by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Mar 17, 2023 | Evangelium
SATURday 18 MARCH
SAINT Cyrille of Jérusalem,
He was born in 315 and became bishop of Jerusalem in 348. He was active in the Arian controversy. He is respected by both the Catholics and the Orthodox, and he was declared a Doctor of the Church by the Pope in 1883
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 102: 2-3
Bless the Lord, O my soul, and never forget all his benefits; it is he who forgives all your sins.
Collect
Rejoicing in this annual celebration of our Lenten observance, we pray, O Lord, that, with our hearts set on the paschal mysteries, we may be gladdened by their full effects. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Hosea 5: 15- 6: 6
The Lord says this: “They will search for me in their misery. ‘Come, let us return to the Lord. He has torn us to pieces, but he will heal us; he has struck us down, but he will bandage our wounds; after a day or two he will bring us back to life, on the third day he will raise us and we shall live in his presence. Let us set ourselves to know the Lord; that he will come is as certain as the dawn his judgement will rise like the light, he will come to us as showers come, like spring rains watering the earth.’ What am I to do with you, Ephraim? What am I to do with you, Judah? This love of yours is like a morning cloud, like the dew that quickly disappears. This is why I have torn them to pieces by the prophets, why I slaughtered them with the words from my mouth, since what I want is love, not sacrifice; knowledge of God, not holocausts.
Psalm 50: 3-4, 18-21
R/What I want is love, not sacrifice.
Have mercy on me, God, in your kindness. In your compassion blot out my offence. O wash me more and more from my guilt and cleanse me from my sin.
For in sacrifice you take no delight, burnt offering from me you would refuse, my sacrifice, a contrite spirit. A humbled, contrite heart you will not spurn.
In your goodness, show favour to Zion: rebuild the walls of Jerusalem. Then you will be pleased with lawful sacrifice, burnt offerings wholly consumed.
Gospel Acclamation: Ps 94: 8
Glory and praise to you, O Christ! Harden not your hearts today, but listen to the voice of the Lord. Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Gospel: Luke 18: 9-14
Jesus spoke the following parable to some people who prided themselves on being virtuous and despised everyone else: “Two men went up to the Temple to pray, one a Pharisee, the other a tax collector. The Pharisee stood there and said this prayer to himself, ‘I thank you, God, that I am not grasping, unjust, adulterous like the rest of mankind, and particularly that I am not like this tax collector here. I fast twice a week; I pay tithes on all I get.’ The tax collector stood some distance away, not daring even to raise his eyes to heaven; but he beat his breast and said, ‘God, be merciful to me, a sinner.’ This man, I tell you, went home again at rights with God; the other did not. For everyone who exalts himself will be humbled, but the man who humbles himself will be exalted.”
Prayer over the Offerings
O God, by whose grace it comes to pass that we may approach your mysteries with minds made pure, grant, we pray, that, in reverently handing them on, we may offer you fitting homage. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Lk 18: 13
The tax collector stood at a distance, beating his breast and saying: O God, be merciful to me, a sinner.
Prayer after Communion
May we truly revere, O merciful God, these holy gifts, by which you ceaselessly nourish us, and may we always partake of them with abundant faith in our heart. Through Christ our Lord.
Prayer over the People
Hold out to your faithful people, Lord, the right hand of heavenly assistance, that they may seek you with all their heart and merit the granting of what they ask. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Meditation
Beloved of God, Jesus gives a strong teaching to all those who call themselves saints and live with their eyes on the lives of others instead of looking after their own lives and their destiny. God did not send us to earth to waste our time in vain comparisons. To live with the belief that we are better than others is a path that leads straight to perdition, because it is an attitude that leads us away from the truth. It blinds us. It does not allow us to see that we too are subject to errors, sins and shortcomings, and that we must therefore make amends. So let us be careful lest the spirit of pride and self-importance lead us astray. Recognizing our limits and our faults allows us to move forward in life and justifies us in God.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Mar 16, 2023 | Evangelium
FRIday 17 MARCH
SAINT PATRICK
He was born in Roman Britain around the end of the 4th century, and died in Ireland about the middle of the 5th century. He is remembered for his simplicity and pastoral care of people.
