OT XIV (A): Zec 9:9-10; Rom 8:9, 11-13; Mt 11:25-30

In 1863, the Civil War was raging, and the end was far from sight. Abraham Lincoln was out for a ride with his friend and aide Noah Brooks. Brooks, noticing the president’s obvious fatigue, suggested that he take a brief rest when they got back to the White House. “A rest,” Lincoln replied, “I don’t know about a rest. I suppose it’s good for the body, but the tired part of me is inside and out of reach.” Lincoln was acknowledging a very important truth. There are many sources of fatigue. Physical fatigue may be the most benign. There is fatigue that comes from stress, fatigue that comes from worry, fatigue that comes not only from worrying about the future but also worrying about the past, and fatigue that comes from trying to be something we are not. What we really need is not time off nor time away. Rather, what we need is time that is filled with meaning and purpose – time that is saturated with the grace of God.

 

During the Independence Day celebrations on July fourth, most Americans probably heard all or part of the Emma Lazarus’ poem inscribed on the base of the Statue of Liberty: “Give me your tired, your poor, your huddled masses yearning to breathe free…. Send these, the homeless tempest-tossed to me.” Today’s Gospel give the same message in a more powerful way: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened, and I will give you rest.”

 

A yoke is fashioned for a pair — for a team working together. So we are not yoked alone to pull the plow by our own unaided power; we are yoked together with Christ to work with Him using His strength. By saying that his “yoke is easy” (11:30), Jesus means that whatever God sends us is made to fit our needs and our abilities exactly. The greatest burden we have is our constant engagement with the trivial and the unimportant, with the temporary and the passing, and with the ultimately uncontrollable and unpredictable.

 

The greatest feeling in the world is not any kind of bodily pleasure, but the supernatural rest of an encounter with Jesus Christ, especially in the sacraments of confession and the Eucharist. The absolution and forgiveness, which, as repentant sinners, we receive in the Sacrament of Reconciliation, take away our spiritual burden and enable us to share the joy of the Holy Spirit. The Eucharist offers us the greatest refreshment for our life.

 

It is a human tendency to mourn over our inabilities and blame God. We look at others’ talents, blessings, wealth, health and achievements.  In this despair we fail to appreciate our abilities and talents. When we are tested with trials we ask God Why me? And we fail to count the innumerable blessings that we have received.

Arthur Ashe, the legendary Wimbledon player was dying of AIDS which he got due to infected blood he received during a heart surgery in 1983.

From the world over, he received letters from his fans, one of them conveyed: "Why does God have to select you for such a bad disease?"

To this Arthur Ashe replied: The world over--50,000,000 children start playing tennis, 5,000,000 learn to play tennis, 500,000 learn professional tennis, 50,000 come to the circuit, 5000 reach the grand slam, 50 reach the Wimbledon, 4 to semi-finals, 2 to finals. When I was the one holding the cup, I never asked God "Why me?".

And today in pain, I should not be asking GOD "why me?".

If we can have this attitude   we will not feel that our life is overburdened with problems.  God has designed our life only according to our ability. When we compare our sufferings with that of others often we find our problems are nothing. It is very good to remember the quote, "I cried because I had no shoes until I met a man who had no feet.

 

The second part of Jesus’ claim is: “My burden is light.” Jesus does not mean that the burden is easy to carry but that it is laid on us in love, that it is meant to be carried in love, and that love makes even the heaviest burden light.

 

There is an old story which tells how a man came upon a little boy carrying a still smaller boy, who was lame, upon his back. "That's a heavy burden for you to carry," said the man. "That's not burden," came the answer. "That's my wee brother."

The burden which is accepted in love and carried in love is always light. A mother never feels bringing up a child a heavy burden.  A mother will never feel spending sleepless night with the suffering child a burden. So when we do things out of love what seems to be heavy burden for others will become joyful.  Modern culture, demands of the society and work pressure have turned little joys of family into a heavy burden.

Let us take a few minutes to reflect and see how the little burdens in family can be turned into acts of joy; how the little challenges at work can be made into joyful moments. These little acts will make our life happy and meaningful.

