March 24, 2026 // Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: John 8:21-30
Reflect on the Word //
At the beginning of Lent, I imagined this wide and dusty desert that we were all collectively entering. And yet, I imagined some of us felt very much like we entered it alone. But we didn’t. We didn’t walk into this Lent on our own, and we don’t walk into any desert season alone. Rather, like Christ as He entered the desert and was accompanied by the Holy Spirit, we too are accompanied.
Christ in today’s Gospel passage said to the Pharisees, “The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone” (John 8:29). We too can say this with Him as we encounter the challenges of living the call the Father has given us. This short excerpt—this proclamation—I hope, can become an echo within our hearts throughout the rest of our time in this Lenten desert and throughout our lives. A reminder that we’re never alone.
Something I’ve grown to enjoy over the last few years is how I’m more easily recalling the Gospel reading as it's being read. After going to Mass for decades now, the repetition has really cemented, or planted, the Word within my mind. It’s as though I’ve been listening to my grandparents’ stories of faith over and over again. The more I hear them, the more I learn, the better I recall.
In the same vein, if we read or hear Jesus’ prayer over and over again, it can become our own. The legacy of faith can be passed on. And when we enter the desert again—as we all likely will do, whether that’s next Lent or another season of our life that feels like Lent—then Jesus’ prayer can be what guides us, as God’s word was what guided Jesus in living out His mission from the Father.
Relate to the Lord // Have you been walking alone this Lent? Invite Jesus in again and ask Him to accompany you.
Annie Deddens is a writer and producer. She runs a prayer ministry with her husband, called Pray More Novenas. She has a heart for the sick & suffering, and she writes about living with greater faith (hope & love, too) in this imperfect world as a Catholic wife on her blog, Catholic Wife, Catholic Life. Find out more about her here.
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