As we move deeper into the final weeks of Lent, the landscape of our spiritual lives can often feel a bit like a desert. We’ve been fasting, praying, and giving alms for weeks now. The initial excitement of Ash Wednesday has faded, and the joy of Easter Sunday still feels a few horizons away. In this "middle space," it’s easy to let our gaze fall. We look at our feet, we look at the dry ground, and: if we’re honest: we start to look at our own complaints.

Today’s readings for Tuesday of the Fifth Week of Lent (March 24, 2026) meet us exactly in that dry place. From the Book of Numbers to the Gospel of John, the Word of God offers us a very specific instruction for finding our way through the wilderness: we have to lift up our eyes.

The Murmuring in the Wilderness

In Numbers 21:4-9, we find the Israelites in a familiar state of frustration. They are tired, they are hungry, and they are sick of the "wretched food" (manna) that God has been providing. The scripture says the people complained against God and Moses. In the original context, this "complaining" is more than just venting; it’s a rejection of God’s providence. It’s a refusal to see the miracle of their survival because they are too focused on the discomfort of their journey.

In response, "saraph" serpents: often translated as "fiery" or "stinging" serpents: come among the people. Many are bitten and die. It’s a harsh image, but it reflects a spiritual reality: when we close ourselves off from God’s grace and focus entirely on our grievances, we become vulnerable to the "stings" of despair, anger, and bitterness.

The turning point comes when the people realize their error. They go to Moses and ask for intercession. God’s solution is fascinating. He doesn’t simply make the snakes disappear. Instead, He tells Moses to "make a saraph and mount it on a pole, and if anyone who has been bitten looks at it, he will recover."

Moses makes a bronze serpent and lifts it high. To be healed, the people had to do something counterintuitive: they had to look at the very thing that was causing them pain, but they had to look at it as it was "lifted up" by God’s command.

To Look is to Live

This act of looking is the first step toward healing. In Hebrew, the concept of "lifting up" (ruhm) is deeply connected to restoration. It means to raise up, to build, or to place someone in a safe place. When the Israelites lifted their eyes to the bronze serpent, they were breaking their inward-focused cycle of complaint. They were looking up toward the promise of God’s mercy.

By lifting their eyes, two transformative things happened. First, they stopped looking down at the dust and the danger at their feet. Second, they took their eyes off themselves. Healing didn't come from their own efforts to bandage their wounds; it came from an external source of grace.

The Son of Man Lifted Up

Fast forward to the Gospel of John (8:21-30). Jesus is speaking to the Pharisees, and He uses this exact imagery from the desert. He tells them, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will realize that I AM."

Jesus is pointing directly to the Cross. Just as the bronze serpent was lifted up on a pole to heal the physical stings of the Israelites, Jesus would be lifted up on the wood of the Cross to heal the spiritual "sting" of sin and death for all of humanity.

The Cross is our bronze serpent. It represents the height of human suffering and the weight of our failures, yet when we look at it: when we truly "lift up our eyes" to Christ crucified: we don’t see defeat. We see the "I AM." We see the revelation of God’s identity: a God who loves us enough to enter our desert, take on our "stings," and transform them into a path to eternal life.

The Modern Desert and the Society of St. Peter the Apostle

This theme of "lifting up" hope in the desert isn't just an ancient story; it is a daily reality for the global Church, especially in mission territories.

In many parts of the world, life can feel like a perpetual desert. There is the physical desert of poverty and lack of resources, and there is the spiritual desert where people are hungry for the Word of God but have no one to preach it to them. In these places, the "bronze serpent": the sign of healing and hope: is the presence of the Church and the Sacraments.

This is where The Society of St. Peter the Apostle (SPA) plays a vital role. One of the four Pontifical Mission Societies, SPA is specifically dedicated to the formation of local priests and religious in mission lands.

Think about the impact of a single priest in a remote mission outpost. He is the one who "lifts up" the Eucharist in a village that may only see a priest once every few months. He is the one who lifts up the Word of God in times of local conflict or famine. These men and women are the signs of hope that stay in the "deserts" of the world, offering the healing of the Sacraments and the hope of the Gospel.

When you support a seminarian through the Society of St. Peter the Apostle, you are helping to keep that sign of hope "lifted up." You are ensuring that when a community in Africa, Asia, or Oceania is "bitten" by the hardships of life, there is a shepherd there to point them back to Christ. You are participating in the "lifting up" of the Son of Man in places where His name is most needed.

Changing Our Perspective This Lent

Lent is a time to stop looking at our complaints and start looking at the One who saves us. It’s easy to spend our days "looking down": focusing on what we lack, what we’re tired of, or what others are doing wrong. But the readings today challenge us to a different posture.

Lifting your eyes means:

• Choosing Gratitude over Murmuring: Instead of complaining about the "manna" (the daily, ordinary blessings we take for granted), we recognize that God is sustaining us even in the wilderness.
• Facing our Wounds with Faith: We don't hide from our struggles. Like the Israelites looking at the serpent, we bring our "stings" to the foot of the Cross, trusting that Christ can transform our pain into a source of growth.
• Expanding our Vision: We look beyond our own immediate needs to see the needs of the universal Church. We realize that our spiritual journey is connected to the seminarian in a distant land who is studying to bring Christ to his people.

A Call to Prayer and Generosity

As we approach Holy Week, let’s ask for the grace to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus. Let’s pray for those serving in the most difficult mission outposts: the priests, sisters, and brothers who are the visible signs of Christ’s presence in the world’s deserts.

May they always have the strength to keep their eyes on Christ, and may we have the generosity to support them as they bring His healing to the world. If you feel called to help lift up a new generation of priests in the missions, consider learning more about how you can support the formation of local clergy.

Today’s Prayer:
Lord, when the journey is long and the desert is dry, help me to lift my eyes. Forgive me for my complaints and my narrow vision. Let me see the Cross not as a sign of end, but as a sign of life. Bless the missionaries and seminarians who bring Your light to the dark places of our world. Amen.