 

There is nothing quite like coming to the Lord and setting aside our burdens for a while – nothing quite like having our batteries recharged, our radiators cooled down, and our spirits lifted. Let’s unload the burdens of our sins and worries on the altar and offer them to God during the Holy Mass.

 

 

 

 

OT XII [A] : Jer 20:10-13; Rom 5:12-15; Mt 10:26-33

Our Scripture readings for today call us to preach Christ through our words and lives without fear. The first reading tells us how the prophet Jeremiah trusted in the power of God while he faced opposition for his prophetic ministry. In the Gospel, after having predicted future opposition and persecution, Jesus encourages his disciples to stand firm. Three times they are urged, “Do not fear!” “Do not be afraid!” Instead of shrinking from their task, they are to proclaim the Gospel boldly because they will be protected. Hence, Jesus commands his disciples not to fear their persecutors.

Jesus has two important thoughts about suffering. First, that here on earth there is no escape from it. Sometimes Christian preachers say that if we believe hard enough in Jesus, he will take away all our suffering. But Jesus never said that. Jesus told us that if we want to follow him, we will have to take up our cross every day. He told his Apostles not to be afraid of those who kill the body, but he didn't say that no one would try to kill them. In fact, all of Christ's first Apostles were martyred - except St John the Evangelist, who miraculously survived being boiled in oil. Therefore, following Jesus will not save us from suffering in this life. That's his first thought.

His second thought explains why he permits his followers to suffer. Suffering entered the world with sin, as St Paul reminds us in the Second Reading. So to save us from suffering, Jesus would have to eliminate all sin, but that would mean eliminating all freedom, since sin is freely chosen rebellion against God. But eliminating freedom would also eliminate the possibility of experiencing and giving love - we would become God's robots, instead of his children. So instead of eliminating suffering, Jesus transformed it, turning it into a channel of grace.

 

Sometimes we can think that the age of the martyrs ended long ago, and that in the modern world we really don't have to worry so much about suffering for Christ. But the twentieth century had more Christian martyrs than all previous centuries combined.

Just last a few months ago, violence broke out against Catholic priests and laity in Zimbabwe simply because they actively supported the opposition party in the recent elections. They organized, peacefully and legally, against the ruling party because of its ongoing violation of basic human rights. As a result, many have been kidnapped, tortured, and maimed by soldiers.

Faithfully following Christ and fulfilling our mission as Christians does not guarantee a suffering-free life here on earth - not even in our modern, enlightened world. But it does guarantee a meaningful life here, and a very warm, everlasting welcome hereafter. And all the saints agree that there is no greater joy on this earth than bearing crosses with love.

Today's Psalm tells us that God hears the cry of the poor.

Sometimes we wonder whether God really does hear the cry of the poor?

What about the abortions, suicides, child trafficking etc happening in our world right now. What about the countless victims of natural disasters, war, and poverty?

What about the agonizing moral and emotional suffering hidden in our own hearts and our neighbors'?

Is the Lord really with us? Is he really a mighty champion?

Yes.

Not a sparrow alights on the ground without the Father's knowledge. Every hair on every head is counted.

Jesus used those striking images so that there would be absolutely no doubt left in our minds: God is watching over all of us and guiding the course of history - nothing escapes his providential care.

God's Providence is real. It will never let us down. Every evil deed will be set right, and every prayer will be answered. Because God is a caring Father as we pray in the prayer our Father. And tomorrow/today is Fathers’ day in this country. God is the real Father and other earthly fathers have only derivative attributes. No earthly father is able to number the hair on the head of his children. But God the Father does. Therefore we need to have a full trust in God the Father as a little child does.  

A little girl had somehow received a bad cut in the soft flesh of her eyelid. The doctor knew that some stitches were needed, but he also knew that because of the location of the cut, he should not use an anesthetic. He talked with the little girl and he told her what he must do… and asked her if she thought she could stand the touch of the needle without jumping. She thought for a moment, and then said simply, “I think I can if Daddy will hold me while you do it.” So, the father took his little girl in his lap, steadied her head against his shoulder, and held her tightly in his arms. The surgeon then quickly did his work… and the little girl did not flinch. She just held on tight to her Father.

