Community Word: Trusting and obeying God lead us to a life of holiness.
Theme: We live a life of holiness when we worship the Father in Spirit and truth
Promise: “…the water I shall give will become in Him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (Jn 4: 14b)
Reflection:
From the gospel of the 3rd Sunday of Lent, Jesus tells us, “…whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst…” (Jn 4: 14). This life-giving water that Jesus offers us is the gift of faith that He is our salvation. Our theme for the week puts emphasis on this – We live a life of holiness when we follow Jesus who is the light of the world. Through Jesus, God wants us to know and experience how refreshing it can be to dive into the waters of faith.
The Samaritan woman encountered Jesus at the well and she had a revelation that caused her to accept Jesus’ invitation to draw from the well of spiritual water, though she felt unworthy of such an invitation. Her belief caused her to tell her neighbors about the One with whom she would have a faith-filled relationship, so different from her past unfaithful relationships. Like her, we who are believers of the Lord are constantly challenged to preserve the gift of faith and follow Jesus who is our light and salvation.
In the 1st reading, when Moses cries to the Lord, God’s faithfulness is manifested to the undeserving and complaining Israelites by giving them water that flowed from the desert rock. In the responsorial psalm, we are called to open our hearts to the works of the Lord and respond joyfully and gratefully to His gift of salvation. And in the 2nd reading, St. Paul tells us that we can access God’s graces because of our faith in Christ who died for us even while we were still sinners (cf Rom 5:8). His love “has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us,” (Rom 5:5).
And, finally in the gospel, we see how Jesus leads the woman to accept His offer of salvation by revealing to her about her failed relationships. She listens with amazement as Jesus tells her that “God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in Spirit and truth,” (Jn 4:24). And because of this, she becomes a proclaimer of this newly-found faith by testifying before others that Jesus is indeed the promised Messiah.
God is the initiator of faith. Just as the promise of Living Water was made to the woman at the well, faith is a divine gift which is made accessible to us. We can choose to accept or reject it. This gift may expose us to face the realities of our lives, just as Jesus did for the Samaritan woman. We can even try to hide from God, but He knows our lives better than we know them. Yet, we will always be led to a deeper relationship with Him if we are open to the gift of faith. And as we accept Jesus as our Savior and the Light who guides us to the Truth, we must invite others to receive this gift so that they will experience the newness of life as well.
Jesus offers us no less than Himself for He has promised that, “…the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” (Jn 4: 14b).
Prayer:
We thank You, our ever-giving and ever-loving Father, for through Your Son, Jesus, we have received Your ever-flowing, life-giving water. You want us to drink fully and deeply of this source of life. You simply ask us to accept what You offer so that we may grow in our relationship with You together with the people You send in our lives to share this gift of faith. Send us Your Holy Spirit of wisdom, patience and strength so that we may respond fully to Your gracious gift of faith. May we in the BLD community be refreshed continually so that our relationship with You will take deep roots in our being. Use us mightily to spread this faith so that more people will come to quench their spiritual thirst in a community of fellow believers. We make this prayer to You our Father, through Jesus, Your Son, who lives and reigns with You and the Holy Spirit, our one and only God, forever and ever. Amen.
Reflection Guide Questions:
- In what way have I nurtured my gift of faith in Jesus as my Savior and guiding Light?
- How can I share my faith experience with people around me (family, friends, office mate, etc.) and give them the opportunity to know Jesus more deeply?
This Week’s Daily Mass Reading Guide:
March 12, 2023 (Sun) – Ex 17:3-7/Ps 98:1-2,6-7,8-9/Rom 5:1-2,5-8/Jn 4:5-42
March 13, 2023 (Mon) – 2Kgs 5:1-15/Ps 42:2, 3, 43:3, 4/Lk 4:24-30
March 14, 2023 (Tue) – Dn 3:25, 34-43/Ps 25:4-9/Mt 18:21-35
March 15, 2023 (Wed) – Dt 4:1, 5-9/Ps 147:12-16, 19, 20/Mt 5:17-19
March 16, 2023 (Thurs) – Jer 7:23-28/ Ps 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9/ Lk 11:14-23
March 17, 2023 (Fri) – Hos 14:2-10/Ps 81:6-9, 10, 11, 14, 17/Mk 12:28-34
March 18, 2023 (Sat) – Hos 6:1-6/Ps 51:3-4,18-19,20-21/Lk 18:9-14
“Ignorance of the Bible is ignorance of Christ. Read your Bible daily!”
