Sunday Readings for March 7-8, Third Sunday of Lent
By Fr. Jack Treloar, SJ | For On Mission
The rather long Gospel passage from John this week recounts Jesus’ meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well. Jesus begins the conversation with a simple request for a drink of water. The conversation unfolds so that the woman comes to realize she is speaking to the Messiah. This realization leads her to spread the news to her Samaritan neighbors. They come to meet Jesus and leave believing in him as the One who is to come.
It is important for us to pay attention to the story’s progression. A request, a revelatory conversation, a belief, a conversion, and, finally, the spreading of the good news. This pattern is often the same as the one we celebrate during the Lenten season, when we help prepare the catechumens for Baptism on Holy Saturday.
A person asks to enter the Church because there has been a kind of request from the Lord, which can come in many ways and forms. Then there is a period of wondering whether God is really calling. One begins final preparation for admission to the Church (the OCIA program), culminating in Baptism or full admission on Holy Saturday. The result of all this is a new follower of Jesus who will spread the Gospel.
The story of the woman at the well and the acceptance of a new disciple into the Church represents the journey each of us makes as we progress through our lives dedicated to the service of Our Lord. We, too, are called to spread the Gospel. Lent gives us an opportunity to assess our dedication to this task.
How have we been doing with respect to this duty? Ash Wednesday proposes three major works for Lent: prayer, fasting, and almsgiving. Let us ask ourselves at this time, which is close to the mid-point of the season, am I preparing for Easter just as catechumens prepare?
Here’s a small Lenten examination of conscience:
- With respect to prayer, am I finding and making time for extra prayer? How am I doing with this? What are my traditional times and places for prayer? Am I faithful to those times and places? Is there extra prayer time?
- With respect to fasting, am I conscious of practices of self-denial during Lent? What are the practices, and do they remind me of the self-giving of Jesus as he suffers and dies?
- With respect to almsgiving, am I attentive to the needs of others around me? Do I have a place in my heart for those in need? What am I doing practically about alleviating these needs?
If we are attentive to these matters, we will come to a deeper belief just as the Samaritans who told the woman, “We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Savior of the world” (Jn 4:42).
The readings for Sunday, March 8, can be found at Third Sunday of Lent | USCCB.