Fifth Sunday of Lent (Cycle A)

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The Raising of Lazarus Lectionary:  34 Reading 1 -  Ezekiel 37:12-14 Responsorial Psalm -  Psalm 130:1-8 Reading 2 -  Romans 8:8-11 Verse - John 11:25a, 26 Gospel -  John 11:1-45 Lazarus, come out! LESSON: The Power of God Through Those Who Believe We’re a week away from the start of Holy Week. Our Lord now has his sights set on Jerusalem, and the pace is quickening. In these next two weeks, we’re living just one part of the Gospel passage from today: an encounter with the reality of suffering and death. Jesus is asking us to have faith in him. In today’s First Reading the prophet Ezekiel reminds us of the Lord’s promise to not only to bring us back to life but to bring us home. The background of this passage is the famous "Valley of Dry Bones." The people of Israel were in exile in Babylon. They weren't just sad; they were spiritually and nationally "dead." Their common saying was: "Our bones are dried up, our hope is lost, and we are cut off." They d...
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Reflection - Holy Hour for Life 2025

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Parish HOLY HOUR FOR LIFE (HHFL)


Welcome to this Holy Hour for Life here at Our Lady Star of the Sea. This is one of many such times of Adoration and prayer that are held throughout the Archdiocese of Boston each year in conjunction with the national observance of a Day of Prayer and Penance on January 22nd, and this year’s annual March for Life in Washington DC this coming Friday, January 24th. The purpose of these Holy Hours is to bring Catholics together in prayerful solidarity, united by our desire for an increased respect for the dignity of human life, from conception to natural death, and by our own need for the tender compassion of God and the generous mercy of His Son, Jesus Christ.

Life is a precious gift from God, created in His image and likeness. This is how we know that there is always a beauty and dignity inherent in each individual. Each person, regardless of their circumstance, is deserving of love and respect … and …as we hear in our first reading tonight from Isaiah, each of us is known and loved by God from the moment of our creation in our mother’s womb … and we are called to bring the light of that love into the world so that God’s “salvation may reach the ends of the earth.” This is not merely a task to accomplish, but a divine mission to engage with the world compassionately, addressing the needs of the marginalized and the distressed, and to be the agents of hope and healing found in the divine mercy of Jesus Christ.

Throughout the Gospels, Jesus responds to the cries of the afflicted with a gaze of mercy and the comfort of His presence … healing the sick, forgiving sinners, and welcoming outcasts … and each act of mercy reveals the heart of God, who desires reconciliation and healing for all … In fact, when Jesus says in the Gospel of John that He is the Bread of Life … we see a little of just how precious the gift of life is … because Jesus gives everything he has to restore and nourish it … and He continues to give himself in the Sacrament of the Eucharist … and that brings us back to the Holy Hour for Life.

Because the Real Presence of Jesus is in the Eucharist, we come here tonight to be in His presence. We do so for an hour in memory of Jesus asking Peter, James and John to keep watch with him for one hour while He prayed in the Garden of Gethsemane before His passion. Tonight, we also reflect on the sanctity of life, the transformative power of forgiveness, and the healing power of Christ.

As we conclude this Holy Hour ... May we, through the grace of God, be empowered to live out His compassion and mercy in our daily lives, becoming beacons of hope and love for all those we encounter. May we continue to pray for the sanctity of Life, Forgiveness, and Healing and all that surrounds our presence with one another – compassion, mercy and understanding. I ask you to please include in your prayers all Expectant Moms and their unborn babies.

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