Entrance Antiphon: cf. Ps 95: 2–3
Among the gods there is none like you, O Lord, for you are great and do marvellous deeds; you alone are God.
Collect
Pour your grace into our hearts, we pray, O Lord, that we may be constantly drawn away from unruly desires and obey by your own gift the heavenly teaching you give us. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, (one) God, for ever and ever.
First reading: Hosea 14: 2-10
The Lord says this: Israel, come back to the Lord your God; your iniquity was the cause of your downfall. Provide yourself with words and come back to the Lord. Say to him, “Take all iniquity away so that we may have happiness again and offer you our words of praise. Assyria cannot save us, we will not ride horses any more, or say, ‘Our God!’ to what our own hands have made, for you are the one in whom orphans find compassion. – I will heal their disloyalty, I will love them with all my heart, for my anger has turned from them. I will fall like dew on Israel. He shall bloom like the lily, and thrust out roots like the poplar, his shoots will spread far; he will have the beauty of the olive and the fragrance of Lebanon. They will come back to live in my shade; they will grow corn that flourishes, they will cultivate vines as renowned as the wine of Helbon. What has Ephraim to do with idols any more when it is I who hear his prayer and care for him? I am like a cypress ever green, all your fruitfulness comes from me. Let the wise man understand these words. Let the intelligent man grasp their meaning. For the ways of the Lord are straight, and virtuous men walk in them, but sinners stumble.
Psalm 80(81): 6, 8-11, 14, 17
R/ I am the Lord your God: listen to my warning.
A voice I did not know said to me: ‘I freed your shoulder from the burden; your hands were freed from the load. You called in distress and I saved you.
I answered, concealed in the storm cloud; at the waters of Meribah I tested you. Listen, my people, to my warning. O Israel, if only you would heed!
Let there be no foreign god among you, no worship of an alien god. I am the Lord your God, who brought you from the land of Egypt.
O that my people would heed me, that Israel would walk in my ways! But Israel I would feed with finest wheat and fill them with honey from the rock.
Gospel Acclamation
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus! The seed is the word of God, Christ the sower; whoever finds this seed will remain for ever. Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Gospel: Mark 12: 28-34
One of the Scribes came up to Jesus and put a question to him, “Which is the first of all the commandments?” Jesus replied, “This is the first: Listen, Israel, the Lord our God is the one Lord, and you must love the Lord your God with all your heart, with all your soul, with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: You must love your neighbour as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these.” The Scribe said to him, “Well spoken, Master; what you have said is true: that he is one and there is no other. To love him with all your heart, with all your understanding and strength, and to love your neighbour as yourself, this is far more important than any holocaust or sacrifice.” Jesus, seeing how wisely he had spoken, said, “You are not far from the kingdom of God.” And after that no one dared to question him anymore.
Prayer over the Offerings
Look with favour, we pray, Lord, on the offerings we dedicate, that they may be pleasing in your sight and always be salutary for us. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Lk 22: 29
To love God with all your heart, and your neighbour as yourself, is worth more than any sacrifice.
Prayer after Communion
May your strength be at work in us, O Lord, pervading our minds and bodies, that what we have received by participating in this Sacrament may bring us the fullness of redemption. Through Christ our Lord.
Prayer over the People
Look graciously, O Lord, upon the faithful who implore your mercy, that, trusting in your kindness, they may spread far and wide the gifts your charity has bestowed. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Jesus teaches us that the greatest commandment we must observe in our lives is that of Love. Love is the foundation of everything that governs our life and our actions. Love of God, Love of self and Love of neighbour all go together. Today we live in a world full of individualism and self-centeredness, yet we claim to be good people and friends of God. Many of us pretend to know and do God’s will, whereas we are the actors and promoters of the miseries that our brothers and sisters suffer. We must watch out for all the loveless acts that we commit. To act without love is to be far from the essentials of life, it is to be far from the will of God.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Mar 14, 2023 | Evangelium
WEDNESday 15 MARCH
Blessed John Anne
He was born at Wakefield in Yorkshire, where he married and had a family: on his wife’s death he divided his property among his children and left for the Continent to become a priest.
