5th Sunday of Lent Year C
Sunday April 6, 2025
Mass Readings for the 5th Sunday of Lent Year C
If your parish is doing the RCIA scrutinies, use the readings for Year A instead.
Themes for the 5th Sunday of Lent Year C
The readings for the 5th Sunday of Lent for Year C remind us God sees us in our weakness and suffering and saves us. The first reading tells us to look at the past and see that a new way is possible. The psalm tells of sorrow turning to joy. In the second reading Paul explains that we must let go of what we valued to pursue life in Christ. And in the gospel Jesus confronts the crowd who are about to stone the woman caught in adultery.
- God can transform bad things into good
- Letting Jesus change us
- Awareness of our own sinfulness
- New beginnings
- Letting go of the past
See the Homilies and Reflections section and the More Thoughts section for further expansion on these readings and some reflection questions for the 5th Sunday of Lent Year C.
Sponsored
Resources for the 5th Sunday of Lent Year C
A Lesson Plan on Being a Hypocrite
This lesson plan will help youth understand that followers of Jesus must live their faith with their actions. Yes, there are hypocrites in the Church. It is made of people! But the Church can still lead us to holiness
Prayer when My Dreams Come True
This prayer is based on Psalm 126, which is the responsorial psalm for the 5th Sunday of Lent Year C. It is a prayer of gratitude for when our dreams come true. We prayed when we were in distress and an outcome seemed impossible, but God reversed our situation and brought us joy.
Divine Mercy Chaplet
The Divine Mercy Chaplet is a devotion which reminds us that God is merciful and that we too must show mercy. We pray for mercy for ourselves and the whole world.
Lenten Ideas for the 5th Sunday of Lent Year C
Go for a Quiet Walk and Pray
If you are looking for a new springtime prayer routine, try to go for a short quiet walk each day and pray. This can be a time to speak to God and even more so to allow God to speak to you.
Read a Story from the Gospels
Get together with your family to read a gospel story this Lent. This is also a great activity for Sunday school or youth ministry. You can select one from the daily mass readings. But sometimes the daily gospel can be difficult to understand, especially for younger children. Here are some other suggestions.
Give Up Complaining for a Day
It is so easy to fall into the habit of complaining. To really not complain at all for one day is more difficult than it sounds. So don’t complain about anything. At all. Really. Fast from complaining.
See More Lenten Ideas
See specific ideas for practicing prayer, fasting, and almsgiving during the Lenten season.
Homilies and Reflections for the 5th Sunday of Lent Year C
Every Saint Had a Past, Every Sinner Has a Future
This week’s scriptures present the hope of moving forward. All of us have sins and vices in our past. Christ offers us the possibility for forgiveness and a bright future in grace no matter how sinful our pasts are.
Sharing God’s Forgiveness
Jesus is telling us that we should be careful. We should be careful of other people and recognize our own need for forgiveness and our own need for improvement.
Not Perfect
Lent is not about being perfect. Rather, it is about learning to follow the Lord Jesus as best we can, always relying on His love, mercy, compassion and forgiveness.
More Thoughts for the 5th Sunday of Lent Year C
These readings call us to change our hearts. We might think our righteousness and the law of God empower us to take action against others who don’t seem to be getting it right. But in the gospel Jesus shows us another way.
In the eyes of the Lord, the life of a single sinner is more important than the law. The woman did indeed break the rules. There is no denial of that. And there is no talk of the circumstances or why she did it. But Jesus believes in second chances, even when the law does not offer them.
There is no comment at all from the woman caught in adultery. She does not admit her wrongdoing or apologize. But she also doesn’t offer excuses. Her silence can be interpreted many ways.
Both the crowd and the woman have strayed from the heart of God and his law. We often do the same. Like the woman caught in adultery, we might ignore God’s commands and do as we please. Or like the crowd, we might use the law to draw a line between “us” and “them”, desiring punishment and suffering for those who don’t measure up.
There is also an aspect of trust here. Jesus seems to know that nobody is going to throw a stone. Somehow he believes that the goodness of this group will shine through when they are challenged. Perhaps our contemporary society can learn something from that.
A good mantra for this gospel might be “Forgive her. Change me.”
Reflection Questions for the 5th Sunday of Lent Year C
- Am I quick to condemn others?
- Do I prefer retribution over conversion?
- How can we build a society where we trust the goodness of others, even those who don’t agree with us?
Social Media Graphic for the 5th Sunday of Lent Year C
Remember not the events of the past,
the things of long ago consider not;
see, I am doing something new!
Now it springs forth, do you not perceive it?
In the desert I make a way, in the wasteland, rivers.
Wrong verses for 5th Sunday in Year C
These seem correct. Which readings were you expecting?