The collect for today, the Fifth Sunday in Lent, commonly called Passion Sunday, from The Book of Common Prayer (Canadian, 1962):
WE beseech thee, Almighty God, mercifully to look upon thy people; that by thy great goodness they may be governed and preserved evermore, both in body and soul; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.
The Epistle: Hebrews 9:11-15
The Gospel: St Matthew 20:20-28
The icon shows St. Mary Salome, who is venerated as the wife of Zebedee and the mother of St. John the Evangelist and St. James the Greater. This identification is based on a comparison of two Gospel passages naming the women present at Christ’s crucifixion. St Mark (15:40) names them as “Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James the younger and of Joses, and Salome”, while St. Matthew (27:56) names “Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of the sons of Zebedee”. Some biblical scholars have concluded that the Salome mentioned by St. Mark is probably the mother of the sons of Zebedee in St. Matthew.