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 118: 133
Let my steps be guided by your promise; may evil never rule me.
Collect
Grant, we pray, O Lord, that, schooled through Lenten observance and nourished by your word, through holy restraint, we may be devoted to you with all our heart and be ever united in prayer. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
First reading: Deuteronomy 4: 1, 5-9
Moses said to the people: “Now, Israel, take notice of the laws and customs that I teach you today, and observe them, that you may have life and may enter and take possession of the land that the Lord the God of your fathers is giving you. See, as the Lord my God has commanded me, I teach you the laws and customs that you are to observe in the land you are to enter and make your own. Keep them, observe them, and they will demonstrate to the peoples your wisdom and understanding. When they come to know of all these laws they will exclaim, ‘No other people is as wise and prudent as this great nation. And indeed, what great nation is there that has its gods so near as the Lord our God is to us whenever we call to him? And what great nation is there that has laws and customs to match this whole Law that I put before you today?’ But take care what you do and be on your guard. Do not forget the things your eyes have seen, nor let them slip from your heart all the days of your life; rather, tell them to your children and to your children’s children.”
Psalm 147: 12-13, 15-16, 19-20
R/ O praise the Lord, Jerusalem!
O praise the Lord, Jerusalem! Zion, praise your God! He has strengthened the bars of your gates, He has blessed the children within you.
He sends out his word to the earth and swiftly runs his command. He showers down snow white as wool, He scatters hoar-frost like ashes.
He makes his word known to Jacob, To Israel his laws and decrees. He has not dealt thus with other nations; He has not taught them his decrees.
Gospel Acclamation: Jn 8: 12
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God! I am the light of the world, says the Lord; anyone who follows me will have the light of life. Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Gospel: Matthew 5: 17-19
Jesus said to his disciples, “Do not imagine that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have come not to abolish but to complete them. I tell you solemnly, till heaven and earth disappear, not one dot, not one little stroke, shall disappear from the Law until its purpose is achieved. Therefore, the man who infringes even one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do the same will be considered the least in the kingdom of heaven; but the man who keeps them and teaches them will be considered great in the kingdom of heaven.”
Prayer over the Offerings
Accept, O Lord, we pray, the prayers of your people along with these sacrificial offerings, and defend those who celebrate your mysteries from every kind of danger. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 15: 11
You will show me the path of life, the fullness of joy in your presence, O Lord.
Prayer after Communion
May the heavenly banquet, at which we have been fed, sanctify us, O Lord, and, cleansing us of all errors, make us worthy of your promises from on high. Through Christ our Lord.
Prayer over the People
Give to your people, our God, a resolve that is pleasing to you, for, by conforming them to your teachings, you bestow on them every favour. Through Christ our Lord.
Meditation
Beloved of the Lord, given the tense relationship between the chief priests had Jesus, one could rightly believe that they considered him as a disruptive element who had come to abolish the established order or the law. It is the same feeling that we often have when we do not understand a brother who exposes our wrong way of living. This was the point of contention between the chief priests and Jesus, and this is what often sets us off against anyone who tries to correct us on our bad practices. Jesus does not abolish anything in our lives. He is there to invite us to perfect the law by making it more human. The law is there to make man free and happy. To add or subtract one iota of it is a serious sin. The heart of the law is love. And any law without love is detestable in the eyes of God. So let us beware of the misuse of the law.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Mar 13, 2023 | Evangelium
TUESday 14 MARCH
SAINT MALTIDA
IShe was the wife of King Henry I of Germany. Saint Matilda interceded with the king on behalf of criminals, nursed the sick, taught the unschooled, and was generous in almsgiving.
