FIFTH SUNDAY OF LENT
March 22, 2026
REFLECTION ON TODAY'S READING
Recognizing You
Be grateful for the day that is ending. Throughout this day, notice how the Lord calls you to your heart in small ways, inviting you to listen and follow Him.
Look back on all that you have experienced today. Recognize His calls, those gentle touches on your heart guiding you to follow His voice. Thank Him for this moment that helps you see His constant presence in your day. Give thanks for His presence and companionship, for walking with you.
Ask forgiveness for the times you have hurt your brothers and sisters, been indifferent, or failed to make amends.
Take note of what will help you tomorrow to live fully in His presence.
Our Father..
Under the directive from the Diocese of Honolulu
St. Joseph Church has set up an egiving program to allow parishioners and guests an easier way to give. It will also allow the donors to: 1. Give from anywhere using a computer, tablet, or smartphone. 2. No need to find a check or stop by the ATM. 3. Use your Checking/Savings Account or your Debit/Credit Card. 4. Schedule gifts to occur automatically. Click on the give now link or on your phone using my parish app. “All must give as they are able, according to the blessings given to them by the Lord your God.” Deuteronomy 16:17
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Saint Joseph Church Makawao - Bulletin
The Gospel Reading, John 11:1-45
Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead. .
Our Gospel on this day, the fifth Sunday of Lent, is again taken from the Gospel according to John. The reading from John continues the break from Cycle A’s focus on the Gospel of Matthew. Today’s Gospel reading recounts another sign, or miracle, found in John’s Gospel, the raising of Lazarus. As our catechumens move closer to the celebration of their Baptisms at the Triduum, today’s reading invites us to reflect upon what it means to call Jesus the Resurrection and the life.
The context for the story of the raising of Lazarus is the Jewish leaders’ growing animosity toward Jesus. Jesus has been in Jerusalem, taking part in the feast of the Dedication, which we have come to know as Hanukkah. The people have been pressing him to declare plainly whether he is the Messiah. Jesus tells them to look to his works, which testify to his coming from God. Many do not believe Jesus, however, and some try to stone him for blasphemy.
Into this scene of confrontation, Mary and Martha, the sisters of Lazarus, send word to Jesus that his friend is ill. Jesus is said to love Mary, Martha, and Lazarus, but he delays his journey for two days. The delay heightens the drama and shows Jesus’ obedience to God, who is to be glorified through Lazarus’s resurrection. When Jesus finally declares that he will journey to Bethany, his disciples fear for his life. Thomas declares that he and the other disciples should prepare to die with Jesus.
The scene described at Bethany is a sad one. Martha meets Jesus weeping and saying that if Jesus had been there, Lazarus would not have died. Yet she remains confident that God will do whatever Jesus asks. Martha affirms her belief that there will be a resurrection of the dead in the last days. Then Martha’s sister, Mary, comes to Jesus with the same confidence, saying that Jesus could have cured Lazarus. Jesus asks to be brought to Lazarus’s tomb where he prays and calls Lazarus out from the tomb. At this sign, many come to believe in Jesus, but others take word of the miracle to the Jewish authorities, who begin their plans for Jesus’ death.
Set against the backdrop of Jesus’ impending death, many elements of the raising of Lazarus foreshadow the good news of Jesus’ own Resurrection. Jesus, facing the conflict with the Jewish authorities, acts in complete obedience to God. In raising Lazarus, Jesus shows his power over death so that when Jesus dies, those who believe in him might remember that and take hope. Just as Jesus calls for the stone to be rolled away from Lazarus’s tomb, so too will the disciples find the stone rolled away from Jesus’ tomb.
With our catechumens preparing for their Baptism at Easter, the Gospel today calls us to reflect on Baptism as a dying and rising with Jesus. In Baptism we die to sin’s power over us, rising as children of God. In Baptism we join ourselves with Christ, who conquered death once and for all so that we who believe in him may have eternal life. With Martha and Mary, we are called to profess our belief that Jesus is indeed the Resurrection and the life.
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(https://www.loyolapress.com/catholic-resources/liturgical-year/sunday-connection )
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A STEWARDSHIP MOMENT
Jesus called to his friend from the dead, “Lazarus, come out!” It is the same call our Lord makes to us unceasingly: “Come out!” Jesus calls us from our tomb of doubt and unbelief, from the darkness of our fear and anxieties; from the depths of our weaknesses and lack of hope. Christian stewards pray for an open heart so that they may hear the voice of the Lord, heed the continuous call to come away from their former way of living and reprioritize their lives in the light of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Do we believe Christ has the power to transform our lives? Do we take time to listen for his call?
—— (https://catholicstewardship.com/)
EUCHARISTIC ADORATION OF THE BLESSED SACRAMENT
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