Fifth Sunday of Lent B

The following are prayerful resources rather than a liturgy.

  • The gospel for the day with commentary and questions
  • Some optional questions for reflection
  • Prayers of Intercession
  • Cluster Prayer
  • The gospel of the week ahead with commentary and questions.

John 12: 20-33  If a grain of wheat falls on the ground and dies, it yields a rich harvest.

Among those who went up to worship at the festival were some Greeks. These approached Philip, who came from Bethsaida in Galilee, and put this request to him, ‘Sir, we should like to see Jesus.’ Philip went to tell Andrew, and Andrew and Philip together went to tell Jesus. Jesus replied to them:
‘Now the hour has come
for the Son of Man to be glorified.
I tell you, most solemnly,
unless a wheat grain falls on the ground and dies,
it remains only a single grain;
but if it dies,
it yields a rich harvest.
Anyone who loves his life loses it;
anyone who hates his life in this world
will keep it for the eternal life.
If a man serves me, he must follow me,
wherever I am, my servant will be there too.
If anyone serves me, my Father will honour him.
Now my soul is troubled.
What shall I say:
Father, save me from this hour?
But it was for this very reason that I have come to this hour.
Father, glorify your name!’
A voice came from heaven, ‘I have glorified it, and I will glorify it again.’

People standing by, who heard this, said it was a clap of thunder; others said, ‘It was an angel speaking to him.’ Jesus answered, ‘It was not for my sake that this voice came, but for yours.
‘Now sentence is being passed on this world;
now the prince of this world is to be overthrown.
And when I am lifted up from the earth,
I shall draw all men to myself.’
By these words he indicated the kind of death he would die.


This is the gospel of the Lord. 
Commentary on the readings

Copyright © 1996-2021 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.

Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). All rights reserved.


Having used our prayer resources, you might want simply to reflect yourself on them and how that might flow into your coming week. Some people have found it very helpful to meet with others and share their thoughts.
If you are interested  in joining a small group to share your thoughts and feelings about God's Word from any of the resources you have watched please email us.         
cluster.alpha@outlook.com

Questions for reflection (framed for a group discussion)

Life, death, rebirth - it is everywhere in nature... Why would God exclude those he loves?

However, a seed lying in a drawer will always remain a seed. It needs water to swell and burst it; it needs light to grow. How can we better feed the seed of our faith to make it flourish?

  1. Who or what are some of the "weeds" that are hindering the growth of our faith journey?
  2. When and in what way have you seen life come from death? *

* All second questions © The Pastoral Center

Prayers of Intercession

 


As we continue our Lenten journey let us be confident God will hear our prayers and give us what we need.

 

For our Holy Father Pope Francis, all the Bishops and priests that they continue to guide us in our faith especially during our Lenten journey.


Lord hear us…          Lord graciously hear us.


We pray for world leaders, that God may guide them to make decisions which help those who are in most need.

Lord hear us…     Lord graciously hear us.

 

We pray for the poorest people in our world; that the seeds they plant may give a rich harvest so that everyone has enough to eat those and we pray for those in the missions who support them in the work they do.

Lord hear us…   Lord graciously hear us.

 

For all those who will be initiated into the church this Easter, especially the children in the cluster who are preparing for Confirmation & 1st Holy Communion within the parish settings that they feel welcomed as we share their journey of faith keeping them in our prayers.

Lord hear us…   Lord graciously hear us.


We pray for those who are ill, those in pain, those under stress, and those who are lonely. Those on the prayer foundation list. Give them the joy of your saving help, and sustain them with your bountiful Spirit

Lord hear us...   Lord graciously hear us.


We pray for all those who have died we remember especially…

Kathleen Coyle, Peter Simmons, Anthony Lawson.

For those who are grieving the loss of loved ones, that the Lord will heal their wounds and fill them with hope in the resurrection.

Lord hear us…   Lord graciously hear us.


Let us now say together our prayer to be missionary disciples.

Lord continue to bless our community
in this time of transition.
Help us on our journey
to grow from a maintenance church
to a missionary church.
Give us the courage
to be missionary disciples.
Make our doors wide enough
to receive all who need
human love and fellowship;
narrow enough to shut out
all envy, pride and prejudice.
Kindle in us the fire of your love
that all who come here
will find joy, peace and love.
Make this a house of prayer
and a gateway to your kingdom.
AMEN

Preparing for next week -  Palm Sunday B

Mark 15: 1-39   The Passion of Our Lord Jesus Christ (Shorter version)
Key: N. Narrator. ✠ Jesus. O. Other single speaker. C. Crowd, or more than one speaker.
   

