Saturday, April 5, 2025
Happy Saturday, friend! We are so excited to share with you what's coming up this week as we all prepare our hearts by praying with readings for Sunday, the day of rest with our Lord.
Live Liturgically // This Week’s Feast Days
Saturday, April 5 (today!) // Optional Memorial of Saint Vincent Ferrer, Priest
Sunday, April 6 // Fifth Sunday of Lent
Monday, April 7 // Optional Memorial of Saint John Baptist de la Salle, Priest
Friday, April 11 // Memorial of Saint Stanislaus, Bishop, Martyr
Letter from the Editor //
Dear Sister,
As we come to the Fifth Sunday of Lent tomorrow, let us keep pace with Saint Paul and “continue [our] pursuit toward the goal” (Philippians 3:14), that of following through on our Lenten commitments. In them we are “sharing of [Christ’s] sufferings by being conformed to his death,” and with Saint Paul we hope to “attain the resurrection from the dead” (Philippians 3:10-11). At this point in Lent, we might ask ourselves, Why should I keep giving this good thing up? It is too much effort for two more weeks! But the Lord reminds us that, “Those that sow in tears shall reap rejoicing” (Psalm 126:5). We cannot avoid suffering in this life and we know we become better by taking sacrifices voluntarily, and all of it can be joined with Jesus’—our own Savior’s— suffering.
When we join with Him in suffering in Lent, we will find truth in His words, “I put water in the desert, and rivers in the wasteland, for my chosen people to drink” (Isaiah 43:20). This water is grace, which restores us to be more in union with Him. We meet Him there and He tells us, “See, I am doing something new!” (Isaiah 43:19) And when we let His grace wash over we will find when we are brought before Him sinful and sorrowful at the end of our lives, that He will say to us like He did to the woman caught in adultery, “Neither do I condemn you. Go, and from now on do not sin any more” (John 8:11).
In Christ’s Love,
Susanna
Read the readings for the Fifth Sunday of Lent (Year C):
First Reading // Isaiah 43:16-21
Psalm // Psalm 126:1-2, 2-3, 4-5, 6.
Second Reading // Philippians 3:8-14
Gospel // John 8:1-11
Prayer Practice // What “new thing” is the Lord doing this Lent? Share your Lenten prayer with a friend.
Susanna Spencer holds a master's in Theology from the Franciscan University of Steubenville and is the Devotions Editor for Blessed is She. She is a freelance writer and editor and a teacher-in-training living with her philosopher husband and four kids in Saint Paul, Minnesota. She loves reading theology, attending beautiful liturgies, cooking delicious food, and casually following baseball. She is the author of all of the Blessed is She Gospel Meditation Studies. She was narrator for Found: Advent With the Good Shepherd and Rescued: Lent With the Lamb of God and a contributing author and editor for our children’s devotional prayer book, Rise Up. She is the Theological Editor of the Blessed Conversations Studies. Find out more about her here.
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