Dear Friends,
A word of prayerful congratulations to our young disciples who received the Sacrament of Penance for the first time this weekend. May they and their families return over and again to be embraced in the forgiving and healing arms of our God.
We are reaching the halfway mark of Lent. How quickly time flies by. This third Sunday of Lent is an opportunity for us to reflect on where we are on our Lenten pilgrimage. Perhaps we have been moving along rather well with a sense of true penance and prayer, growing more deeply in love with our Lord through these experiences. Or perhaps, we are struggling to get ourselves organized and/or committed to some forms of prayer, fasting, and almsgiving at this time.
Either way, as Saint Paul reminds us in his second letter to the Corinthians, “Behold, now is a very acceptable time; behold, now is the day of salvation.” Take heart, persevering on the journey or taking first steps “now is a very acceptable time.” And so, with grateful hearts, let us move forward.
Why do we fast, pray, give alms? I discovered this excerpt from Saint Augustine which gives personal context and texture to these venerable practices. “By the help of the merciful Lord our God, the temptations of the world, the snares of the Devil, the suffering of the world, the enticement of the flesh, the surging waves of troubled times, and all corporal and spiritual adversities are to be overcome by almsgiving, fasting, and prayer. These practices ought to glow throughout the entire life of a Christian, but especially as the Pascal solemnity (Easter) approaches which stirs up our minds by its yearly return, renewing in them (in our minds) the salutary memory that our Lord, the only-begotten Son of God, showed mercy to us and fasted and prayed for us….” Let us then follow in Jesus’ footsteps.
This coming Friday is the feast of Saint Patrick, known as the Apostle of Ireland. Archbishop Peréz has lifted the Lenten obligation of abstaining from meat on Saint Patrick’s Day. “However, as with every Friday of the Church Year outside of Lent, if a Catholic makes the choice not to abstain from meat, then some other penance of choice is to be observed in honor of the passion and death of our Lord on the cross.” May Saint Patrick intercede for us and bring us to a deeper and more profound love for Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.
Our Gospel this weekend is about the Samaritan Woman who encounters Jesus at Jacob’s well in Samaria. This encounter read in light of the first reading from the Book of Exodus, reminds us that we are all thirsty. Our bodies thirst for water which they cannot live without. Our souls thirst for God, without Whom we cannot live at all. Jesus is the living fountain of life and grace Who gives us living water, His very Self, so that within us a living spring of water wells up to eternal life. How merciful, loving, compassionate is our deeply gracious Lord. May we approach Him with confidence and trust these remaining days of Holy Lent and celebrate His Resurrection on Easter with overflowing joy.
This nineteenth day of March is the feast of Saint Joseph which liturgically is displaced by the Sunday of Lent. Let us not overlook him. Saint Joseph, protector of the Holy Family and patron of the Church, pray for us!
God bless you, God love you,
Monsignor McCulken