’t He want me to be happy?
“For to you I have entrusted my cause,” the prophet Jeremiah says to the Lord in today’s First Reading (Jeremiah 20:12). I find my whole body relaxing as I consider that “my cause”—my happiness, my interests, my loved ones, my vocation—is also His. After all, He wants me to be in Heaven, even more than I do! He has begun a great work in me, and He wants to bring it to completion (see Philippians 1:6).
During this season of Lent, the Church spends forty days preparing for Easter, remembering Jesus’ forty days of desert trials before His ministry, Death, and Resurrection. Two thousand years ago, He was already fighting the battle against sin and death for me. Because even then, before I existed, He wanted me to spend eternity with Him, and He was willing to do anything to make that possible. Turns out, my cause has always been His.
This is true for all of us in our various states of life. Wherever our hearts are today—whether we are at the beginning, in the middle, or near the end of life—we get to say with Jeremiah, “The Lord is with me, a mighty champion” (Jeremiah 20:11). The battle is already won. Let’s live our lives like that is true.
Relate to the Lord // What cause do you need to (re)entrust to the Lord today? Ask Him to be your champion.
