April 29, 2026 // Memorial of Saint Catherine of Siena, Virgin and Doctor of the Church
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: John 12:44-50
Reflect on the Word //
The familiar chords reached my ears as we sat in the dimly lit church, a spotlight illuminating Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament upon the altar. The music was familiar because the D-F-G chord progression preceded just about every late 90s worship song I knew, so I was still in the dark about what we were about to sing.
Then, the words came: “I want to know You, I want to see Your face, I want to know You, Lord . . . ”
It’s the cry of every heart that seeks the Lord—to know Him, to see Him, to touch Him, to hear Him. Lord, let me understand what You are doing, where You are at work, what this means.
So often, surrounded by darkness in the world, in relationships, in our own sin, all we desire is the plan, the purpose, to know the end and purpose of it all.
“I came into the world as light, so that everyone who believes in me might not remain in darkness” (John 12:46). Yes, there is darkness in the world and in our lives, but He did not come to leave us searching and fumbling, looking for an anchor of hope. He came as the answer to every longing and question of our hearts. Pope Saint John Paul II wrote that “Jesus Christ is the answer to the question posed by every human life” (source).
Jesus came to show us His face, the face of our Savior and the face of our Father. We do not have a God that stays hidden or leaves us in the shadows. We have a God Who made Himself visible to us, and brings clarity to our obscurity.
When we seek Him we see His light and the light of the One Who sent Him, our Father (see John 12:44).
In secret, in the quiet places, He is there so we can be in the light and live not as souls condemned but as children of our Heavenly Father, believing and hoping in His Word, trusting and embracing His commandment, which is everlasting life (see John 12:50).
Relate to the Lord // Spend at least ten minutes in silence today seeking His face in prayer.
Sister Maria Fatima grew up in Rhode Island and entered the Dominican Sisters of Mary, Mother of the Eucharist in 2005. She holds a MA in Theology from the Saint Paul Seminary School of Divinity. Sister is in her eleventh year of enlightening middle school minds and drawing hearts to Jesus while teaching religion and history. She currently resides at the motherhouse in Ann Arbor, MI, having previously taught in Texas, Florida, and Ohio. She is a contributing author to our Lent devotional All She Had.
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