About Today
Tuesday 24 March 2026
Tuesday of the 5th week of Lent
Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us. Come, let us adore him.
Or: O that today you would listen to his voice: harden not your hearts.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 1. Liturgical Colour: Violet.
Other saints: Saint Macartan (- 506)
Ireland
He was a convert from paganism and a companion of St Patrick, who made him bishop of Clogher in 454. He is the patron saint of the diocese.
Today's gospel reading
John 8:21-30 When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know
At that time: Jesus said to the Pharisees, ‘I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.’ So the Jews said, ‘Will he kill himself, since he says, “Where I am going, you cannot come”?’ He said to them, ‘You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.’ So they said to him, ‘Who are you?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.’ They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said to them, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.’ As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
Reflection on the painting
In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees ask Jesus a very direct question: “Who are you?” It is the question of people who are puzzled by Him, intrigued by Him, perhaps even unsettled by Him. They sense that there is something extraordinary about this man, yet they cannot quite grasp who He truly is. In a way, it is also the question every believer continues to ask. Throughout our lives we keep discovering new depths in Christ, and the mystery of His identity always remains greater than our understanding. Our minds are finite, and can never understand the truly in-finite.
Jesus responds in a surprising way in our reading. He tells the Pharisees that when the Son of Man is lifted up, then they will begin to understand who He is. He is speaking of the moment when He will be lifted up on the cross. At first glance the cross appears to be the moment of defeat and weakness. Yet Jesus reveals that this is precisely the place where His true identity will shine most clearly. In the very moment when He seems most powerless, the love He holds for us is fully on display. And that is who He is: love.
And so, if we truly want to answer the question “Who are you, Jesus?”, we too must look to the cross, especially as we approach Holy Week. This is where art can help us. Looking at a beautiful crucifix or a scene of the Crucifixion can help us enter into the mystery of who Christ was. Crucifixion scenes have inspired artists for almost two thousand years. Some of the earliest surviving depictions appear already in the 4th and 5th centuries, after Christianity became publicly accepted in the Roman Empire. Before that time, Christians very rarely represented the Crucifixion directly, because crucifixion was still a shameful and brutal form of execution. But gradually artists began to depict Christ on the Cross, first in a more symbolic and triumphant way, emphasising His victory over death. By the Middle Ages, the Crucifixion had become one of the central subjects of Christian art. Artists filled churches, manuscripts, altarpieces, and frescoes with images of Christ crucified, inviting the faithful to meditate on His suffering and love. During the Renaissance, the subject became even more powerful, as painters explored the human drama surrounding the Cross: the grief of Mary, the sorrow of the disciples, blood dripping from Christ's body...
A beautiful example is our small but moving painting of the Crucifixion attributed to Fra Angelico. Fra Angelico, the Dominican friar, was renowned for creating images that were so beautiful and prayerful. In this panel, Christ hangs on the Cross at the centre, serene yet suffering, while figures gathered below respond with sorrow and contemplation. We have fully entered the Renaissance now, with human emotion on full display. In the foreground, the Virgin collapses in sorrow, overcome by grief, as she is supported by the mourning figures of Mary Magdalene and Mary of Cleophas. Behind them, a group of Roman soldiers, accompanied by their horses, stand guard at the foot of the cross, their presence forming a stark contrast to the intimate human tragedy unfolding in the foreground.
The Crucifixion,
Painting by Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro ca. 1395–1455),
Painted circa 1420-1430,
Tempera on wood, gold ground
© Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York
Tuesday of the 5th week of Lent
Christ the Lord was tempted and suffered for us. Come, let us adore him.
Or: O that today you would listen to his voice: harden not your hearts.
Year: A(II). Psalm week: 1. Liturgical Colour: Violet.
Other saints: Saint Macartan (- 506)
Ireland
He was a convert from paganism and a companion of St Patrick, who made him bishop of Clogher in 454. He is the patron saint of the diocese.
Today's gospel reading
John 8:21-30 When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know
At that time: Jesus said to the Pharisees, ‘I am going away, and you will seek me, and you will die in your sin. Where I am going, you cannot come.’ So the Jews said, ‘Will he kill himself, since he says, “Where I am going, you cannot come”?’ He said to them, ‘You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins, for unless you believe that I am he you will die in your sins.’ So they said to him, ‘Who are you?’ Jesus said to them, ‘Just what I have been telling you from the beginning. I have much to say about you and much to judge, but he who sent me is true, and I declare to the world what I have heard from him.’ They did not understand that he had been speaking to them about the Father. So Jesus said to them, ‘When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am he, and that I do nothing on my own authority, but speak just as the Father taught me. And he who sent me is with me. He has not left me alone, for I always do the things that are pleasing to him.’ As he was saying these things, many believed in him.
Reflection on the painting
In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees ask Jesus a very direct question: “Who are you?” It is the question of people who are puzzled by Him, intrigued by Him, perhaps even unsettled by Him. They sense that there is something extraordinary about this man, yet they cannot quite grasp who He truly is. In a way, it is also the question every believer continues to ask. Throughout our lives we keep discovering new depths in Christ, and the mystery of His identity always remains greater than our understanding. Our minds are finite, and can never understand the truly in-finite.
Jesus responds in a surprising way in our reading. He tells the Pharisees that when the Son of Man is lifted up, then they will begin to understand who He is. He is speaking of the moment when He will be lifted up on the cross. At first glance the cross appears to be the moment of defeat and weakness. Yet Jesus reveals that this is precisely the place where His true identity will shine most clearly. In the very moment when He seems most powerless, the love He holds for us is fully on display. And that is who He is: love.
And so, if we truly want to answer the question “Who are you, Jesus?”, we too must look to the cross, especially as we approach Holy Week. This is where art can help us. Looking at a beautiful crucifix or a scene of the Crucifixion can help us enter into the mystery of who Christ was. Crucifixion scenes have inspired artists for almost two thousand years. Some of the earliest surviving depictions appear already in the 4th and 5th centuries, after Christianity became publicly accepted in the Roman Empire. Before that time, Christians very rarely represented the Crucifixion directly, because crucifixion was still a shameful and brutal form of execution. But gradually artists began to depict Christ on the Cross, first in a more symbolic and triumphant way, emphasising His victory over death. By the Middle Ages, the Crucifixion had become one of the central subjects of Christian art. Artists filled churches, manuscripts, altarpieces, and frescoes with images of Christ crucified, inviting the faithful to meditate on His suffering and love. During the Renaissance, the subject became even more powerful, as painters explored the human drama surrounding the Cross: the grief of Mary, the sorrow of the disciples, blood dripping from Christ's body...
A beautiful example is our small but moving painting of the Crucifixion attributed to Fra Angelico. Fra Angelico, the Dominican friar, was renowned for creating images that were so beautiful and prayerful. In this panel, Christ hangs on the Cross at the centre, serene yet suffering, while figures gathered below respond with sorrow and contemplation. We have fully entered the Renaissance now, with human emotion on full display. In the foreground, the Virgin collapses in sorrow, overcome by grief, as she is supported by the mourning figures of Mary Magdalene and Mary of Cleophas. Behind them, a group of Roman soldiers, accompanied by their horses, stand guard at the foot of the cross, their presence forming a stark contrast to the intimate human tragedy unfolding in the foreground.
The Crucifixion,
Painting by Fra Angelico (Guido di Pietro ca. 1395–1455),
Painted circa 1420-1430,
Tempera on wood, gold ground
© Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York