March 12th

March 12, 2023
Third Sunday of Lent
Readings: Ex 17:3-7/Rom 5:1-2, 5-8/Jn 4:5-42 or 4:5-15, 19b-26, 39a, 40-42 (28)
Mr. Julian Ohizu: Campus Minister
The readings for the third Sunday of Lent help us think about our true desires in life. The
first reading tells of how God satisfied the thirst of the Chosen People in the desert. The Psalm
reminds us to let God open our hearts and allow his gifts to flow through them. The second
reading tells us again that God pours himself into our hearts.
The readings for this Sunday focus on those who are being offered the life-giving water
of Baptism and who celebrate the First Scrutiny of the Elect (Those who will be fully received
into the church through the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil).  It is also a reminder to
all of us who have been given new life in our own Baptism.  The Church calls us today to reflect
on how God takes the initiative in developing a relationship with us.  The Lord Jesus desires that
we be bound again with the God who loves us.  God cares for us much more than we can
comprehend and understand.  It is only in living in a closer relationship with this God of
relationships that we can further develop our knowledge of how much God loves us.
The Gospel is the story of the woman at the well, whom Jesus brings to new life through
his mercy and compassion. It is worth noting Jesus chose to interact with a Samaritan (an
outsider) and a woman. God, through Jesus and other believers, offers us the gift of faith. 
Through the Gospel, we learn that God is the initiator of faith.  Just as the promise of living
water was made to the woman at the well, faith is a divine gift that is made accessible to us.  We
can choose to accept the gift or reject it.  It is our free will that allows us to do what we want
with the gift of faith.  We can ask questions and explore what the gift is all about, just as the
woman at the well.  It is in the dialogue and the deepening relationship with Jesus that we will
come to realize the greatness of the One who makes us the offer.  The gift may expose us and
make us face the realities of our lives, just as Jesus did with the Samaritan woman.  We may try
at first to hide our lives from God, but God knows our lives better than we know them ourselves. 
And God will continue to develop the relationship if we are open to the gift of faith.  We may
look at our old routines, including our religious practices, in a new light.  The Lord Jesus will be
asking us to worship God in Spirit and Truth.  
After we have experienced the newness of the gift of living water, which is faith, it does
not stop there. We will want to share this gift with others.  We will tell them of our experiences
with the Messiah, the One who has told us everything about ourselves.  We will ask others to
come and drink of the life-giving waters of faith.  True faith cannot be kept to ourselves.  We
will want others to experience what we have experienced.  And when they come to the One who
gives living water, and the Lord Jesus offers them the gift of this faith, we will rejoice with them
because they have accepted the gift of faith.
So, the Gospel offers us a new opportunity to discuss how we treat outsiders. And it could
also lead to a discussion of the role of women in the Catholic Church. Most Catholics do not
know what the Church teaches about certain topics. This might be a time for us as a school,
family, and community to have a conversation about what the Catholic Church teaches regarding
these topics and what our response should be as moral agents when confronted by issues
pertaining to them. I would want us to take time and reflect on what God expects from us as a
church, a school, or a family regarding the following topics.
 Change of heart—Conversion—Metanoia

 Baptism—New life in Christ
 Racism
 Immigration
 Evangelization
 Leadership roles for women in the Church