The people thirsted for water in the desert. They complained against Moses and said, “Why did you bring us out of Egypt, to kill us and our children and livestock with thirst?” So Moses cried out to the Lord, “What shall I do with this people? They are almost ready to stone me.”
The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
The Lord said to Moses, “Go on ahead of the people, and take some of the elders of Israel with you; take in your hand the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will be standing there in front of you on the rock at Horeb. Strike the rock, and water will come out of it, so that the people may drink.” Moses did so, in the sight of the elders of Israel. He called the place Massah and Meribah, because the Israelites quarreled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”
Second reading Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
Therefore, since we are justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have obtained access to this grace in which we stand; and we boast in our hope of sharing the glory of God.
And hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
And hope does not disappoint us, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit that has been given to us. For while we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly. Indeed, rarely will anyone die for a righteous person-though perhaps for a good person someone might actually dare to die. But God proves his love for us in that while we still were sinners Christ died for us.
Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink,” you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, an the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jeusalem.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”
Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” They left the city and were on their way to him.
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, “Four months more, then comes the harvest”? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour.. Others have labour.ed, and you have entered into their labour..”
Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.”
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, “Give me a drink,” you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, an the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his sons and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but those who drink of the water that I will give them will never be thirsty. The water that I will give will become in them a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
Jesus said to her, “Go, call your husband, and come back.” The woman answered him, “I have no husband.” Jesus said to her, “You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one you have now is not your husband. What you have said is true!” The woman said to him, “Sir, I see that you are a prophet. Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jeusalem.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah is coming” (who is called Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”
Just then his disciples came. They were astonished that he was speaking with a woman, but no one said, “What do you want?” or, “Why are you speaking with her?” Then the woman left her water jar and went back to the city. She said to the people, “Come and see a man who told me everything I have ever done! He cannot be the Messiah, can he?” They left the city and were on their way to him.
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, “Rabbi, eat something.” But he said to them, “I have food to eat that you do not know about.” So the disciples said to one another, “Surely no one has brought him something to eat?” Jesus said to them, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to complete his work. Do you not say, “Four months more, then comes the harvest”? But I tell you, look around you, and see how the fields are ripe for harvesting. The reaper is already receiving wages and is gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour.. Others have labour.ed, and you have entered into their labour..”
Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, “He told me everything I have ever done.” So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.”
Reflection
By Fely C. Santiago
“If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts”
Lent is a great time to pause, be still, have a retreat to listen to what the Lord has been saying to us. Unfortunately, we can never hear because of the noise of the world, the voice of confusion, the voices of discouragement, the voices of condemnation or the many voices of our worries and anxieties…
Today we really have so many distractions that even while praying we don’t stay focused. I am guilty of that. I would wake up early in the morning to pray, but sometimes Facebook or Messenger gets in the way! Then I start scrolling the messages and start replying to them! I am distracted!
We need to stay focused. We have to clear our minds and come offer to the Lord all our concerns of this world. Let’s be single-minded on the things of the Lord. If we get distracted in our prayer time, offer them to the Lord. Talk to God about your anxieties. He meets you where you are, no matter how you feel even when you're angry or lonely or lazy to pray. Just keep on praying. The important thing is to take time to be one-on-one with God. After all you’ve said, be still and listen. Let God have his say. Be still. Cherish your oneness with God. People in love don’t always have to converse. Their presence together is more than enough. Same with God. Just sit still even if no words will come out.
Eventually you will develop a rich and loving relationship with the Lord if you just spend time with Him. My life have never been the same again after I took my 19th Annotation or Retreat in Daily Life (RDL) on the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius. I really have to allot time in prayer every day for almost a year and sometimes I get frustrated as no words will come out or I don’t hear the voice of God. But with loving patience, I came out spiritually nourished and full of graces when I complete the RDL. The fruits that came out of that has really increased my faith in God that I worry less anymore. I have become aware of God’s presence and listen to His voice in my conversation with friends, when I travel and feel God’s presence in His creations, etc. It’s really finding God in all things. So if today you hear His voice, listen!
“If today you hear His voice, harden not your hearts”
Lent is a great time to pause, be still, have a retreat to listen to what the Lord has been saying to us. Unfortunately, we can never hear because of the noise of the world, the voice of confusion, the voices of discouragement, the voices of condemnation or the many voices of our worries and anxieties…
Today we really have so many distractions that even while praying we don’t stay focused. I am guilty of that. I would wake up early in the morning to pray, but sometimes Facebook or Messenger gets in the way! Then I start scrolling the messages and start replying to them! I am distracted!
We need to stay focused. We have to clear our minds and come offer to the Lord all our concerns of this world. Let’s be single-minded on the things of the Lord. If we get distracted in our prayer time, offer them to the Lord. Talk to God about your anxieties. He meets you where you are, no matter how you feel even when you're angry or lonely or lazy to pray. Just keep on praying. The important thing is to take time to be one-on-one with God. After all you’ve said, be still and listen. Let God have his say. Be still. Cherish your oneness with God. People in love don’t always have to converse. Their presence together is more than enough. Same with God. Just sit still even if no words will come out.
Eventually you will develop a rich and loving relationship with the Lord if you just spend time with Him. My life have never been the same again after I took my 19th Annotation or Retreat in Daily Life (RDL) on the Spiritual Exercises of St Ignatius. I really have to allot time in prayer every day for almost a year and sometimes I get frustrated as no words will come out or I don’t hear the voice of God. But with loving patience, I came out spiritually nourished and full of graces when I complete the RDL. The fruits that came out of that has really increased my faith in God that I worry less anymore. I have become aware of God’s presence and listen to His voice in my conversation with friends, when I travel and feel God’s presence in His creations, etc. It’s really finding God in all things. So if today you hear His voice, listen!
Prayer
Dear Jesus, Lent is really a perfect time for us to pause from this busy world. Help us to be still. Give us the grace to be deliberate, to really allot time in prayer because we know Your words will be a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Continue to increase our faith, Lord especially in difficult times. One with Mary, we make this prayer. Amen.
Dear Jesus, Lent is really a perfect time for us to pause from this busy world. Help us to be still. Give us the grace to be deliberate, to really allot time in prayer because we know Your words will be a spring of water welling up to eternal life. Continue to increase our faith, Lord especially in difficult times. One with Mary, we make this prayer. Amen.
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