That’s a parable for us in our spiritual lives, and a graphic reminder that whatever we have to face, we can hold on tight to our Father… and He will see us through. There’s a word for that… it’s called TRUST or FAITH. It’s surely what Jesus had in mind when he said, “Unless you become like a little child, you cannot enter the kingdom of God.” As we honor the earthly fathers this weekend let’s realize that we have only one Father who is true to its name. But we need to recognize the sacrifices of the fathers who try to imitate the Heavenly Father’s care. May the heavenly Father Bless them and their children honor them.

 

THE MOST HOLY BODY AND BLOOD OF CHRIST [A] Dt 8:2-3,14b-16a; I Cor 10:16-17 Jn 6:51-58)

 

Today we celebrate Corpus Christi – the feast of  The Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ.

At the last supper Jesus established the Sacrament of Eucharist and symbolically shared His body and Blood with His disciples. He also commanded them to do it till the end of the world, in His memory. Food gives energy for sustenance. The Spiritual food Jesus offered, gives energy for spiritual sustenance.

 

God performed wonderful miracles for his Chosen People, feeding them with manna from heaven during their forty year journey to the Promised Land. And yet, they were still constantly complaining, constantly forgetting about God's goodness and falling into disobedience, self-centeredness and self-absorption.

Our life too is a journey, and our destination is the eternal Promised Land of Heaven. And God provides us with an even more miraculous food, a more wonderful manna, to give us his own divine strength - strength we need every day in order to resist temptation and faithfully fulfill God's will. Our manna is the Eucharist.

We believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Holy Eucharist. And today, when we celebrate the Feast of Body and Blood of Christ, we proclaim that conviction aloud. It is not mere symbol as many non-catholic faith communities teach. So they do not have a reservation of the holy Eucharist in their churches and they put away the remaining hosts from their services along with the other unused ones, as if no change happened to them. Ever since the very beginning of the Church, she believed in the real presence and so had the reservation of the Eucharist.

The Council of Trent summarizes the Catholic faith by declaring: ‘Because Christ our Redeemer said that it was truly his body that he was offering under the species of bread, it has always been the conviction of the Church that by the consecration of the bread and wine there takes place a change of the whole substance of the bread into the substance of the body of Christ, and of the whole substance of the wine into the substance of his blood. This change the holy Catholic Church has fittingly and properly called transubstantiation.’” Therefore, the bread and wine ceases to be bread and wine, although what we directly perceive, the appearances, remain the same, so that there is no perceptible change. In the transubstantiation the accidents, like color, smell, size or taste do not change. Only in the Eucharistic miracles which are rare incidents, that have taken place, the bread became visible flesh and wine tuned into blood. But in such cases the people could not eat or drink that transformed species where accidents also changed. They are kept for public viewing.  That is not the sole purpose of the Eucharist. When we went to Italy last year we saw the miracle that happened at Lanciano in the 700s. There are scores of other such miracles if you Google you can read many of them.

St Paul, in today's Second Reading, calls Holy Communion a "participation" in the body and blood of Christ. And this is why Jesus himself, in today's Gospel Reading, repeats six times - SIX times - that his flesh is real food and his blood is real drink. So it cannot be a mere symbol.

“He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives in me and I live in Him (Jn 6:56) and

“As I myself draw life from my Father, so whoever eats me will draw life from life.”

Jesus in the Eucharist is the everlasting fulfillment of the ancient prophecy that our Savior will be "Immanuel" - God with us.

Speaking of the Eucharist St. John Chrysostom says: Just as the bread comes from many grains, which remain themselves and are not distinguished from one another because they are united, so we are united with Christ.”  Just as numerous grains of wheat are pounded together to make the host, and many grapes are crushed together to make the wine, so we become unified in this sacrifice. Our Lord chose these elements in order to show us that we ought to seek union with one another, to allow the Holy Spirit to transform us into Our Lord Jesus Christ and to work with Him in the process.  Christ is the Head and we are the Body.  Together we are one.  I eat the body of Christ and you eat the body of Christ and the Christ is one we are all one. If we ate dead body of Christ we could still remain separate but we eat the living body of Christ and hence we cannot be two.

