Today’s readings invite us to reflect on Jesus as our High Priest, the one who offers himself as the perfect sacrifice for our salvation.
In Genesis, we see Abraham’s willingness to sacrifice his beloved son, Isaac, in obedience to God.
This foreshadows Jesus, the true Lamb of God, who would willingly offer himself for our redemption. But unlike Isaac, who was spared by the angel, Jesus was not spared— he carried the cross to Calvary and laid down his life for us.
Psalm 40 further emphasizes this sacrifice: “Here I am, I have come to do your will.”
Jesus, our High Priest, did not offer animals or burnt offerings; instead, he surrendered his own life as the perfect offering. His obedience to the Father’s will is the ultimate act of love.
In Matthew 26:36-42, we witness Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane, experiencing deep sorrow.
He prays, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Here, Jesus embraces his priestly role, interceding for humanity and offering himself as the sacrifice for our sins. His suffering was real, yet he submitted to the Father’s will, securing our eternal salvation.
As followers of Christ, we are called to imitate his obedience and self-sacrificial love.
Let us trust in him, our compassionate High Priest, who intercedes for us always. May we, too, say, “Lord, your will be done.”
First Reading • Heb 10:4-10 [or Gn 22:9-18]
For it is impossible that the blood of bulls and goats take away sins. For this reason, when he came into the world, he said:
“Sacrifice and offering you did not desire, but a body you prepared for me; holocausts and sin offerings you took no delight in. Then I said, ‘As is written of me in the scroll, Behold, I come to do your will, O God.’”
First he says, “Sacrifices and offerings, holocausts and sin offerings, you neither desired nor delighted in.”
These are offered according to the law. Then he says, “Behold, I come to do your will.” He takes away the first to establish the second. By this “will,” we have been consecrated through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all.
Responsorial Psalm • Ps 40
“Here I am, Lord, I come to do your will.”
Gospel • Matthew 26:36-42
Jesus went with his disciples to a place called Gethsemane, and he said to them, “Sit here while I go over there and pray.”
He took Peter and the two sons of Zebedee along with him, and he began to be sorrowful and troubled.
Then he said to them, “My soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death. Stay here and keep watch with me.”
Going a little farther, he fell with his face to the ground and prayed, “My Father, if it is possible, may this cup be taken from me. Yet not as I will, but as you will.”
Then he returned to his disciples and found them sleeping. “Couldn’t you men keep watch with me for one hour?” he asked Peter. “Watch and pray so that you will not fall into temptation. The spirit is willing, but the flesh is weak.”
He went away a second time and prayed, “My Father, if it is not possible for this cup to be taken away unless I drink it, may your will be done.”
Source: “365 Days with the Lord 2026,” St. Paul’s, 7708 St. Paul Rd., SAV, Makati City (Phils.); Tel.: 632-895-9701; E-mail: publishing@stpauls.ph; Website: http://www.stpauls.ph.First Reading • Heb 10:4-10 [or Gn 22:9-18]
