A Letter From Fr. Paul - March 15, 2020

We are getting near the end of the time for filling out the Disciple Maker Index survey, which closes March 23rd. I ask you to fill it out, if you have not yet done so. The link is on our website and there are paper copies in the back of church, at fellowship and in the parish office. Your anonymous opinions will be extremely helpful to the parish leadership and me. Please do not procrastinate any longer and take the few moments to do it. Thank you.

Our readings through Lent are chosen to gradually reveal to us who Jesus is and what He means for us:

• 1st week: temptations of Jesus. Point: He is human.
• 2nd week: transfiguration. Point: He is divine.
• 3rd week: Samaritan woman. Point: He is the living water that quenches our deepest thirst for meaning.
• 4th week: cure of the blind man. Point: Jesus is the light that brings sight to the blind and helps us find our way through life.
• 5th week: Lazarus. Point: Jesus brings life from death.

Our theme this week is thirst and the need for water to quench it. The Israelites were wandering deeper and deeper into the desert and were so concerned about where they would find water that they turned against God and Moses. But Moses stood up for them and God gave them water from the rock to quench their thirst.

In the Gospel Jesus breaks customary restrictions by going through Samaria; by speaking to a Samaritan, much less a woman; and by asking her for water. In the dialog that follows, Jesus informs her, and us, that He gives “living water” that leads to eternal life.

The point is that each of us, in our innermost being, thirst for the real meaning of life. Jesus is telling us that He is the living water that will quench that spiritual thirst and give meaning and direction to life. He shows us that love of God, lived out through love of neighbor, especially the most vulnerable, is what gives true meaning to our lives. Lent is an opportunity to reflect on how we are doing.

One way we can respond in Lent is to support our Living Waters Campaign in which we, as a community, help some of the most vulnerable of God’s children by making clean water readily available to them. I have been in Tanzania and have seen how badly these wells are needed and how much they benefit the people, especially the women and young girls.

The living water that Jesus gives us leads to eternal life. I invite us to reflect this week on the living water that Christ gives us through the community and the sacraments, asking ourselves how we can better share the gifts we have been given with others. And let us continue to support each other in prayer.