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 16: 6, 8
To you I call, for you will surely heed me, O God; Turn your ear to me; hear my words. Guard me as the apple of your eye; In the shadow of your wings protect me.
Collect
May your grace not forsake us, O Lord, we pray, but make us dedicated to your holy service and at all times obtain for us your help. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
First reading: Daniel 3: 25, 34-43
Azariah stood in the heart of the fire, and he began to pray: Oh! Do not abandon us for ever, for the sake of your name; do not repudiate your covenant, do not withdraw your favour from us, for the sake of Abraham, your friend, of Isaac your servant, and of Israel your holy one, to whom you promised descendants as countless as the stars of heaven and as the grains of sand on the seashore. Lord, now we are the least of all the nations, now we are despised throughout the world, today, because of our sins. We have at this time no leader, no prophet, no prince, no holocaust, no sacrifice, no oblation, no incense, no place where we can offer you the first-fruits and win your favour. But may the contrite soul, the humbled spirit be as acceptable to you as holocausts of rams and bullocks, as thousands of fattened lambs: such let our sacrifice be to you today, and may it be your will that we follow you wholeheartedly, since those who put their trust in you will not be disappointed. And now we put our whole heart into following you, into fearing you and seeking your face once more. Do not disappoint us; treat us gently, as you yourself are gentle and very merciful. Grant us deliverance worthy of your wonderful deeds, let your name win glory, Lord.
Psalm 24: 4-6, 7-9
R/Remember your mercy, Lord.
Lord, make me know your ways. Lord, teach me your paths. Make me walk in your truth, and teach me: for you are God my saviour.
In you I hope all day long because of your goodness, O Lord. Remember your mercy, Lord, and the love you have shown from of old. Do not remember the sins of my youth. In your love remember me.
The Lord is good and upright. He shows the path to those who stray, He guides the humble in the right path, He teaches his way to the poor.
Gospel Acclamation: cf. Lk8:15
Glory and praise to you, O Christ! Blessed are those who, with a noble and generous heart, take the word of God to themselves and yield a harvest through their perseverance. Glory and praise to you, O Christ!
Gospel: Matthew 18: 21-35
Peter went up to Jesus and said, “Lord, how often must I forgive my brother if he wrongs me? As often as seven times?” Jesus answered, “Not seven, I tell you, but seventy-seven times. And so the kingdom of heaven may be compared to a king who decided to settle his accounts with his servants. When the reckoning began, they brought him a man who owed ten thousand talents; but he had no means of paying, so his master gave orders that he should be sold, together with his wife and children and all his possessions, to meet the debt. At this, the servant threw himself down at his master’s feet. ‘Give me time,’ he said, ‘and I will pay the whole sum.’ And the servant’s master felt so sorry for him that he let him go and cancelled the debt. Now as this servant went out, he happened to meet a fellow servant who owed him one hundred denarii; and he seized him by the throat and began to throttle him. ‘Pay what you owe me’, he said. His fellow servant fell at his feet and implored him, saying, ‘Give me time and I will pay you.’ But the other would not agree; on the contrary, he had him thrown into prison till he should pay the debt. His fellow servants were deeply distressed when they saw what had happened, and they went to their master and reported the whole affair to him. Then the master sent for him. ‘You wicked servant,’ he said. ‘I cancelled all that debt of yours when you appealed to me. Were you not bound, then, to have pity on your fellow servant just as I had pity on you?’ And in his anger the master handed him over to the torturers till he should pay all his debt. And that is how my heavenly Father will deal with you unless you each forgive your brother from your heart.”
Prayer over the Offerings
Grant us, O Lord, we pray, that this saving sacrifice may cleanse us of our faults and become an oblation pleasing to your almighty power. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon: Cf. Ps 14: 1-2
Lord, who may abide in your tent, and dwell on your holy mountain? Whoever walks without fault and does what is just.
