The Commemoration of Saint Cyril of Jerusalem
The Lord says, "I have answered you in an acceptable time. I have helped you in a day of salvation. I will preserve you and give you for a covenant of the people, To raise up the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritage, Saying to those who are bound, 'Come out!'; To those who are in darkness, 'Show yourselves!' "They shall feed along the paths, And their pasture shall be on all treeless heights. They shall not hunger nor thirst; Neither shall the heat nor sun strike them, For he who has mercy on them will lead them. He will guide them by springs of water. I will make all my mountains a road, And my highways shall be exalted. Behold, these shall come from afar, And behold, these from the north and from the west, And these from the land of Sinim." Sing, heavens, and be joyful, earth! Break out into singing, mountains! For the Lord has comforted his people, And will have compassion on his afflicted. But Zion said, "The Lord has forsaken me, And the Lord has forgotten me." "Can a woman forget her nursing child, That she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yes, these may forget, Yet I will not forget you!
The Lord is gracious, merciful, Slow to anger, and of great loving kindness. The Lord is good to all. His tender mercies are over all his works.
Your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. Your dominion endures throughout all generations. The Lord is faithful in all his words, And loving in all his deeds. The Lord upholds all who fall, And raises up all those who are bowed down.
The Lord is righteous in all his ways, And gracious in all his works. The Lord is near to all those who call on him, To all who call on him in truth.
But Jesus answered them, "My Father is still working, so I am working, too."
For this cause therefore the Jews sought all the more to kill him, because he not only broke the Sabbath, but also called God his own Father, making himself equal with God. Jesus therefore answered them, "Most certainly, I tell you, the Son can do nothing of himself, but what he sees the Father doing. For whatever things he does, these the Son also does likewise. For the Father has affection for the Son, and shows him all things that he himself does. He will show him greater works than these, that you may marvel. For as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son also gives life to whom he desires. For the Father judges no one, but he has given all judgment to the Son, That all may honor the Son, even as they honor the Father. He who doesn't honor the Son doesn't honor the Father who sent him.
"Most certainly I tell you, he who hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life, and doesn't come into judgment, but has passed out of death into life. Most certainly I tell you, the hour comes, and now is, when the dead will hear the Son of God's voice; and those who hear will live. For as the Father has life in himself, even so he gave to the Son also to have life in himself. He also gave him authority to execute judgment, because he is a son of man. Don't marvel at this, for the hour comes in which all who are in the tombs will hear his voice And will come out; those who have done good, to the resurrection of life; and those who have done evil, to the resurrection of judgment. I can of myself do nothing. As I hear, I judge; and my judgment is righteous, because I don't seek my own will, but the will of my Father who sent me.
Saint Cyril of Jerusalem spent his life as bishop helping people understand the profound mysteries of faith through clear, accessible teaching. His catechetical lectures remain treasures of the Church, guiding seekers toward deeper relationship with Christ.
The tension in today's Gospel runs right through the center of our daily lives. Jesus declares his complete dependence on the Father - "the Son can do nothing of himself" - while simultaneously claiming divine authority over life and death. This paradox of dependence and power challenges our usual understanding of strength.
Notice how Jesus finds his identity not in autonomous action but in perfect alignment with the Father's will. In a culture that celebrates self-made success and independent achievement, this model feels almost countercultural. Yet there's profound freedom in this dependence - the kind that allows Jesus to speak with such authority precisely because he seeks not his own will but the Father's.
Isaiah's promise echoes this same dynamic: God answers "in an acceptable time" and leads the afflicted "by springs of water." The comfort comes not from our own resourcefulness but from divine mercy that never forgets us, even when we feel abandoned. That maternal image - "Can a woman forget her nursing child?" - reveals the tenderness underlying God's strength.
This Lenten season invites us to examine our own relationship with dependence and control. In those moments when we're tempted to force outcomes or rely solely on our own wisdom, there's an invitation to pause and ask what the Father might be doing in this situation. The movement from self-reliance to divine dependence often feels like weakness, but Jesus shows us it's actually the path to authentic authority and life.
How might our decisions change if we truly believed that perfect dependence on God leads to greater freedom, not less? What would it look like to seek the Father's will in one ordinary moment today?