    N. First thing in the morning, the chief priests together with the elders and scribes, in short the whole Sanhedrin, had their plan ready. They had Jesus bound and took him away and handed him over to Pilate.
   Pilate questioned him:
   O. Are you the king of the Jews?
   N. He answered,
   ✠ It is you who say it.
   N. And the chief priests brought many accusations against him. Pilate questioned him again:
   O. Have you no reply at all? See how many accusations they are bringing against you!
   N. But, to Pilate’s amazement, Jesus made no further reply.
   At festival time Pilate used to release a prisoner for them, anyone they asked for. Now a man called Barabbas was then in prison with the rioters who had committed murder during the uprising. When the crowd went up and began to ask Pilate the customary favour, Pilate answered them
   O. Do you want me to release for you the king of the Jews?
   N. For he realised it was out of jealousy that the chief priests had handed Jesus over. The chief priests, however, had incited the crowd to demand that he should release Barabbas for them instead. Then Pilate spoke again:
   O. But in that case, what am I to do with the man you call king of the Jews?
   N. They shouted back,
   C. Crucify him!
   N. Pilate asked them,
   O. Why? What harm has he done?
   N. But they shouted all the louder,
   C. Crucify him!
   N. So Pilate, anxious to placate the crowd, released Barabbas for them and, having ordered Jesus to be scourged, handed him over to be crucified.
   The soldiers led him away to the inner part of the palace, that is, the Praetorium, and called the whole cohort together. They dressed him up in purple, twisted some thorns into a crown and put it on him. And they began saluting him,
   C. Hail, king of the Jews!
   N. They struck his head with a reed and spat on him; and they went down on their knees to do him homage. And when they had finished making fun of him, they took off the purple and dressed him in his own clothes.
   They enlisted a passer-by, Simon of Cyrene, father of Alexander and Rufus, who was coming in from the country, to carry his cross. They brought Jesus to the place called Golgotha, which means the place of the skull.
   They offered him wine mixed with myrrh, but he refused it. Then they crucified him, and shared out his clothing, casting lots to decide what each should get. It was the third hour when they crucified him. The inscription giving the charge against him read: ‘The King of the Jews.’ And they crucified two robbers with him, one on his right and one on his left.
   The passers-by jeered at him; they shook their heads and said,
   C. Aha! So you would destroy the Temple and rebuild it in three days! Then save yourself: come down from the cross!
   N. The chief priests and the scribes mocked him among themselves in the same way. They said,
   C. He saved others; he cannot save himself. Let the Christ, the king of Israel, come down from the cross now, for us to see it and believe.
   N. Even those who were crucified with him taunted him.
   When the sixth hour came there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour. And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice,
   ✠ Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?
   N. which means, ‘My God, my God, why have you deserted me?’ When some of those who stood by heard this, they said
   C. Listen, he is calling on Elijah.
   N. Someone ran and soaked a sponge in vinegar and, putting it on a reed, gave it him to drink, saying:
   O. Wait and see if Elijah will come to take him down.
   N. But Jesus gave a loud cry and breathed his last.
   All kneel and pause for a moment.
   And the veil of the Temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The centurion, who was standing in front of him, had seen how he had died, and he said,
   O. In truth this man was a son of God.
   N. There were some women watching from a distance. Among them were Mary of Magdala, Mary who was the mother of James the younger and Joset, and Salome. These used to follow him and look after him when he was in Galilee. And there were many other women there who had come up to Jerusalem with him.
   It was now evening, and since it was Preparation Day (that is, the vigil of the sabbath), there came Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent member of the Council, who himself lived in the hope of seeing the kingdom of God, and he boldly went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Pilate, astonished that he should have died so soon, summoned the centurion and enquired if he was already dead. Having been assured of this by the centurion, he granted the corpse to Joseph who bought a shroud, took Jesus down from the cross, wrapped him in the shroud and laid him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock. He then rolled a stone against the entrance to the tomb. Mary of Magdala and Mary the mother of Joset were watching and took note of where he was laid.

This is the gospel of the Lord.
    Commentary on the readings


Copyright © 1996-2021 Universalis Publishing Limited: see www.universalis.com.

Scripture readings from the Jerusalem Bible are published and copyright © 1966, 1967 and 1968 by Darton, Longman & Todd, Ltd and Doubleday, a division of Random House, Inc.

Text of the Psalms: Copyright © 1963, The Grail (England). All rights reserved


Questions for reflection (framed for a group discussion)

"God... Why me? Why now?" If you've had thoughts such these (most of us have at some time) then you can certainly understand Jesus' cry on the cross: "...Why have you forsaken me?"

These are the opening words of Psalm 22 which ends on a positive note. Read it in full.

  1. Recall a time when you asked a similar question. Why and what happened afterwards?
  2. When have you felt that you betrayed the confidence of another, as Peter did when he denied Jesus? *

 * All second questions © The Pastoral Center