Third Sunday of Lent

March 8 – Third Sunday of Lent
Readings: Exodus 17:3-7, Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9, Romans 5:1-2, 5-8, John 4:5-42

Invitation to Prayer: “If you knew the gift of God!” The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being. It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God’s desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God’s thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him. (CCC 2560)

Reflection: The phrase, “water is life,” has become much more meaningful to me and my wife, having just bought a house with a rain-fed cistern and no connection to public water. When I was a kid, rainy days were – at best – excuses to hang out in the living room and read a ton of books; these days, I find myself deeply grateful for the rain itself, and what it means for us in clean dishes and laundry, running toilets, and our next sip of water. It’s also quite fun to see storm clouds on the horizon and proclaim to my wife, “we can take showers today!” (not that we don’t shower when it doesn’t rain, mostly, but I get a great kick out of it).

Being reliant upon the rain (and water haulers) means I’ve had to learn to treasure a precious resource I’d largely taken for granted up until now, and I feel like I’ve gained a new appreciation for the thirst of the Israelites and the hard work of hauling water that the Samaritan woman must have done, not to mention our farmers and everyone else whose livelihood is dependent on the weather.

When it comes to the spiritual life, though, do I acknowledge the same need, longing, and gratitude for the living water that Jesus offers to me? And even beyond that: when I go to him, do I trust that he will fully satisfy me and the good desires of my heart, not just partially?

In the various deserts of fear, stress, or loneliness that we all experience, it’s easy to turn to the “public water” of social media, the opinions of others, or the endless deluge of supernormal dopamine stimuli, to try to slake our undying thirst to love and be loved. Rather than a water that leaves us unsatisfied, however, Jesus promises, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”

As we hunger and thirst to build the kingdom of Heaven here on earth – to be a more loving spouse, a more patient parent, a more compassionate friend, a more generous coworker – let’s turn to him this Lent, to be filled by “the love of God [that] has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us,” so we might be able to, like the Samaritan woman, share the Good News and the Living Water with everyone around us.

Prayer: Jesus, I trust in you.

Paco Patag delights in helping others discover, receive, and respond to their vocation, and is grateful to be able to do so as the Associate Director for Adult Evangelization & Pastoral Ministry for the Archdiocese of Cincinnati. He and his wife, Beth, and their daughter, Lily, are parishioners in the Divine Mercy Family of Parishes.

Reprinted with permission From The Catholic Telegraph, Archdiocese of Cincinnati