5th Sunday of Lent — Year A

Today’s story from the Gospel is all about L I F E — about how God gives us life and about how Jesus gives us hope and love to live.

Watch the video of today’s Gospel story:

What do you remember about today’s Gospel story?

Jesus hears that his friend Lazarus who lives in Bethany is sick. Sadly, by the time Jesus gets there Lazarus is dead and has been buried for four days.

Jesus goes to the tomb and asks them to roll away the stone which was blocking the entrance. He tells Lazarus to come out of the tomb. Lazarus walks out, covered in the cloths that he was buried in.

How do you think Mary, Martha and the other people there feel when they see Lazarus walking out of the tomb? Why do you think Jesus raises Lazarus from the dead? 

Unfortunately sometimes, just like Lazarus in today’s gospel, people do get sick. When this happens they go to the hospital where doctors and nurses work hard to care for them and try to make them better.

We are hearing a lot about people being sick and the coronavirus in the news at the moment. It can be really worrying. Lots of things have had to change, and that can make us feel sad, especially if we miss our friends and family who we can’t meet up with at the moment.

Jesus knows how we feel. He felt very sad and cried for his friend Lazarus who he loved.

We are all doing what we can to keep ourselves and other people fit and well. We are very grateful for all the doctors, nurses and everyone who is working so hard to care for those who are in need.

One example is Sister Consilia, a pharmacist in Zimbabwe. When she was young she was really ill with a disease called malaria. She had to walk for four hours to get the treatment she needed. That’s a long way to walk for help when you’re feeling poorly.

Now she helps other people to get the medicine and help that they need when they are ill. She says, “Through treating and caring for them, I try to show them the love that Christ shows us.”

God gives life to us all. God created us and wants every single one of us to live a happy life, with all the things that we need to grow and be the best people we can be. And Jesus came to show us how to live, how to treat others. How does Jesus ask us to treat others?

[Text adapted from the Children’s Liturgy resources provided by CAFOD]

Downloadable worksheets:

• Look, the Sunday leaflet for children
• CAFOD