Fifth Sunday of Lent - Cycle A

Celebrant: God has conquered death. We therefore turn to him with confidence to pray for the Church and the world.

Deacon/Lector:

That all who hold and teach the Catholic Faith, especially those preparing for the Easter sacraments, may grow in understanding and faithfulness to God's word, we pray to the Lord...

For our President, members of Congress, and Justices of the Supreme Court, that God give them wisdom and protection, we pray to the Lord...

That we who believe in Jesus, the Resurrection and the Life, may defend life and help bring an end to abortion and other forms of injustice, we pray to the Lord...

For all who minister to the dying, that by their words and example they may bear witness that God has robbed death of its power, we pray to the Lord...

For those who are sick, especially in our families and our parish, that the healing power of the Lord of Life may be theirs, we pray to the Lord...

That all who have died believing in the resurrection may share the joy of eternal life in Christ, we pray to the Lord...

Celebrant:
Father,
hear these petitions,
as well as those we hold in silence.
May the answers to our prayers
be the sign of our ultimate victory over death,
and our life with you forever.
We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Prayer for Life

Join believers throughout the world in praying the Lenten Prayer for Life, found at www.PrayerCampaign.org/lent. Sponsored by Priests for Life, this prayer campaign enables us to pray in the spirit of Lenten penance that the world may turn away from the Culture of Death and embrace a Culture of Life.  Then, after Lent, this same campaign will provide a prayer for the Easter Season, focusing on the victory of life. Pray these daily prayers with your families!

Ez 37:12-14
Rom 8:8-11
Jn 11:1-45 or 11:3-7, 17, 20-27, 33b-45

Watch a video with homily hints

The theme of this weekend’s readings is an overwhelming proclamation that God is master of life and death. Lent is meant to deepen our awareness and conviction of this truth, which is in turn the basis of the pro-life movement. We are not simply counteracting an evil in society through our human strength; rather, we are sent on a mission by the one who has authority over death, to free the human family from its oppressive regime.

Imagine going to a wake service and having someone say to you, “If you had been here sooner, my loved one would never have died.” Yet that is what both Martha and Mary said to Jesus. They knew he had power over life and death. And yet they were subject to the all too human fears and calculations we make when we battle the culture of death. Martha says, “By now there will be a stench.”

We say the same thing. We know what is right, and what has to be said and done to defend life. Yet we fear the stench. We fear who will object, who will get angry. Politicians fear who will vote against them; businesses fear who will stop supporting them. “Surely, there will be a stench.” And that becomes the excuse not to act – even when we know that Jesus has authority over death.

As we approach the climax of Lent and proclaim these powerful readings of God’s victory over death, let’s call our people to a confident and persistent activism for the cause of life, without fear or excuses.