Throughout the first half of Lent, the Church covers a wide range of events that happened during Jesus’ three years of public ministry. The Gospels do not put any dates to these events, but it becomes clear when Jesus is nearing his final year of earthly ministry.
During this final year of ministry, Satan began to move people toward plotting Jesus’ death and at one point, there is even the threat to stone him (cf. John 10:31-42).
The Church has always chosen this Fifth Week of Lent to focus our attention on this final year, by going through such events in the Gospel passages selected for daily Mass.
For parishes of the Ordinariate, the Fifth Week of Lent is begun with Passion Sunday, which helps signal to us that the Passion of Christ is near at hand.
If we are unable to attend daily Mass during these last days of Lent, it is advisable to read through the Gospels presented by the Church, which can be easily accessed on the USCCB website.
This was, in fact, the Pope’s invitation in his Lenten message:
How does [God] speak to us? First, in the word of God, which the Church offers us in the liturgy. May that word not fall on deaf ears; if we cannot always attend Mass, let us study its daily biblical readings, even with the help of the internet.
And today we celebrate...