Job 14:1–14; Lamentations 3:1–9,19–24; Psalm 31:1–4, 15–16; 1 Peter 4:1–8; Matthew 27:57–66; John 19:38–42
Saturday, April 4
I posted an overview of Union Gospel Mission’s 2026 Lent Devotional February 4 and am including several pieces during this season.
This final entry is by Archbishop Richard Smith, Shepherd of Vancouver’s 400,000 Catholics.
St. Peter gives us a striking exhortation: “arm yourselves also with the same purpose [as Christ]” (1 Peter 4:1 NASB). What does that mean for us today?
The mentality of the world is very different from that of Christ. The world says life is about here and now, measured by comfort, success or enjoyment. When life loses its so-called ‘quality,’ the world claims it no longer has value.
Christ shows us another way. He chose a life marked not by ease but by hardship: fatigue, loneliness, rejection, even hostility. He spoke openly about the suffering and death He would endure. Yet, every time He foretold His Passion, He also pointed to what would follow: His Resurrection.
And rise He did – truly, bodily, gloriously. He lives now as the “Man. . . from heaven” (1 Corinthians 15:47 NASB), His humanity fully alive, no longer bound by death. This is our hope too. As St. Paul reminds us: “If we have died with Christ, we believe that we shall also live with Him” (Romans 6:8 NASB).
To take on the ‘mentality’ of Christ, then, is to see our lives as He saw His. Our ‘quality of life’ is not measured by human desires but by God’s will – His desire to bring us to eternal joy with Him. That changes everything.
Archbishop Richard Smith
It means we can face life’s trials without fear. We remain calm, prayerful and steadfast, even when suffering comes, because we know suffering never has the last word.
We walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), convinced that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory to be revealed in us” (Romans 8:18).
For the Christian, even death itself is no longer an end but a passage: from twilight into the fullness of day.
O God, who makes this most sacred night radiant with the glory of the Lord’s Resurrection, stir up in Your Church a spirit of adoption, so that, renewed in body and mind, we may render You undivided service.
The full UGM 2026 Lent Devotional can be read here.