Third Sunday of Lent

The Month of March Devoted to Saint Joseph

In other years: Saint Maximilian, Martyr in Africa (d. 295); Pope Saint Innocent I (d. 417); Saint Seraphina (13th century)

Readings of the Day

Rule of Saint Benedict: Ch 34 Distribution of Goods According to Need

Mass: Ex 17:3-7; Resp Ps 95; Rm 5:1-2, 5-8; Jn 4:5-42

Come, let us bow down in worship.

MARY, QUEEN OF PEACE,

SAINT MICHAEL THE ARCHANGEL,

PRAY FOR US.

JOSEPH MOST PRUDENT,

PRAY FOR US.

We have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

(Rm 5:1)

Welcome to the Third Sunday of Lent. This holy season marches on.

In today's first reading, we have the people grumbling against Moses. It seems they were "dying" of thirst. Is that what they were dying of? And what's more, they were questioning if the Lord was in their midst, or not (see Ex 17:7). Then we have our Samaritan woman at the well. She knew the Messiah was coming, the one called the Christ. She was eager for Him to tell her everything. And there He was speaking to her! (see Jn 4:25-26). With all this news, we know that this is truly the savior of the world (see Jn 4:42). United in faith and prayer, we should have no anxiety at all ... (see Ph 4:6).

Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself.

Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.

(Mt 6:34/KJV)

Deliver us, Lord, we pray, from every evil,

graciously grant peace in our days,

that, by the help of your mercy,

we may always be free from sin

and safe from all distress,

as we await the blessed hope

and the coming of our Savior, Jesus Christ.

(Order of the Mass, Communion Rite, Lord's Prayer, Prayer of the Priest)

Today, therefore, we can ask ourselves: Do I thirst for God? Do I realize that I need His love like water to live? And then: Am I concerned about the thirst of others? May our Lady intercede for us and sustain us of the way.

(Pope Francis, Angelus Address, Third Sunday of Lent, March 12, 2023)

SAINT MAXIMILIAN,

POPE SAINT INNOCENT I,

SAINT SERAPHINA,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Let us kneel before the Lord who made us.

© Gertrude Feick 2023

Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

Year of Saint Joseph

Year of the Family "Amoris Laetitia The Joy of Love"

National Back to School Month

In other years: Saint Alphonsus Liguori, Bishop, Doctor of the Church, Patron of Confessors and Moralists (1696-1787)

Readings of the Day

RB: Ch 50 Brothers Working at a Distance or Traveling

Mass: Ex 16:2-4, 12-15; Resp Ps 78; Eph 4:17, 20-24; Jn 6:24-35

He commanded the skies above and opened the gates of heaven.

JESUS, LIGHT OF CONFESSORS,

HAVE MERCY ON US.

In today's Gospel, Jesus says: I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst (Jn 6:35). It is Jesus, Our Lord, who we turn to for all life, for everything we need to fulfill our hunger and thirst. If we look elsewhere, we find ourselves joining chorus with the Israelites who grumbled against Moses and Aaron (Ex 16:2). During this month of August, we might strive to "put away the old self of our former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires, and be renewed in spirit and put on the new self"  (Eph 4:22-24). We pray that our faith may be deepened so that we trust more fully in Jesus, who is our help and our shield. Or simply remember some words from Saint Alphonsus Liguori: He who trusts in Himself is lost. He who trusts in God can do all things.

The following quotations are attributed to Saint Alphonsus Liguori:

Christ loves a soul that is in a state of grace with an immense love; He ardently desires to unite Himself with it. This is what Holy Communion does.

We should submit our reason to the truths of faith with the humility and simplicity of a child.

He who does not give up prayer cannot possibly continue to offend God habitually. Either he will give up prayer, or he will stop sinning.

If you embrace all things in life as coming from the hands of God, and even embrace death to fulfill His holy will, assuredly you will die a saint.

We must mortify our tongue, by abstaining from words of detraction, abuse, and obscenity. An impure word spoken in jest may prove a scandal to others, and sometimes a word of double meaning, said in a witty way, does more harm than a word openly impure.

SAINT ALPHONSUS LIGUORI,

SAINT JOSEPH,

PRAY FOR US.

Today's photo: Welcome to North Carolina. Thanks, Jean.

© Gertrude Feick 2021