LIVE IT TODAY: Sunday, March 22, 2026 | Fifth Sunday of Lent
I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in Me will live.
LIVE IT TODAY: Sunday, March 22, 2026 | Fifth Sunday of Lent
A GREAT WAY TO BEGIN TODAY!
SUBSCRIBE FREE: LiveITToday.us
LISTEN NOW: Live IT Today Podcast
GOD’S DECLARATION TO YOU TODAY
I am the resurrection and the life; whoever believes in Me will live.
INVOCATION
Come, Holy Spirit! Through the intercession of Our Blessed Mother Mary, open my heart to hear and receive all that You desire for me. Draw me ever more deeply into the Love and Life of the Blessed Trinity!
GOSPEL | John 11:1–45
Now a man was ill, Lazarus from Bethany,
the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
Mary was the one who had anointed the Lord with perfumed oil
and dried his feet with her hair;
it was her brother Lazarus who was ill.
So the sisters sent word to him saying,
“Master, the one you love is ill.”
When Jesus heard this he said,
“This illness is not to end in death,
but is for the glory of God,
that the Son of God may be glorified through it.”
Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus.
So when he heard that he was ill,
he remained for two days in the place where he was.
Then after this he said to his disciples,
“Let us go back to Judea.”
The disciples said to him,
“Rabbi, the Jews were just trying to stone you,
and you want to go back there?”
Jesus answered,
“Are there not twelve hours in a day?
If one walks during the day, he does not stumble,
because he sees the light of this world.
But if one walks at night, he stumbles,
because the light is not in him.”
He said this, and then told them,
“Our friend Lazarus is asleep,
but I am going to awaken him.”
So the disciples said to him,
“Master, if he is asleep, he will be saved.”
But Jesus was talking about his death,
while they thought that he meant ordinary sleep.
So then Jesus said to them clearly,
“Lazarus has died.
And I am glad for you that I was not there,
that you may believe.
Let us go to him.”
So Thomas, called Didymus, said to his fellow disciples,
“Let us also go to die with him.”
When Jesus arrived, he found that Lazarus
had already been in the tomb for four days.
Now Bethany was near Jerusalem, only about two miles away.
And many of the Jews had come to Martha and Mary
to comfort them about their brother.
When Martha heard that Jesus was coming,
she went to meet him;
but Mary sat at home.
Martha said to Jesus,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.
But even now I know that whatever you ask of God,
God will give you.”
Jesus said to her,
“Your brother will rise.”
Martha said to him,
“I know he will rise,
in the resurrection on the last day.”
Jesus told her,
“I am the resurrection and the life;
whoever believes in me, even if he dies, will live,
and everyone who lives and believes in me will never die.
Do you believe this?”
She said to him, “Yes, Lord.
I have come to believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God,
the one who is coming into the world.”
When she had said this,
she went and called her sister Mary secretly, saying,
“The teacher is here and is asking for you.”
As soon as she heard this,
she rose quickly and went to him.
For Jesus had not yet come into the village,
but was still where Martha had met him.
So when the Jews who were with her in the house comforting her
saw Mary get up quickly and go out,
they followed her,
presuming that she was going to the tomb to weep there.
When Mary came to where Jesus was and saw him,
she fell at his feet and said to him,
“Lord, if you had been here,
my brother would not have died.”
When Jesus saw her weeping and the Jews who had come with her weeping,
he became perturbed and deeply troubled, and said,
“Where have you laid him?”
They said to him, “Sir, come and see.”
And Jesus wept.
So the Jews said, “See how he loved him.”
But some of them said,
“Could not the one who opened the eyes of the blind man
have done something so that this man would not have died?”
So Jesus, perturbed again, came to the tomb.
It was a cave, and a stone lay across it.
Jesus said, “Take away the stone.”
Martha, the dead man’s sister, said to him,
“Lord, by now there will be a stench;
he has been dead for four days.”
Jesus said to her,
“Did I not tell you that if you believe
you will see the glory of God?”
So they took away the stone.
And Jesus raised his eyes and said,
“Father, I thank you for hearing me.
I know that you always hear me;
but because of the crowd here I have said this,
that they may believe that you sent me.”
And when he had said this,
He cried out in a loud voice,
“Lazarus, come out!”
The dead man came out,
tied hand and foot with burial bands,
and his face was wrapped in a cloth.
So Jesus said to them,
“Untie him and let him go.”
Now many of the Jews who had come to Mary
and seen what he had done began to believe in him.
