Third Sunday of Lent The source of the first biblical reading for this Lenten weekend’s liturgies is the Book of Exodus, one of the five books of the Bible regarded as the basis of God’s revelation to the Chosen People. The initial theological concepts and regulations about behavior are seen as being rooted in the original teachings of Moses. Together, these five books constitute the Torah, then and still the cornerstone of Judaism. Another name is the Pentateuch, this term coming from the Greek word for five. As the title implies, the Book of Exodus is concerned with the experiences of the Hebrews as they fled Egypt and moved toward the land God had promised them. It was a very difficult trip. Even today, a journey across the Sinai Peninsula by land is bleak. It is not surprising that the Hebrews wondered if they had swapped the witch for the devil as they wandered across Sinai. In frustration, bewilderment, and misery, they grumbled about Moses, who led the way. Water was a precious commodity in this arid environment. Understandably, the people feared thirst. Moses, enlightened by God, told them to look for water in an improbable place. It was the side of a rock. As directed, the people struck the rock, and water flowed. St. Paul’s Epistle to the Romans supplies the second reading. As is so typical of Paul’s writing, this passage celebrates Jesus as the only source of life, and of bonding with God, and it proclaims salvation in Christ as the gift coming from the willing sacrifice of the Lord on Calvary. For its last reading this weekend, the Church presents a section of St. John’s Gospel. It is the story of the Lord’s meeting with the Samaritan woman beside a well in Samaria. The reading is heavy with lessons for us. First, the site is Samaria. For the Jews of the Lord’s time, Samaria represented many bad things. The woman is a Samaritan, and Samaritans were of Hebrew heritage, but they had acquiesced when foreigners invaded the land, compromising with paganism, and even inter-marrying with pagan foreigners. Inter-marriage added insult to injury, because by such unions Samaritans defiled the Hebrew heritage. Faithful Jews looked upon Samaritans with contempt. Also, at the time of Jesus, no adult unmarried man ever engaged a strange woman in conversation, let alone a Samaritan. The message is that Jesus set all these considerations aside. He bore the mercy of God, and this mercy was meant for everyone, all conventions aside. Furthermore, by outreach to this Samaritan woman, the Lord asserts that every person possesses a dignity – indeed, a right to eternal life. More than Jacob of old, Jesus promises a gift of water greatly more satisfying than any that could be drawn from a well. Finally, the Lord predicts that a new order is coming. It will be neither centralized in Jerusalem nor on the mountaintops where the Samaritans customarily worshipped. Reflection A historic fixture in any Catholic church is a bowl, or vessel, placed at the church’s door, filled with water that has been blessed by a priest. It represents the water used in Christian baptism. Catholics enter the church. They touch the water in the bowl with their fingertips, and then, their fingers wet with the holy water, they bless themselves with the Sign of the Cross. This gesture hopefully reminds the person of his or her own baptism when a bond with Christ was established. He received them in the Church. They promised, perhaps through their godparents if they were infants, to follow Christ all their days. Lent is the time to decide whether or not these promises have been fulfilled. Are they still the blueprint of life? It is time for recommitment to them. READINGS Sunday: Exodus 17:3-7; Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9; Romans 5:1-2, 5-8; John 4:5-42 Monday: 2 Kings 5:1-15; Psalms 42:2-3; 43:3-4; Luke 4:24-30 Tuesday: Daniel 3:25, 34-43; Psalms 25:4-5ab, 6-7bc, 8-9; Matthew 18:21-35 Wednesday: Deuteronomy 4:1, 5-9; Psalms 147:12-13, 15-16, 19-20; Matthew 5:17-19 Thursday: Jeremiah 7:23-28; Psalms 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9; Luke 11:14-23 Friday: Hosea 14:2-10; Psalms 81:6c-8a, 8bc-9, 10-11ab, 14, 17; Mark 12:28-34 Saturday: Hosea 6:1-6; Psalms 51:3-4, 18-19, 20-21ab; Luke 18:9-14 The post This Lent, Be Reminded of the Wellspring of Mercy Offered by God appeared first on Today's Catholic. ...read more read less