Laughlin Catholic

TODAY’S READINGS
First Reading - In spite of my sufferings
I am not disgraced. I am not put to shame
(Isaiah 50:4-7).

Psalm – My God, my God, why have you
abandoned me? (Psalm 22).

Second Reading - Christ emptied himself,
and God filled this emptiness with exaltation (Philippians 2:6-100).

Gospel - The account of Christ’s passion
according to Matthew (Matthew 26:14—2
7:66).

HOSANNA
“Hosanna to the Son of David: blessed is
he who comes in the name of the Lord;
hosanna in the highest” (Matthew 21:9).
With these words the Church enters the
holiest of weeks, commemorating the
passion, death, and resurrection of Christ.
When the people of Jerusalem cried out
with their “hosannas,” they were using an
ancient Hebrew shout of acclamation that
meant “Pray, save us.” The king to whom
they were shouting eventually would save
them, but in a way that would be far from
what they expected. Salvation would come
from the wood of the cross as Jesus hung
there to bring freedom from sin and life
through death, opening the gates of
heaven for all who put their faith and
trust in him.

2026-03-29 SJBC Sunday VMass – Palm Sunday TODAY’S READINGSFirst Reading - In spite of my sufferingsI am not disgraced. I am not put to shame(Isaiah 50:4-7).Psalm – My God, my God, why have youabandon...

TODAY’S READINGS
First Reading - As the prophet Samuel
anointed David with oil, the spirit of the Lord
rushed upon David (1 Samuel 16:1b,6-7,
10-13a).

Psalm – The Lord is my shepherd; there is
nothing I shall want (Psalm 23).

Second Reading - You who were once darkness
are now light in the Lord (Ephesians 5:8-14).

Gospel - The man who had been blind from
birth proclaimed: The one called Jesus made
clay with his saliva, anointed my eyes with it,
and told me to wash (John 9:1-41).

NEW VISION
Jesus proclaimed that he came into the world
to make the sightless see and the seeing blind.
A difficult saying! But surely it must mean
that Jesus intended to take our ordinary ways
of looking at things and turn them inside out.
Jesus came to change our perspective.

When the prophet Samuel went out to select
the new king, he chose a young man who had
the look of royalty about him. But God told
him not to judge by appearances. God told
Samuel-and today tell us-to change our
perspective and to look at things and people
differently.

We are like the Ephesians, whom Paul urged to
live as children of the light. With the light of
faith, we have a new way of looking at things,
and we are called to bring that new vision to
the world around us. This is a great vocation,
a calling to wake people up to what’s really
important.

2026-03-15 SJBC Sunday VMass – 4th Sunday of Lent TODAY’S READINGSFirst Reading - As the prophet Samuelanointed David with oil, the spirit of the Lordrushed upon David (1 Samuel 16:1b,6-7,10-13a).Psalm – The...

TODAY’S READINGS

First Reading - When the people grumbled to
Moses for water in the desert, the Lord heard
and brought forth water from the rock for all
to drink (Exodus 17:3-7).

Psalm – If today you hear his voice, harden
not your hearts (Psalm 95).

Second Reading - God’s love has been poured
into our hearts through the Holy Spirit
(Romans 5:1-2,5-8).

Gospel - Ask, and you will be given water so
that you will never thirst again (John 4:5-42).

THIRSTING FOR UNITY
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is thirsty and goes to
the well for a drink of water. He meets a
Samaritan woman, who expects him to treat
her like dirt. But surprise! He talks to her like
a fellow human being, treats her with respect
and interest. And what happens? Why, pretty
soon the whole town turns out to hear him.

Centuries earlier, the Israelites, wandering in
the desert, were thirsty. They had no water.
All they had was an attitude problem. They
growled at Moses, “Why did you ever make us
leave Egypt?” But surprise! God gave them
water from the rock. No questions asked.

All the peoples of Earth are travelers on this
planet together, all thirsting, all harboring our
own fearful expectations of each other. But
God, as a loving parent, treats us all with
generous care and compassion. We are one
family. We could surprise each other. We
could remember we are one.

2026-03-08 SJBC Sunday VMass – 3rd Sunday of Lent TODAY’S READINGSFirst Reading - When the people grumbled toMoses for water in the desert, the Lord heardand brought forth water from the rock for allto drink...

TODAY’S READINGS

First Reading - God allows us to make
choices, but we are not to choose injustice or
sinfulness. (Sirach 15:20).

Psalm – Blessed are they who follow the law of
the Lord! (Psalm 119).

Second Reading - God’s wisdom is mysterious
and hidden (1 Corinthians 2:6-10).

Gospel - Jesus has come not to abolish but to
fulfill the law and the prophets (Matthew 5:17
-2-37).

JESUS AND THE LAW
In today’s continuation of the Sermon on the
Mount, Jesus addresses the relationship
between the current interpretation of the law
of Moses and his own. He insists that he has
come to fulfill, no abolish the law. Jesus is
explicit here. He repeats the phrase, “You
have heard…”with the counterpoint. “But I
say…” He will not settle for mere avoidance of
outright murder or adultery or lying. He goes
to the source of the murder-hatred,
resentment, spite. He insists on chaste living.
He overrules the one-sided loopholes that
allow men to divorce women, a law based on
the view of women as property. He disallows
all the means that people employ to play fast
and loose with marriage. His words urge
mutual fidelity. His listeners and followers are
to honor the law wholly and not minimally. The
consequences of failure are clear and severe.
The smallest are watching. They are those
rendered powerless by age or ignorance or
circumstance. These little ones depend on the
word and action of the mature and
knowledgeable, and they are not be betrayed.

2026-02-15 SJBC Sunday VMass – 6th Sunday in Ordinary Time TODAY’S READINGSFirst Reading - God allows us to makechoices, but we are not to choose injustice orsinfulness. (Sirach 15:20).Psalm – Blessed are they who fo...