Catholic Missal of the day: Tuesday, March 17 2026

Tuesday of the Fourth week of Lent

Book of Ezekiel

The angel brought me, Ezekiel, back to the entrance of the temple of the LORD, and I saw water flowing out from beneath the threshold of the temple toward the east, for the façade of the temple was toward the east; the water flowed down from the right side of the temple, south of the altar.
He led me outside by the north gate, and around to the outer gate facing the east, where I saw water trickling from the southern side.
Then when he had walked off to the east with a measuring cord in his hand, he measured off a thousand cubits and had me wade through the water, which was ankle-deep.
He measured off another thousand and once more had me wade through the water, which was now knee-deep. Again he measured off a thousand and had me wade; the water was up to my waist.
Once more he measured off a thousand, but there was now a river through which I could not wade; for the water had risen so high it had become a river that could not be crossed except by swimming.
He asked me, "Have you seen this, son of man?" Then he brought me to the bank of the river, where he had me sit.
Along the bank of the river I saw very many trees on both sides.
He said to me, "This water flows into the eastern district down upon the Arabah, and empties into the sea, the salt waters, which it makes fresh.
Wherever the river flows, every sort of living creature that can multiply shall live, and there shall be abundant fish, for wherever this water comes the sea shall be made fresh.
Along both banks of the river, fruit trees of every kind shall grow; their leaves shall not fade, nor their fruit fail. Every month they shall bear fresh fruit, for they shall be watered by the flow from the sanctuary. Their fruit shall serve for food, and their leaves for medicine."

Psalms

God is our refuge and our strength,
an ever-present help in distress.
Therefore, we fear not, though the earth be shaken
and mountains plunge into the depths of the sea.
There is a stream whose runlets gladden the city of God,
the holy dwelling of the Most High.
God is in its midst; it shall not be disturbed;
God will help it at the break of dawn.
The LORD of hosts is with us;
our stronghold is the God of Jacob.
Come! behold the deeds of the LORD,
the astounding things he has wrought on earth.

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John

There was a feast of the Jews, and Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
Now there is in Jerusalem at the Sheep (Gate) a pool called in Hebrew Bethesda, with five porticoes.
In these lay a large number of ill, blind, lame, and crippled.
One man was there who had been ill for thirty-eight years.
When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had been ill for a long time, he said to him, "Do you want to be well?"
The sick man answered him, "Sir, I have no one to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; while I am on my way, someone else gets down there before me."
Jesus said to him, "Rise, take up your mat, and walk."
Immediately the man became well, took up his mat, and walked. Now that day was a sabbath.
So the Jews said to the man who was cured, "It is the sabbath, and it is not lawful for you to carry your mat."
He answered them, "The man who made me well told me, 'Take up your mat and walk.'"
They asked him, "Who is the man who told you, 'Take it up and walk'?"
The man who was healed did not know who it was, for Jesus had slipped away, since there was a crowd there.
After this Jesus found him in the temple area and said to him, "Look, you are well; do not sin any more, so that nothing worse may happen to you."
The man went and told the Jews that Jesus was the one who had made him well.
Therefore, the Jews began to persecute Jesus because he did this on a sabbath.

St. Patrick(Bishop (c. 385-461))

SAINT PATRICKBishop, Apostle of Ireland(c. 385-461) If the virtue of children reflects an honor on their parents, the name of St. Patrick is illumined by the countless lights of sanctity from the Church of Ireland and the saints she sent to other countries. He was born in Bonaven Taberniæ, present-day Kilpatrick, at the mouth of the river Clyde in Scotland, between Dumbarton and Glasgow. He was a Briton and a Roman. His father's name was Calphurnius. He witnessed the Roman empire's collapse and Britain's separation from Rome in 409. Historians say that his mother was Conchessa, St. Martin of Tours' niece. Patrick was kidnapped when he was 16, taken to Ireland and forced to tend cattle in the mountains and forests. God quickened him with grace, new spiritual lights and fervor. After six years under one master, God told him to return to Scotland. He found a boat, but could not pay the fare and was sent back. The sailors then called him aboard; and they sailed for three days. On land, they wandered for 27 days without finding food. Patrick said they would be saved if they looked, prayed and gave their hearts to God. Later, the party encountered a herd of swine. A couple of years after returning to Scotland, Patrick was kidnapped again. He escaped after two months, returned to Scotland and received visions of Ireland's conversion. He became a religious, was formed in Gaul and Italy, met St. Martin and St. Germanus, and was blessed by Pope Celestine. His relatives and the clergy opposed his mission and consecration; yet he persevered. In the character and person of Christ, Fr. Patrick went to Ireland and preached the Gospel where idolatry and paganism were commonplace. He spread the faith without military force. The kings of Ireland received faith during and after St. Patrick's lifetime. Clergymen were ordained, married and unmarried people lived chastely, religious vocations blossomed and monasteries were founded. Persecution came in the form of piracy and enslavement. Prince Corotick plundered the country of Bp. Patrick's neophytes and enslaved them. Bp. Patrick declared that Corotick was separated from Jesus Christ after the neophytes were sold as slaves to the Picts and Scots. The writer Jocelin said that Corotick was eventually overtaken by divine justice. St. Bernard wrote that Bp. Patrick's metropolitan see was in Armagh. He founded a monastery in Armagh, another called Domnach-Padraig or Patrick's church and a third named Sabhal-Padraig. In the first year of his mission, he preached in the general assembly of the kings and states of all Ireland. The assembly took place yearly in Tara, the chief king's island residence and the principal seat of the Druids. The chief king, the son of Neill, was hostile to Patrick. Patrick converted the Icings of Dublin, Munster and the seven sons of the king of Connaught. He nominated St. Benignus' father in line for kingship. Bp. Patrick was buried in Down, Ulster. His relics were rediscovered at his church in 1185. Glastonbury, Lindisfarne, Ripon and Malmesbury in England received Catholicism thanks to Ireland's apostles. Irish saints like Columban, Fiacre, Gall and others evangelized France and Switzerland. In recent times, America and Australia received Catholicism thanks to the sons and daughters of St. Patrick. His monastery of Iona Abbey in western Scotland is a coastal pilgrimage site.

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Category: Mass by Year / Catholic Missal 2026 / Catholic Missal of march 2026