Prayer after Communion
May the holy partaking of this mystery give us life, O Lord, we pray, and grant us both pardon and protection. Through Christ our Lord.
Prayer over the People
O God, founder and ruler of your people, drive away the sins that assail them, that they may always be pleasing to you and ever safe under your protection. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Meditation
Is there any limit to forgiveness? This, dear brothers and sisters, is Peter’s deep concern on this day and we should make it ours as well. Jesus’ answer disillusioned poor Peter who thought that forgiving up to seven times was already too much. The Lord suggests to us that forgiveness has no limit. We must forgive, forgive again and always forgive, no matter the gravity of the fault. The king in the Gospel cancels a great debt of sixty million silver coins to his servant. But how surprising it is that we, who implore forgiveness for our great debts and offenses, are unable to forgive the smallest wrong. Hence the challenge of Jesus on this day. It is clear, however, that if we are unable to forgive, we should not expect to be forgiven. Forgiveness liberates, reconciles and unites.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Mar 12, 2023 | Evangelium
MONday 13 MARCH
Blessed Agnello of Pissa
He lived from 1195-1236, he was admitted into the Franciscan Order by St. Francis himself. His reputation for sanctity and prudence stood high amongst his fellows. He served as first minister provincial in England 1224-1236
Entrance Antiphon: Ps 83: 3
My soul is longing and yearning for the courts of the Lord. My heart and my flesh cry out to the living God.
Collect
May your unfailing compassion, O Lord, cleanse and protect your Church, and, since without you she cannot stand secure, may she be always governed by your grace. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
First reading: 2 Kings 5: 1- 15
Naaman, army commander to the king of Aram, was a man who enjoyed his master’s respect and favour, since through him the Lord had granted victory to the Aramaeans. But the man was a leper. Now on one of their raids, the Aramaeans had carried off from the land of Israel a little girl who had become a servant of Naaman’s wife. She said to her mistress, “If only my master would approach the prophet of Samaria. He would cure him of his leprosy.” Naaman went and told his master. “This and this”, he reported, “is what the girl from the land of Israel said.” “Go by all means,” said the king of Aram. “I will send a letter to the king of Israel.” So Naaman left, taking with him ten talents of silver, six thousand shekels of gold and ten festal robes. He presented the letter to the king of Israel. It read: “With this letter, I am sending my servant Naaman to you for you to cure him of his leprosy.” When the king of Israel read the letter, he tore his garments. “Am I a god to give death and life,” he said, “that he sends a man to me and asks me to cure him of his leprosy? Listen to this, and take note of it and see how he intends to pick a quarrel with me.” When Elisha heard that the king of Israel had torn his garments, he sent word to the king, “Why did you tear your garments? Let him come to me, and he will find there is a prophet in Israel.” So Naaman came with his team and chariot and drew up at the door of Elisha’s house. And Elisha sent him a messenger to say, “Go and bathe seven times in the Jordan, and your flesh will become clean once more.” But Naaman was indignant and went off, saying, “Here was I thinking he would be sure to come out to me, and stand there, and call on the name of the Lord his God, and wave his hand over the spot and cure the leprous part. Surely Abana and Pharpar, the rivers of Damascus, are better than any water in Israel? Could I not bathe in them and become clean?” And he turned round and went off in a rage. But his servants approached him and said, “My father, if the prophet had asked you to do something difficult, would you not have done it? All the more reason, then, when he says to you, bathe, and you will become clean.” So he went down and immersed himself seven times in the Jordan, as Elisha had told him to do. And his flesh became clean once more like the flesh of a little child. Returning to Elisha with his whole escort, he went in and stood before him. “Now I know”, he said, “that there is no God in all the earth except in Israel.”
Psalm 41: 2 – 3, 42: 3 – 4
R/ My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life: when can I enter and see the face of God?
Like the deer that yearns for running streams, So my soul is yearning for you, my God. My soul is thirsting for God, the God of my life; When can I enter and see the face of God?