This imposes a serious obligation on us Christians – to receive the Holy Eucharist only if we are determined to live in peace with one another. If there is disunity, if our hearts are filled with malice towards others, if we indulge in injustice, if we our thoughts are impure, we have no right to partake in the breaking of the Bread. The sacrament of the Holy Eucharist is the living bread of eternal life. Therefore, it is meant for those who are pure of heart. Justin the martyr taught “It is allowed to no one else to participate in that food which we call Eucharist except the one who is living according to the way Christ handed on to us.” St Augustine preached, “Before you receive Jesus Christ, you should remove from your heart all worldly attachments which you know to be displeasing to Him.

Today, let's thank our Lord for this indescribable gift, and let's ask for the grace to grow in ever more deeper appreciation of the Eucharist.

 

 

 

 

PENTECOST.

Acts 2:1-11; 1 Cor. 12:3b-7, 12-13; Jn. 20:19-23

The Easter season concludes with Pentecost Sunday, commemorating that day in the budding Church when the Father and the Son poured out the Holy Spirit in a special way on Mary and the Apostles and they took up the mission of proclaiming the Gospel throughout the whole world.

The Risen Jesus gives his apostles a foretaste of Pentecost on the evening of Easter Sunday. Entering the still locked Upper Room, Jesus greets them, sends them to carry on the mission given him by his Heavenly Father, and empowers them to do so by breathing upon them and saying, “Receive the Holy Spirit.” The gift of the Spirit would enable them to fulfill Jesus’ commission to preach the Gospel to all nations. Today’s Gospel passage also tells us how Jesus gave to the Apostles the power and authority to forgive sins. His, “Receive the Holy Spirit,”  was immediately followed by, “For those whose sins you forgive, they are forgiven; for those whose sins you retain, they are retained.”  These wonderful words, which bind together inseparably the presence of the Holy Spirit and the gift of forgiveness, are referred to directly in the Sacrament of Reconciliation.  But they have a much wider meaning.  Those words remind us of the Christian vocation we all have, to love and forgive as we have been loved and forgiven, in the world of today, which is often fiercely judgmental and vengeful. (In Jn 16:8 Jesus says of the Holy Spirit as:  And having come, He will convict the world concerning sin, and concerning righteousness, and concerning judgment. Others will point out to us our mistakes, but the Holy Spirit will point out to us our Sins. If we are conscious of our sins then realize the Holy spirit is doing the work in us).

We need to be Spirit-filled Christians. Spirit-filled people acknowledge their weaknesses, ask for the strengthening, anointing and guidance of the Holy Spirit every morning, ask for His forgiveness every evening, and pass on that forgiveness to those who sin against them. Spirit-filled people are praying people. A mature prayer life makes us smart partners of the Holy Spirit. In Romans 8:27 Paul says: We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. Paul encourages us, “Pray on every occasion as the Spirit leads. For this reason, keep alert and never give up; pray for all God’s people” (Eph 6:18). Spirit-filled people are praying and worshipping God in their families and parishes. Spirit-filled people are people who allow the Spirit to change their lives through their daily reading of the Bible and their frequenting of the Sacraments of Reconciliation and Holy Eucharist. Spirit-filled people speak words that heal, restore, make people happy and build people up instead of tearing them down.

We received the Holy Spirit at Baptism and at Confirmation. But we have to allow the Holy Spirit to guide us by praying to him every day. Otherwise we wouldn’t know the difference whether we have the Holy spirit working in us or not.

An old beggar lay on his deathbed.  His last words were to his youngest son who had been his constant companion during his begging trips.  “Dear son,” he said, “I have nothing to give you except a cotton bag and a dirty bronze bowl which I got in my younger days from the junk yard of a rich lady.”  After his father’s death, the boy continued begging, using the bowl his father had given him.  One day a gold merchant dropped a coin in the boy’s bowl, and he was surprised to hear a familiar clinking sound.  “Let me check your bowl,” the merchant said.  To his great surprise, he found that the beggar’s bowl was made of pure gold.  “My dear young man,” he said, “why do you waste your time begging?  You are a rich man.  That bowl of yours is worth at least thirty thousand dollars.”  

