PODCAST | Fifth Sunday of Lent: Our Death
Subscribe on iTunes, Stitcher, or Soundcloud.
As we begin the final week of Lent and prepare for Holy Week, we share with you on the St. Josemaria Institute Podcast a meditation for the Fifth Sunday of Lent:
“The hour has come for the Son of Man to be glorified.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
unless a grain of wheat falls to the ground and dies,
it remains just a grain of wheat;
but if it dies, it produces much fruit.
Whoever loves his life loses it,
and whoever hates his life in this world
will preserve it for eternal life.” (Jn 12: 23-25)
Fr Javier del Castillo encourages us in this meditation to reflect on the meaning of death– death to self and death in this world– and to understand “death as a remedy for evil and as a gift.” Being aware of our death can help us to live each day with a supernatural desire “to do penance and to make many acts of love confident that God will be there at the end– to love today so that I can love for eternity.”
A GUIDE FOR MEDITATION:
We encourage you to write down moments from the meditations that strike you, as well as the thoughts, inspirations and resolutions that arise from your prayer and reflection with our Meditation Journal Sheet. Download it here: Meditation Journal Page
ST. JOSEMARIA INSTITUTE PODCAST:
Don’t miss new podcasts and additional resources for your spiritual life from the St. Josemaria Institute. Subscribe today at: www.stjosemaria.org/subscribe
Rev. Javier del Castillo
Fr. Javier del Castillo is a priest of the Prelature of Opus Dei and currently serves as President of the St. Josemaria Institute. He earned a degree in electronic engineering and moved to Rome to complete his ecclesiastical studies, where he was ordained a priest in 2005 and earned a doctorate in Philosophy from the Pontifical University of the Holy Cross in 2007. He worked as a chaplain in high schools in the Washington, D.C. and Chicago areas for several years, offering spiritual accompaniment to students, parents, and teachers. From 2015 on, he served as the vicar of Opus Dei in the midwest; he was appointed regional vicar of the United States in 2022. He became vicar of the United States and Canada in 2024, following the restructuring of the regions, until his appointment as Vicar General in April 2025.