O send forth your light and your truth; Let these be my guide. Let them bring me to your holy mountain, to the place where you dwell.
And I will come to the altar of God, the God of my joy. My redeemer, I will thank you on the harp, O God, my God.
Gospel Acclamation: 2 Co: 6 – 2
Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus! Now is the favourable time: This is the day of salvation. Praise and honour to you, Lord Jesus!
Gospel: Luke 4, 24-30
Jesus came to Nazara and spoke to the people in the synagogue: “I tell you solemnly, no prophet is ever accepted in his own country. There were many widows in Israel, I can assure you, in Elijah’s day, when heaven remained shut for three years and six months and a great famine raged throughout the land, but Elijah was not sent to any one of these: he was sent to a widow at Zarephath, a Sidonian town. And in the prophet Elisha’s time there were many lepers in Israel, but none of these was cured, except the Syrian, Naaman.” When they heard this everyone in the synagogue was enraged. They sprang to their feet and hustled him out of the town; and they took him up to the brow of the hill their town was built on, intending to throw him down the cliff, but he slipped through the crowd and walked away.
Prayer over the Offerings
May what we offer you, O Lord, in token of our service, be transformed by you into the sacrament of salvation. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon
O praise the Lord, all you nations, for his merciful love towards us is great.
Prayer after Communion
May communion in this your Sacrament, we pray, O Lord, bring with it purification and the unity that is your gift. Through Christ our Lord.
Prayer over the People
May your right hand, we ask, O Lord, protect this people that makes entreaty to you: graciously purify them and give them instruction, that, finding solace in this life, they may reach the good things to come. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Meditation
Beloved of God, it is often difficult for us to recognize, accept and value the merits of a family member or friend. Thus contempt, sabotage, slander, mockery and lies are, among many others, manoeuvres that we often use to make a mockery of their gift. Possessed by the spirit of wickedness and evil, we may even wish for its disappearance. Not only does Jesus explain this reality in the Gospel, but he also experiences it. Many times, strangers take advantage of the gifts and talents that our brothers and sisters have while we refuse to recognize them. And this is often the fruit of the hardness of heart that makes us blind. Let us pray to the Lord this day that he may help us to recognize and encourage the blossoming of the talents and merits of our brethren for the good of all.
by Jude Thaddeus Langeh | Mar 11, 2023 | Evangelium
SUNday 12 MARCH
3rd Sunday of Lent,
Psalter week III
Entrance Antiphon: Cf. Ps 24: 15-16
My eyes are always on the Lord, for he rescues my feet from the snare. Turn to me and have mercy on me, for I am alone and poor.
Collect
O God, author of every mercy and of all goodness, who in fasting, prayer and almsgiving, have shown us a remedy for sin, look graciously on this confession of our lowliness, that we, who are bowed down by our conscience, may always be lifted up by your mercy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, one God, forever and ever.
First reading: Exodus 17: 3-7
Tormented by thirst, the people complained against Moses. “Why did you bring us out of Egypt?” they said. “Was it so that I should die of thirst, my children too, and my cattle?” Moses appealed to the Lord. “How am I to deal with this people?” he said. “A little more and they will stone me!” the Lord said to Moses, “Take with you some of the elders of Israel and move on to the forefront of the people; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the river, and go. I shall be standing before you there on the rock, at Horeb. You must strike the rock, and water will flow from it for the people to drink.” This is what Moses did, in the sight of the elders of Israel. The place was named Massah and Meribah because of the grumbling of the sons of Israel and because they put the Lord to the test by saying, “Is the Lord with us, or not?”
Psalm 94(95): 1-2, 6-9
R/ O that today you would listen to his voice! ‘Harden not your hearts.’
Come, ring out our joy to the Lord; hail the rock who saves us. Let us come before him, giving thanks, with songs let us hail the Lord.