We Christians are often like this beggar boy who failed to recognize and appreciate the value of his bowl.  We fail to appreciate the infinite worth of the Holy Spirit living within each of us, sharing His gifts and fruits and charisms with us. But often we don’t make use of his assistance and gifts. On this major feast day, we are invited to experience and appreciate the transforming, sanctifying and strengthening presence of the Holy Spirit within us.  This is also a day for us to renew the promises made to God during our Baptism and Confirmation, to renew our profession of Faith, and to begin anew to practice it faithfully, every day.

Today, when the Holy Spirit renews his presence in us and in the world during this Mass, let's renew our commitment to becoming mature men and women of prayer, so that we can boldly advance the Church's beautiful and urgent mission.

EASTER VI [A]: Acts 8:5-8, 14-17, I Pt 3:15-18, Jn 14:15-21

In the second half of Eastertide we are encouraged to turn towards the season’s culmination in Pentecost by thinking of the Holy Spirit. This coming Sunday we celebrate the Ascension and the following Sunday the Pentecost. In today’s gospel John uses the term Paraclete for Holy Spirit, meanings that include such as Counsellor, Advocate, Mediator, Helper, or Comforter. In other words, a friend that we could all do with right now.

Jesus’ promised friend is like him: he is to be ‘another paraclete and in fact John refers to Jesus as a paraclete in his first letter (1 Jn 2:1). This Spirit is to be another friend, just as Jesus has been.
‘You are my friends if you do what I command you. I do not call you servants any longer, because the servant does not know what the master is doing; but I have called you friends, because I have made known to you everything that I have heard from my Father’ (Jn 15:14-15).

The Spirit is a most needed friend and also one who allows the teaching and saving Lordship of Jesus to remain with his followers.

The Spirit’s presence allows all of us to see and know Jesus and experience his love and friendship. ‘Those who love me will be loved by my Father, and I will love them and reveal myself to them.’ (14:21)

The risen Jesus’ continued presence in us and in the Church through the Holy Spirit gives meaning and purpose to all we are and all we do in his Name. As the Divine Advocate, the Holy Spirit will instruct us in Jesus’ doctrines and illumine our minds to receive deeper knowledge of our Faith. In addition, the Divine Advocate will enable us to defend our Faith powerfully and will guide us properly in our practice of true Christian love.

In this moment, when we need a light in the darkness and a friend when we cannot reach out and hold our loved ones, remember that the Spirit who ‘remains with and in you’ (Jn 14:17) is comforter, counsellor, and friend.

We need to be open to the Holy Spirit, our Paraclete. The purpose of the indwelling Holy Spirit is to help us grow towards maturity and wholeness. God, the Holy Spirit, helps us see the truth about ourselves, to discern the blocks that inhibit our growth, and to allow Him to transform us.  Like the Good Counselor He is, the Spirit enabling us to become stronger.  The Holy Spirit also comes to our aid and gives us the strength to make difficult and painful decisions.  The Holy Spirit actually lives in us, and we hear His voice counseling and guiding us in the way of truth.  Let us open the ears of our minds to hear Him and to obey His promptings.

EASTER III-A. Acts 2:14, 22-33; 1 Pt 1:17-21; Lk 24:13-35

There is a gripping story of a traveller who was walking along the road one day when a man on horseback rushed by. There was an evil look in his eyes and blood on his hands. Minutes later a crowd of riders drew up and wanted to know if the traveller had seen someone with blood on his hands go by. They were in hot pursuit of him. "Who is he?" the traveller asked. "An evil-doer," said the leader of the crowd. "And you pursue him in order to bring him to justice?" asked the traveller. "No," said the leader, "we pursue him in order to show him the way." (Fr. Anthony de Mello, Taking Flight (New York: Bantam Doubleday Dell Publishing Group, Inc., 1990), p. 65.) The picture we have in the Bible is of a God who pursues us so that God may show us the way. From the time of the fall of Adam and Eve, God has been chasing mankind. God chased mankind through the Patriarchs. God chased mankind through the Judges. God chased mankind through His prophets. Finally God chased mankind through His son. Even after the resurrection Jesus continued His chase. He travelled with the disciples. They do not recognize him, but it is he who takes the initiative. He walks with them and interprets Scripture for them. He opened their spiritual eyes and they were able to walk back and share the light they enjoyed from Jesus.

