Catholic Missal of the day: Tuesday, March 24 2026

Tuesday of the Fifth week of Lent

Book of Numbers

From Mount Hor the children of Israel set out on the Red Sea road, to by-pass the land of Edom. But with their patience worn out by the journey,
the people complained against God and Moses, "Why have you brought us up from Egypt to die in this desert, where there is no food or water? We are disgusted with this wretched food!"
In punishment the LORD sent among the people saraph serpents, which bit the people so that many of them died.
Then the people came to Moses and said, "We have sinned in complaining against the LORD and you. Pray the LORD to take the serpents from us." So Moses prayed for the people,
and the LORD said to Moses, "Make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover."
Moses accordingly made a bronze serpent and mounted it on a pole, and whenever anyone who had been bitten by a serpent looked at the bronze serpent, he lived.

Psalms

LORD, hear my prayer;
let my cry come to you.
Do not hide your face from me
now that I am in distress.
Turn your ear to me;
when I call, answer me quickly.
The nations shall revere your name, O LORD,
and all the kings of the earth your glory,
when the LORD has rebuilt Zion
and appeared in his glory;
when he has regarded the prayer of the destitute,
and not despised their prayer.
Let this be written for the generation to come,
and let his future creatures praise the LORD:
"The LORD looked down from his holy height,
from heaven he beheld the earth,
to hear the groaning of the prisoners,
to release those doomed to die."

Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John

Jesus said to the Pharisees: "I am going away and you will look for me, but you will die in your sin. Where I am going you cannot come."
So the Jews said, "He is not going to kill himself, is he, because he said, 'Where I am going you cannot come'?"
He said to them, "You belong to what is below, I belong to what is above. You belong to this world, but I do not belong to this world.
That is why I told you that you will die in your sins. For if you do not believe that I AM, you will die in your sins."
So they said to him, "Who are you?" Jesus said to them, "What I told you from the beginning.
I have much to say about you in condemnation. But the one who sent me is true, and what I heard from him I tell the world."
They did not realize that he was speaking to them of the Father.
So Jesus said (to them), "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM, and that I do nothing on my own, but I say only what the Father taught me.
The one who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, because I always do what is pleasing to him."
Because he spoke this way, many came to believe in him.

St. Catherine of Sweden(Abbess (1330 + 1381))

SAINT CATHERINE OF SWEDEN Virgin(1331 to 1381) Catherine was the fourth child of St. Bridget and Ulf Gudmarsson. She was born in 1331 or 1332. At the age of 7, she was sent to the abbess of the convent of Riseberg for schooling. Catherine's father arranged her marriage to Eggart von Kürnen when she was around 14. When Catherine asked Eggart to join her in a vow of chastity, he agreed. They lived in a state of virginity and devoted themselves to charity and works of mercy. Catherine once accompanied St. Bridget to Rome in 1349. Soon after they arrived, Catherine received news that her husband had passed away in Sweden. Catherine then lived with St. Bridget and took an active part in the latter's ministry. She also zealously imitated her mother's asceticism. Many suitors pursued Catherine, but she had already consecrated her whole being to God. In 1372, she and her brother, Birger, accompanied St. Bridget on a pilgrimage to the Holy Land. After they returned, Catherine accompanied St. Bridget during the latter's final illness and death. In 1374, after interring St. Bridget's remains in Wadstena, Sweden, Catherine became the head of the foundation. The motherhouse of the Brigittine Order was based in Wadstena. It was also called the Bridgittine Order and the Order of St. Savior. Catherine managed the convent in accordance with St. Bridget's rule. She passed away on March 24, 1381.

Bl. Maria Karlowska(Foundress (1865-1935))

Blessed Maria Karlowska Religious(1865-1935) Maria Karlowska was born in the territories under Prussian occupation in 1865. She assisted women who suffered material and moral deprivation. She quickly attracted a group of Christians and together they founded the Congregation of the Sisters of the Good Shepherd of Divine Providence. The Sisters' goal is: "We must proclaim the Heart of Jesus, that is, so to live from him, in him and for him, as to become like him and that in our lives he may be more visible than we ourselves." The Foundress provided shelters for trafficked women and at-risk youth and girls. Her devotion to the Sacred Heart spread throughout the world and bears great fruit in those who cultivate it. Maria Karlowska loved the Church heroically. A love of this kind, according to her, will never say "enough," will never stop midway. She was beatified following a miraculous healing through her intercession. The miracle was verified by a medical board and offices for the causes of saints.

Saint Oscar Romero(Archbishop (1917 - 1980))

Saint Oscar Romero (1917 - , CardinalEarly lifeOscar Romero was born into a large family on August 15, 1917, in El Salvador. Although they had more money than many of their neighbors, Oscar’s family had neither electricity nor running water in their small home, and the children slept on the floor. Oscar’s parents could not afford to send him to school after the age of 12, so he went to work as an apprentice carpenter. He quickly showed great skill, but Oscar was already determined to become a priest. He entered the seminary at the age of 14 and was ordained a priest when he was 25 in 1942. Recognising the power of radio to reach the people, he convinced five radio stations to broadcast his Sunday sermons to peasant farmers who believed they were unwelcome in the churches.In 1970, he became Auxiliary Bishop in San Salvador. In 1974, he became Bishop of Santiago de Maria. At this time, Oscar Romero was described as a conservative, not wanting to break from tradition. He supported the hierarchy who encouraged conformity. He was uncomfortable with social action that challenged political leaders.Growing awarenessDuring his two years as Bishop of Santiago de Maria, Romero was horrified to find that children were dying because their parents could not pay for simple medicines. He began using the resources of the diocese and his own personal resources to help the poor, but he knew that simple charity was not enough. He wrote in his diary that people who are poor should not just receive handouts from the Church or the government, but participate in changing their lives for the future.In 1977, Romero became Archbishop of San Salvador, the capital city. The situation in El Salvador was becoming worse and he couldn’t remain silent any longer. The military were killing the Salvadorian people - especially those demanding justice - such as teachers, nuns and priests, and including Romero’s good friend, Fr. Rutilio Grande. Thousands of people began to go missing. Romero demanded that the President of El Salvador thoroughly investigate the killings, but he failed to act.Voice of the voicelessIn his actions and words, Oscar demanded a peace that could only be found by ensuring people had access to basic needs and their rights upheld. He raised awareness globally about the people in his country who had been killed or "disappeared." When he visited the Vatican in 1979, Oscar Romero presented the Pope with seven detailed reports of murder, torture, and kidnapping throughout El Salvador.In 1979, the number of people being killed rose to more than 3,000 per month. Oscar Romero had nothing left to offer his people except faith and hope. He continued to use the radio broadcast of his Sunday sermons to tell people what was happening throughout the country, to talk about the role of the Church and to offer his listeners hope that they would not suffer and die in vain.MartyrdomOn March 23, 1980, after reporting the previous week’s deaths and disappearances, Oscar Romero began to speak directly to soldiers and policemen: “I beg you, I implore you, I order you... in the name of God, stop the repression!” The following evening, while saying Mass in the chapel of Divine Providence Hospital, Archbishop Oscar Romero was shot by an assassin. Only moments before his death, Romero spoke these prophetic words: “Those who surrender to the service of the poor through love of Christ will live like the grain of wheat that dies… The harvest comes because of the grain that dies.”

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