About Today
Wednesday 4 March 2026
Wednesday of the 2nd week of Lent
(optional commemoration of Saint Casimir)
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: 2. Liturgical Colour: Violet.
St Casimir (1458 - 1484)
He was the second son of King Casimir IV of Poland. He assiduously cultivated the Christian virtues, especially chastity and generosity to the poor. Zealous in faith, he had a particular devotion to the Eucharist and the Virgin Mary. For several years, while his father was away in Lithuania (the Kings of Poland at this time were also Grand Dukes of Lithuania), he ruled Poland with great prudence and justice. He died of tuberculosis on 4 March 1484. See the articles in the Catholic Encyclopaedia and Wikipedia.
Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?
Gospel: Matthew 20:17-28
At that time: As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.’
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, ‘What do you want?’ She said to him, ‘Say that these two sons of mine are to sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom.’ Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?’ They said to him, ‘We are able.’ He said to them, ‘You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.’ And when the Ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
Reflection on the painting
Mothers naturally want the very best for their children. I know my mother does. In today’s Gospel, we see that instinct at work as the mother of James and John approaches Jesus, asking that her sons might have the places of honour in his kingdom. She intercedes for them, bringing her hopes and desires before the Lord. Yet her request is not granted in the way she imagines. Jesus does not simply fulfil every petition placed before him. Instead, he gently redirects the moment. He redirects her request to a deeper question addressed to her sons: “Can you drink the cup that I am to drink?” In other words, are you ready to truly follow me? Are you ready to follow me not only in good times, but also in bad times leading to sacrifice and death?
That same question echoes to us today. We, too, come to the Lord with our prayers, our hopes, our requests. They are not all granted. And this is where we begin to understand something essential about prayer: God does not grant us everything we ask for... but he always gives what is truly good for us. Like a loving parent, he sees further than we do. We may ask for things that seem right in the moment, things we believe will make us happy or fulfilled, yet God, in His wisdom, knows what will truly lead us to life. Sometimes that means our prayers are answered in ways we do not expect. Sometimes it even means a “no”... not as rejection, but as protection.
So the question that was put to James and John remains the same for us: are we willing to follow Jesus truly? Are we ready to die for him if comes to it? I know this may sound dramatic, but ultimately that is the reality of our faith. The martyrs are the first and foremost people who demonstrate this. The martyrs are not distant heroes of the past, but witnesses to what it means to love Christ to the very end. In the Contarelli Chapel of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome hangs one of the most dramatic depictions of martyrdom: The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio, painted in 1599. The scene bursts with dramatic, cinematic movement and tension. In a moment of violent interruption, Saint Matthew is struck down at the altar while celebrating Mass. The executioner lunges forward, muscular and relentless, while chaos erupts around them. Figures recoil, flee, or stare in shock. Yet amidst the turmoil, a beam of divine light cuts through the darkness, illuminating Matthew and revealing a heavenly messenger offering him the palm of martyrdom. It is not just a moment of death, but a moment of eternal victory.
The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew,
Painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610),
Painted in 1599–1600,
Oil on canvas
© Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome
Wednesday of the 2nd week of Lent
(optional commemoration of Saint Casimir)
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: 2. Liturgical Colour: Violet.
St Casimir (1458 - 1484)
He was the second son of King Casimir IV of Poland. He assiduously cultivated the Christian virtues, especially chastity and generosity to the poor. Zealous in faith, he had a particular devotion to the Eucharist and the Virgin Mary. For several years, while his father was away in Lithuania (the Kings of Poland at this time were also Grand Dukes of Lithuania), he ruled Poland with great prudence and justice. He died of tuberculosis on 4 March 1484. See the articles in the Catholic Encyclopaedia and Wikipedia.
Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?
Gospel: Matthew 20:17-28
At that time: As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside, and on the way he said to them, ‘See, we are going up to Jerusalem. And the Son of Man will be delivered over to the chief priests and scribes, and they will condemn him to death and deliver him over to the Gentiles to be mocked and flogged and crucified, and he will be raised on the third day.’
Then the mother of the sons of Zebedee came up to him with her sons, and kneeling before him she asked him for something. And he said to her, ‘What do you want?’ She said to him, ‘Say that these two sons of mine are to sit one at your right hand and one at your left in your kingdom.’ Jesus answered, ‘You do not know what you are asking. Are you able to drink the cup that I am to drink?’ They said to him, ‘We are able.’ He said to them, ‘You will drink my cup, but to sit at my right hand and at my left is not mine to grant, but it is for those for whom it has been prepared by my Father.’ And when the Ten heard it, they were indignant at the two brothers. But Jesus called them to him and said, ‘You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. It shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.’
Reflection on the painting
Mothers naturally want the very best for their children. I know my mother does. In today’s Gospel, we see that instinct at work as the mother of James and John approaches Jesus, asking that her sons might have the places of honour in his kingdom. She intercedes for them, bringing her hopes and desires before the Lord. Yet her request is not granted in the way she imagines. Jesus does not simply fulfil every petition placed before him. Instead, he gently redirects the moment. He redirects her request to a deeper question addressed to her sons: “Can you drink the cup that I am to drink?” In other words, are you ready to truly follow me? Are you ready to follow me not only in good times, but also in bad times leading to sacrifice and death?
That same question echoes to us today. We, too, come to the Lord with our prayers, our hopes, our requests. They are not all granted. And this is where we begin to understand something essential about prayer: God does not grant us everything we ask for... but he always gives what is truly good for us. Like a loving parent, he sees further than we do. We may ask for things that seem right in the moment, things we believe will make us happy or fulfilled, yet God, in His wisdom, knows what will truly lead us to life. Sometimes that means our prayers are answered in ways we do not expect. Sometimes it even means a “no”... not as rejection, but as protection.
So the question that was put to James and John remains the same for us: are we willing to follow Jesus truly? Are we ready to die for him if comes to it? I know this may sound dramatic, but ultimately that is the reality of our faith. The martyrs are the first and foremost people who demonstrate this. The martyrs are not distant heroes of the past, but witnesses to what it means to love Christ to the very end. In the Contarelli Chapel of San Luigi dei Francesi in Rome hangs one of the most dramatic depictions of martyrdom: The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew by Caravaggio, painted in 1599. The scene bursts with dramatic, cinematic movement and tension. In a moment of violent interruption, Saint Matthew is struck down at the altar while celebrating Mass. The executioner lunges forward, muscular and relentless, while chaos erupts around them. Figures recoil, flee, or stare in shock. Yet amidst the turmoil, a beam of divine light cuts through the darkness, illuminating Matthew and revealing a heavenly messenger offering him the palm of martyrdom. It is not just a moment of death, but a moment of eternal victory.
The Martyrdom of Saint Matthew,
Painting by Michelangelo Merisi da Caravaggio (1571-1610),
Painted in 1599–1600,
Oil on canvas
© Contarelli Chapel, San Luigi dei Francesi, Rome