This response from Psalm 34 brings comfort and hope to our lives in moments of suffering, difficulty, and trial, reminding us that the Lord meets us where we are and gives us the grace we need.
This is the fifth part of a six-week series about how we gently and lovingly share our faith with others. In this presentation Fr. Andrew speaks about how we help people answer the question, “Now what do I do?” by inviting them to take the next step in the Christian life.
The readings today reveal a connection from the time of Moses to the revelation of Jesus Christ, inspiring us to learn the legacy of our spiritual history so that we can embrace the fullness of our faith in our daily lives.
Jesus heals a man who has been crippled for 38 years, inviting us to consider where healing needs to occur in our lives and in the lives of those around us.
Here are some of the themes that emerge in the Mass readings for the 5th Sunday of Lent.
1st Reading – Jeremiah 31:31-34
The Lord will make a new covenant with the house of Israel.
The covenant will be written on their hearts, and God will forgive their sins.
Psalm – 51:3-4,12-15
“Create a clean heart in me, O God.”
The Lord mercifully renews our spirit, gives us joy, and leads us back to God.
2nd Reading – Hebrews 5:7-9
During his earthly life, Jesus offered prayers and supplications to God.
Christ learned obedience through his suffering and became the source of our eternal salvation.
Gospel – John 12:20-33
Like the grain of wheat that falls to the ground and dies in order to bear much fruit, so also a disciple of Christ must lose his life in this world in order to preserve it for eternal life.
When the Lord was lifted up from the earth, he drew all people to himself…indicating his death on the Cross.
The famous (and often quoted) passage from John’s Gospel inspires us to reflect on the awesome magnitude of God’s love, inviting us to consider how we will respond to the Lord and one another.
We can learn how to fulfill the Lord’s command to love God and one another by studying our hearts in those moments when it is easy and difficult to do.
Catholic Inspiration – Podcast Archives of Homilies & Talks
Three Great Things 