The Emmaus incident described in today’s Gospel shows us a God who will not abandon us when we are hurt and disappointed.  During the meal, when Jesus broke the bread and gave it to Cloepas and his wife, they realized that this stranger was Jesus, the risen Christ, and Jesus immediately vanished.  Later they said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us when he opened up the Scriptures to us?”  Since they could not keep the Good News to themselves, these Emmaus disciples walked back seven miles to Jerusalem to share their story with the other disciples.  The Fathers of the Church note how well the details of this Emmaus episode match our process of coming to Faith in Jesus Christ.  First, there are questions and a search for answers.  Then comes a moment of discovery when our eyes are opened and our hearts within begin to burn with longing.  Finally, there is the desire to tell the story to all who will listen.

 Luke tells us that we can meet and experience the risen Lord through the reading and interpretation of Scripture (v. 27), and the “Breaking of the Bread”. The story of the encounter on the Emmaus Road is presented in a liturgical fashion using liturgical language such as the commentary: “he took bread, blessed and broke it, and gave it to them” (v 30); “the Lord has risen indeed” (v. 34).  Thus, the risen Christ is revealed through the telling of the story, the interpretation of Scripture, and the Breaking of the Bread.  This means that Christ still reveals himself to us through Word and Sacrament. The word “companion” derives from two Latin words, “cum” meaning “together with,” and “panis” which means “bread,” implying that companionship is the result especially of eating together, breaking bread together, something which is at the heart of the Eucharist.

The Church instructs us to hear Jesus on a daily basis through our faithful reading of, and meditation on, the Bible; through our participation in the Eucharistic celebration (now on TV or internet) at which we receive Jesus as our spiritual Food and Drink ; through our personal and family prayers; and through our family meals. When we meet our risen Lord through the Word of God, we commune with him. We renew our relationship with Jesus through prayer. All these meetings prepare and enable us to encounter the risen Jesus living in all the people we meet and to do Him humble, loving and selfless service in each of them.

Do our hearts burn when we listen to the Risen Lord in the reading of the Scriptures. Vatican II (Dei Verbum 21) tells us that Jesus is to be equally venerated in the Eucharist and in the Bible. Therefore, we need to study the Bible, learn the Bible, memorize the Bible and meditate on the word of God. We know that Christ lives in the Bible, and so we need to spend time in the Bible to have a deep, intimate, loving, caring, long-term relationship with Jesus Christ. We know we are to brush our teeth every day. Likewise, we are to read the Bible every day, making it habitual, because people either read the Bible daily or almost never. When we read the Scriptures daily we meet and converse with Jesus Christ! Abraham Lincoln, whom many consider the best President of the United States, said: “The greatest gift that God gave to human beings is the Bible.” Another President of the United States, John Quincy Adams, said that it was a principle of his to read the Bible through each and every year. Yet another great President of the United States, Theodore Roosevelt, said, “A thorough knowledge of the Bible is worth more than a college education.” Goethe, the great German philosopher, said that the beauty of the Bible grows as we grow in our understanding of it.

Emmaus moments come to us when we meet the risen Christ on our life’s journey through rough times. The disciples on the road to Emmaus had a self-pitying message, “we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel.” But that wasn’t to be, they thought. And their eyes were prevented from recognizing him. We are facing a time when many feel disappointed like these disciples. Our eyes are prevented from recognizing Jesus who calmed the sea, walked on water, raised the dead and multiplied bread. Though now we are not able to participate in person at Eucharistic celebrations, we can read the scriptures and help our hearts burn with divine love and accept the risen Christ in spiritual communion. Let’s try to read the scripture every day and may memorize the word of God so that it will jump at us in times of disappoints and help us overcome them.