EVERY DAY QUESTION
What struck you? Challenged you? Inspired you? What questions did it raise?
GOING DEEPER
Jesus enters our deepest grief not only to comfort us, but to bring resurrection.
Where in your life or family does something feel hopeless or beyond repair?
The raising of Lazarus is the final and greatest “sign” in John’s Gospel before the Passion. Everything about the scene points toward the mystery of Easter that is drawing near. Death appears final. The tomb is sealed. Grief fills the air. Yet Jesus steps directly into that darkness.
One detail in the passage is especially striking. Lazarus has been dead four days. In Jewish belief at the time, many held that the soul lingered near the body for three days before departing. By the fourth day, death was considered utterly irreversible. John emphasizes this detail so that no one can mistake what Jesus is about to do.
Jesus deliberately waits before coming to Bethany. This delay is painful for Martha and Mary, yet it reveals a deeper truth about divine providence. God sometimes allows situations to reach the point where human solutions fail so that His glory can be revealed more clearly.
The shortest verse in the Bible may also be one of the most profound: “Jesus wept.” The Son of God does not stand at a distance from human suffering. He enters it. He shares the grief of Martha and Mary. This moment reveals the heart of God—deeply compassionate and intimately present in our pain.
Then comes the astonishing command: “Lazarus, come out!” The voice that once called creation into existence now calls life out of death itself. This miracle foreshadows Christ’s own resurrection and proclaims His authority over death.
Family life inevitably encounters seasons that feel like tombs—broken relationships, persistent struggles, discouragement, illness, or loss. At times it may feel as though the stone has already been sealed over something precious.
But Jesus still stands before the tombs of our lives. His first command to the people around Him is simple yet powerful: “Take away the stone.” God often invites our cooperation before His power becomes visible. Faith removes the stone so that resurrection can enter.
Parents, this Gospel invites you to lead your families with resurrection faith. Refuse to believe that any person or situation in your home is beyond the reach of Christ. Speak hope. Pray over your children by name. Call upon the Holy Spirit to breathe life into every corner of your family’s story. The same Lord who called Lazarus from the tomb is speaking life into your home today.
“Jesus is the Resurrection and the Life. Because of him, Christians ‘have passed from death to life.’” (CCC 994)
LIFE APPLICATION QUESTIONS
In My Heart: What “tomb” in my life is Jesus inviting me to trust Him with today?
In My Home: How can our family bring hope and resurrection faith into difficult situations?
In My World: Who might need encouragement that Christ still brings life where there seems to be only death?
FAMILY LIVE IT
Make some time today to gather together and, going around, share one situation where each person is asking Jesus to bring new life.
Then pray together as a family. Parents, place your hands gently on each person and pray over them by name. Ask Jesus to fill them with the hope of resurrection and to break any lies of the Enemy that say change is impossible. Pray that each member of your family will know God’s love personally, resist temptation, and walk in the new life Christ gives.
Daily Challenge: As a family, pray together for one person or situation that seems spiritually “dead,” asking Jesus to bring resurrection life.
DAILY PARENT & GRANDPARENT BLESSING
LORD JESUS CHRIST, let Your holy anointing be upon each of our children, grandchildren, and godchildren this day and week, including all to whom they are called in vocation, and all future generations! In Your Sacred Name we claim them for You! We renounce all whispers, lies, and influences of the Enemy! We pray right now that each know Your loving Presence, be forged in virtue, and be flooded with an abundance of Your Holy Spirit to live fully their identity and mission in You now and through all eternity, through the intercession of our Blessed Mother! Amen.
PARENT BLESSING PROJECT: bit.ly/ParentBlessing
GOING VERTICAL
“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10
Just as the vertical beam upholds the horizontal beam of the Cross, so too does undistracted, dedicated daily turning to God as our lifeblood uphold and strengthen every part of life. Start with just three minutes. Wait patiently for the breakthrough beyond the noise. Let Him speak.
ENTER THE RIDE OF A LIFETIME: LifeTimeRide.com
Listen to the moving song, Ride Of A Lifetime:
Spotify | Apple | Other
TODAY’S SPONSORSHIP
Sponsored by the generosity of the Rich & Connie Cronin Family, Cronin Auto Family
26875 N Dixie Hwy, Perrysburg, OH 43551 | (419) 874-4331
Would you, your business or organization like to help us spread these daily reflections? Contact us at Alive@MassImpact.us to learn more.
WE WANT TO PRAY FOR YOU!
Please share your prayer intentions in the comments at LiveITToday.us