Until 1959, the fifth Sunday in Lent was officially known in the Roman Catholic Church as “Passion Sunday”. It marked the beginning of a two-week-long period known as
Passiontide, which is still observed by Catholics who attend the
Traditional Latin Mass or
Anglican Ordinariates, as well as
Western Rite Orthodox Christians, and various
denominations in
Protestantism, especially in the
Evangelical-Lutheran Churches and certain Anglican congregations. bringing the name into harmony with the name that
Pope Pius XII gave five years earlier to the sixth Sunday in Lent, “Second Sunday of the Passion or Palm Sunday”.
Pope Paul VI in 1969 removed a distinction that existed (although with overlap) between Lent and
Passiontide, which began with the fifth Sunday in Lent. The distinction, explicit in the 1960 Code of Rubrics, predates it. He deleted the reference to the Passion from the fifth Sunday in Lent. Although Passiontide as a distinct liturgical season was abolished in the Catholic Church, the Roman Rite liturgy continues to bring the Passion of Christ to mind, from Monday of the fifth week in Lent onward, through the choice of hymns, the use on the weekdays of the fifth week of Lent of
Preface I of the Passion of the Lord, with Preface II of the Passion of the Lord being used on the first three weekdays of Holy Week, and the authorization of the practice of
covering crosses and images from the fifth Sunday in Lent onward, if the
Conference of Bishops so permits. Where this practice is followed, crucifixes remain covered until the end of the
Good Friday celebration of the Lord’s Passion; statues remain covered until the
Easter Vigil. In the Catholic and Evangelical-Lutheran traditions, the
entrance antiphon of the
Mass on the fifth Sunday in Lent begins with the word "
Iudica" (older spelling, "
Judica"). This provides another name for the day: "Iudica Sunday" or "Judica Sunday", similar to the name "
Laetare Sunday" for the fourth Sunday. Due to of the custom of veiling crucifixes and statues before Mass on the fifth Sunday in Lent, this Sunday was called “Black Sunday” in
Germany where the veils were black, which elsewhere were generally purple. Those who continue to observe earlier forms of the Roman Rite or of liturgies modelled on it refer to the fifth Sunday in Lent by one or other of its previous names.
Lutheran readings The historical readings for the fifth Sunday in Lent in the
Evangelical-Lutheran tradition are
Genesis 12:1–3,
Hebrews 9:11–15,
John 8:46–59, and
Psalm 43.
I Corinthians 1:21–31 and
Matthew 26:17–29 are alternate readings. The three-year lectionary appoints the following readings for the fifth Sunday in Lent: •
Psalm • A: 116:1–9 • B: 51:10–15 • C: 28:1–9 • 1st Lesson • A:
Ezekiel 37:1–14 • B:
Jeremiah 31:31–34 • C:
Isaiah 43:16–21 • 2nd Lesson • A:
Romans 8:11–19 • B:
Hebrews 5:7–9 • C:
Philippians 3:8–14 •
Gospel • A:
John 11:47-53/1-53 • B:
John 12:20–33 • C:
Luke 20:9–19 ==Sixth Sunday in Lent==