L-III: (A): Ex. 17:3-7; Rom. 5:1-2, 5-8; Jn. 4:5-42

Rev. Randall D. Bell tells a powerful story about a pastor who stood in court beside a member of his congregation–an individual who had been “out with the boys,” and had too much drink. As he was driving home on the rain‑soaked streets and through the dense fog, he turned a corner and heard a sickening clash of metal and breaking glass. Two young people lay dead. They had been thrown from their motorcycle. He was charged with manslaughter and driving under the influence. He sat in court trembling after days of testimony. The judge was about to speak. It could mean years of prison, loss of job, and poverty for his family. The judge spoke: The test for drunkenness had not been properly done; the motorcycle had no proper lights; the jury was ordered to render a not guilty verdict. All that was ominous and foreboding was now gone. He was a free man. The court declared him “not guilty.” His family kissed him–they could go on with their life, all because he had been declared innocent. Then Rev. Bell adds these words, “Now maybe this story and the way it ended angers you, because you are hurt over those young people who were killed. But know this–you and I are that man. His story is our story. We are the sinner who finds himself in the presence of God the Eternal Judge.” You see, not only are we blinded by our prejudices against people like the Samaritan woman with her unseemly lifestyle, we are also blinded to the fact that we are the Samaritan woman. We, too, have fallen short of the grace of God, but the Hand of Grace is reached out to us as well. 

This woman at the well has been variously praised by several saints as: one who “left her water pot at the well in order to go off and preach the Gospel,”.  She is “the first apostle to the Gentiles who invited her neighbors to ‘Come and see’.”

Legend has it that when the woman left Samaria to preach the Good News, she eventually made her way to Carthage in Africa where she was imprisoned for the Faith and died a martyr. Another legend, preserved in Spain, says that she converted and baptized Nero’s daughter and 100 of her servants.

Today’s readings are centered on Baptism and new life.  Water represents God’s Spirit Who comes to us in Baptism. Just as water in the desert was life-giving for the wandering Israelites, the water of a true, loving relationship with Jesus is life-giving for those who accept him as Lord and Savior. The Holy Spirit of God, the Word of God, and the Sacraments of God in the Church are the primary sources for the living water of Divine Grace.

In the Gospel, an unclean Samaritan woman is given an opportunity to receive living water. The Gospel tells us how Jesus awakened in the woman at the well a thirst for the wholeness and integrity which she had lost, a thirst which Jesus had come to satisfy. In revealing himself as the Messiah Jesus speaks to her of the fountain of water he will give — the life-giving waters of Baptism.  Here is a woman who comes to Faith and becomes a missionary who brings others to Jesus. Jesus recognizes the gifts and ministries of women in his future Church.

In this episode the Samaritan woman epitomizes someone who was looking for love in all the wrong places. Yet love came to meet her unexpectedly. This woman knew the religious traditions of her people, so she had an idea of the importance of God in her life, yet something had not clicked. She knew her religion, but she also experienced rebellion in her heart against God’s will regarding marriage, which is why she starts to give Jesus some attitude.

In the encounter of Jesus with this woman we see two thirsts seeking each other out. Each one seeks the other in order to satisfy their thirst. The Lord has a great thirst for our faith and our love. The Samaritan woman has a thirst for real love.

Our Lord today knows he is dealing with a hardened heart frustrated after a long time looking for love in all the wrong places. Therefore he knows when to be tactful, addressing her true thirst, but also blunt, telling her the mistaken ways she tried to slake her thirst. He comes to meet her at her level. The Lord often avoids the Messianic titles of his time because his contemporaries see the Messiah as someone simply social and political, but when the Samaritan woman asks him if he is the Messiah, he responds without hesitation: “I am he, the one speaking with you.”

We need to allow Jesus free entry into our personal lives. Jesus wants to “get personal” with us, especially during this Lenten season. Jesus wants to get into our “private” lives because we have a “private” personal life which is contrary to the will of God. Christ wishes to come into that “private” life, not to embarrass us, not to judge or condemn us, not to be unkind or malicious to us, but to free us, to change us, and to offer us what we really need: living water. Once we are willing to give up on our sinful private life we will be able to witness Christ to others as this missionary woman did.

The Gospel Reading ends by telling us that the Samaritan people came to see Jesus because of the testimony of this woman. A single, sinful, and ostracized woman was able to lead the population of a town to Jesus.  We need to bear witnesses to Jesus like the Samaritan woman. (Someone here bore witness of  Jesus that is why Chelsea is being coming to accept Jesus as her savior and Lord, seeking to slake her thirst in him.) Let us have the courage to share our experience of Jesus during this Lent with our neighbors, calling them to come and see him.