Dear Parishioners:
- The Church intensifies our Lenten Season for all people through the preparation of the newly Elects (Catechumens – those who have never been baptized) and Candidates for Full Communion in the Catholic Church (those who have been baptized validly in another Christian Denomination) through a period of purification and Enlightenment calls the SCRUTINIES. This is a period of more intense spiritual preparation, consisting more in interior reflection than in catechetical instruction, and is intended to purify the minds and hearts of the elect with a deeper knowledge of Christ the Savior.
From the Scripture Readings for these three Sundays (March 15, 22 and 29 at 11:00 AM Masses), the church helps us to reflect with our Catechumens for the next three scriptures, all from the Gospel of John: The first Scrutiny - The story of the Woman at the Well from the Gospel of John (John 4:5-42).
The theme of thirsting and water continues in today’s Gospel story of the woman of Samaria and her encounter with Jesus at high noon! The Samaritan woman is the most carefully and intensely catechized person in John’s Gospel. Today’s story is with many moments of irony and several things are wrong with the whole scene at Jacob’s well deep in the heart of Samaria. First of all, the well is a public space common to both men and women, but they ought not to be there at the same time.
Why does this woman come to the well at noon? Likely because the women of her village shun her for her shameless behavior. She has had five husbands and is now living with someone other than her husband!!!
Today, there are many “Samaritan women” in various forms longing to be liberated from life’s burden. They thirst for understanding and acceptance of who they are in society. We need only think of victims of human trafficking, especially women and girls, who need people like Jesus to listen to them, speak for them, and decriminalize them.
Many people look on them as criminals, social outcasts, marginalized because they become illegal migrants in search of good jobs abroad in order to support their poor families. What are the terrible situations at home that compel them to go wandering? What are the sacrifices they are making for their loved ones? We need to help them reclaim their God-given dignity.
Today’s story of the woman of Samaria is a metaphor for our own lives – often lived in deserts of alienation, sinfulness, and despair. During the season of Lent in particular, we long for the refreshing waters of repentance, forgiveness, and wholeness. To repent is to acknowledge our own need for life in the midst of the desert, our need for breaking down the barriers that exist among us, our need for finding the living water that will truly quench our thirst. Lent invites us to join the woman of Samaria in today’s Gospel and the women of Samaria throughout the world and all those so desperately in need of life. May the Lord give us the courage to reach out to them, listen to them, feed them, and share with them the waters of life.
What Are You Thirsting For ….???.…look deeply within. Then, Jesus promises the Water of new Life, so that we never thirst again.
- Please also remember to pray for the Children who are preparing for their First Holy Communion Religious Education Program and Candidates for Confirmation in our Youth Group Program; for they, too, are prepared for the Easter Sacraments.
- Don’t forget to join our community for these observances of Lent:
At St. Gabriel:
- Daily Mass is at 11:00 AM (Tuesday, Wednesday and Friday);
- Every Wednesday Mass is at 1:30 PM at Retsil Veteran’s Home
- Friday: 6:00 PM - Soup Supper and 7:00 PM Station of the Cross. Individual Confession will be heard after Stations.
At Prince of Peace:
- Thursday 10:00 AM – Mass
- Friday 5:00 PM – Stations of the Cross (in English) and then,
follow with a soup supper in the Parish Hall downstairs and 6:00 PM – Stations of Cross (in Spanish).
Christ’s Peace,
Fr. Phuong Hoang