Come in; let us bow and bend low; let us kneel before the God who made us: for he is our God and we the people who belong to his pasture, the flock that is led by his hand.
O that today you would listen to his voice! Harden not your hearts as at Meribah, as on that day at Massah in the desert when your fathers put me to the test; when they tried me, though they saw my work.
Second reading: Romans 5: 1-2, 5-8
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, by faith we are judged righteous and at peace with God, since it is by faith and through Jesus that we have entered this state of grace in which we can boast about looking forward to God’s glory. And this hope is not deceptive, because the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit which has been given us. We were still helpless when at his appointed moment Christ died for sinful men. It is not easy to die even for a good man – though of course for someone really worthy, a man might be prepared to die – but what proves that God loves us is that Christ died for us while we were still sinners.
Gospel Acclamation: Jn 4: 42, 15
Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God! Lord, you are really the saviour of the world: give me the living water, so that I may never get thirsty. Glory to you, O Christ, you are the Word of God!
Gospel: John 4: 5-42
Jesus came to the Samaritan town called Sychar, near the land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well is there and Jesus, tired by the journey, sat straight down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink.’ His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘What? You are a Jew and you ask me, a Samaritan, for a drink?’ – Jews, in fact, do not associate with Samaritans. Jesus replied: ‘If you only knew what God is offering and who it is that is saying to you: Give me a drink, you would have been the one to ask, and he would have given you living water.’ ‘You have no bucket, sir,’ she answered ‘and the well is deep: how could you get this living water? Are you a greater man than our father Jacob who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his sons and his cattle?’ Jesus replied: ‘Whoever drinks this water will get thirsty again; but anyone who drinks the water that I shall give will never be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will turn into a spring inside him, welling up to eternal life.’ ‘Sir,’ said the woman ‘give me some of that water, so that I may never get thirsty and never have to come here again to draw water. I see you are a prophet, sir. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, while you say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.’ Jesus said: ‘Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know: for salvation comes from the Jews. But the hour will come – in fact it is here already – when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: that is the kind of worshipper the Father wants. God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah – that is, Christ – is coming; and when he comes he will tell us everything.’ ‘I who am speaking to you,’ said Jesus ‘I am he.’ Many Samaritans of that town had believed in him on the strength of the woman’s testimony when she said, ‘He told me all I have ever done’, so, when the Samaritans came up to him, they begged him to stay with them. He stayed for two days, and when he spoke to them many more came to believe; and they said to the woman, ‘Now we no longer believe because of what you told us; we have heard him ourselves and we know that he really is the saviour of the world.’
Prayer over the Offerings
Be pleased, O Lord, with these sacrificial offerings, and grant that we who beseech pardon for our own sins, may take care to forgive our neighbour. Through Christ our Lord.
Communion Antiphon
For anyone who drinks it, says the Lord, the water I shall give will become in him a spring welling up to eternal life.
Prayer after Communion
As we receive the pledge of things yet hidden in heaven and are nourished while still on earth with the Bread that comes from on high, we humbly entreat you, O Lord, that what is being brought about in us in mystery may come to true completion. Through Christ our Lord.
Prayer over the People
Direct, O Lord, we pray, the hearts of your faithful, and in your kindness, grant your servants this grace: that, abiding in the love of you and their neighbour, they may fulfil the whole of your commands. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.
Meditation
Brothers and sisters, on this third Sunday of Lent, Jesus’ encounter with the Samaritan woman at Jacob’s well invites us to get rid of the prejudices that we hold within ourselves. This encounter invites us to clean up our relationships with, and our considerations of one another. Cleansing our eyes and seeing the other as a brother or sister allows us to break down the barriers of racial, cultural, religious or tribal differences. It allows us to discover that the other is not an enemy to be fought or avoided, but a brother to be met who can quench our dry lives with the living water of joy and salvation that comes from God. The Samaritan woman and the Samaritans understood this, and so they experienced in Jesus the joy of this true encounter. May the Lord grant us this same grace for the advent of peace among men.
