Congregation of the Blessed Sacrament

March 17, 2026

Today’s readings offer a hint at how involved we are in God’s love for us.  An angel occasionally stirs a pool of water, and the first one in is healed.  Jesus heals a crippled man who cannot get into the water soon enough.  Religious priests chastise the man for breaking the sabbath and are upset because Jesus is making them look ineffective.

In the centuries after Jesus’ resurrection, priests, bishops, popes, and saints worked miracles, spread the good news, and built up the faith.  After World War II, Pope John XXIII, guided by the Holy Spirit, convened a worldwide conclave known as Vatican II.  Pope Paul VI promulgated the new order of the Mass, known as the Novus Ordo, in 1969, allowing local vernacular languages to be used in parishes worldwide.

Today, we are encouraged to attend Mass and receive communion as often as we want!  The world has Mass in vernacular!  We are being encouraged to pray in the presence of the Eucharist as often as we can!  We are being encouraged to share the message and life in the Eucharist one-on-one.  WE ARE STILL LEARNING, but we have each other as well as the clergy and the saints before us to encourage us.  So, do unto others as you would have them do unto you.

If successful, do it again.

Let us pray:

Holy Spirit, inspire us to listen to your promptings and the promptings of our guardian angels.  You are a guide for us in this world of God’s creation, as if it’s a playground for us to learn.  Teach us to encourage one another, to serve one another, to love one another.  Teach us to encourage each other with joy.  Amen.