Fifth Sunday of Lent – Sr. Sharon McMillan, SNDdeN March 22, 2026 John 11: 1-45 On the Third, Fourth, and Fifth Sundays of Lent this year we have been listening in on the Church’s most intimate and spiritual preparation for those who will be baptized at the Easter Vigil. The Gospel readings for these weeks are the stories of the woman at the well (or the Samaritan woman), the man born blind, and the raising of Lazarus. These Gospel passages from St. John’s Gospel are the ancient and traditional choice of the early Christian Church in Rome to put before their catechumens with the questions: what do you thirst for? who are you thirsting for? what are your blindnesses? how might Jesus open your eyes and your heart? are there any patterns which are self-destructive in your behavior? what are your deepest longing for life and resurrection? And we, the baptized, have the joy of listening in on these iconic Gospel stories and asking ourselves these same questions as we prepare to baptize the catechumens and to publically renew our own baptismal vows before God and one another. Today’s Gospel offers us a scene of conversations between Jesus, his disciples, […]