Tuesday of the Third Week of Lent
Tuesday, March 10, 2026
Monday, March 9, 2026
Monday of the Third Week of Lent
(II Kings 5:1-5ab; Luke 4:24-30)
It may seem odd, but Jesus is speaking to us when he preaches
repentance. We know that it is a vital
message for drug dealers, Internet trawlers, and the porn industry. But we may not think that it applies to
ordinary sinners like you and me. After all,
our contempt, lustful suspicions, dismissive remarks, and slothful habits don’t
do much harm, do they?
In today’s gospel when Jesus does not perform a wonderwork
for his compatriots of Nazareth, they show no interest in his call to
reform. He tries to open their eyes with
stories of the prophets of old. Still
they pay him no heed. He warns that rejection
will cause him to reach out to others as did Elijah and Elisha. Jesus’ scenario will be realized after his death
and resurrection. Having been mostly spurned
by the Jewish nation, Jesus’ apostles will turn to Gentiles with his
message.
Hopefully, we are doing better than the Nazoreans in
listening to Jesus. Heeding his call to
reform this Lent, we look for the good in others, pray to keep our chastity, and
get on top of our work. Lent was not
meant to be easy, but the struggle will bring us closer to the One near whom we
want to be.
Sunday, March 8, 2026
THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT
(Exodus 17:3–7; Romans 5:1–2, 5–8; John 4:5–42)
Today’s Gospel highlights the encounter between Jesus and
the famous “woman at the well.” It is so important for the catechumenate that
it may be read every year on the Third Sunday of Lent. It describes a dynamic
of the spiritual life: how Jesus, the Good Shepherd, seeks out the lost sheep
in order to give her eternal life.
Jesus is alone as he waits for the Samaritan woman at the
well. He wants to speak with her about her life. When she arrives, Jesus does
not hesitate to begin the conversation. But he does not start by referring to
sin. Rather, he says, “Give me a drink.” It is a reasonable request at noon in
a dry land. For her, however, it is an unexpected remark. She is a woman, a
stranger, and from a rival nation—that is, the kind of person with whom
respectable Jews would not speak directly. Yet what concerns Jesus is not her
sociological profile but her soul.
The fact that the woman comes alone indicates her isolation.
The other women probably avoid her because she lives in sin. But she is not
unintelligent. She confidently replies to Jesus that it is not customary for a Jew to
ask something of a Samaritan woman. Then Jesus raises the level of the
conversation. He moves it from the physical to the spiritual by offering her
“living water.” He explains that living water not only satisfies thirst forever
but also brings eternal life. But she—whether because she cannot imagine the
grace symbolized by baptismal water or because she is mocking him—asks for this
water so that she will not have to return to the well each day.
Now Jesus addresses the woman’s sin. He reveals that she has
been married several times and is currently living with a man outside of
marriage. Uncomfortable speaking about her personal life, she tries to change
the subject to religion. She notes that Samaritans and Jews worship in
different places. Jesus then offers her the way to overcome these differences
and to worship God “in spirit and in truth.” This expression should be understood
as referring to the Spirit of Truth—that is, the Holy Spirit. Jesus is offering
her the Holy Spirit, who is the source of grace.
The grace of the Holy Spirit is to the spiritual life what
water is to natural life. Just as water removes toxins from the body, grace
forgives sins. Just as water carries nutrients to body members, grace enlivens
the whole body to give praise to God. And just as water regulates temperature
to sustain bodily processes, grace moderates the passions so that a person may
seek God.
When the woman says that the Messiah will bring perfect worship,
Jesus identifies himself as that Messiah. She accepts him and, like a good
disciple, she goes to tell everyone about him. She leaves her water jar behind
because she is no longer concerned about natural water, having received
supernatural water from Jesus.
All of us are like the Samaritan woman—not only because we
sin, but also because we try to satisfy our deepest desires with material
things. Yet since God has made us for himself, those desires cannot be
satisfied by BMWs, champagne, or European vacations. Our deepest desires are to
know that we are truly loved, to have the awareness of having done what is
good, and to possess the assurance of salvation. To attain all this, we need
the grace of the Holy Spirit. Grace springs forth in the waters of Baptism and
grows to help us face life’s challenges through the other sacraments. Grace
gives us eternal life, strengthens us, and directs us toward God. Do you know
of anything in life more valuable than the grace of the Holy Spirit?
Saturday, March 7, 2026
Saturday of the Second Week of Lent
(Micah 7:14-15.18-20; Luke 15:1-3.11-32)
People usually contrast the two sons in the “Parable of the
Prodigal.” One is older; the other,
younger. One leaves his father; the
other stays home. One squanders his
fortune; the other is as tight as a clam.
And so on. Perhaps readers might profitably compare the brothers’ similarities. They have the same father. They also have the same sense of
privilege. Both believe that the inheritance
is his by right, not by the father’s will.
And both spurn their father. One
leaves him as if he were dead. The other
refuses to call him “father” when he hosts a party at his son’s return. Finally, both are stymied by pride. The younger when he hesitates to return home
after spending his money. The older by refusing
to recognize his chastened brother.
In noting the similarities, we should not fail to see their
common traits in ourselves. We likely
think in terms of rights and privileges.
Many of us are not above claiming our rights and forgetting our
responsibilities to others. We too often
allow pride to blind us from doing what is right.
The turning point in the parable comes when the younger son
contemplates the lot of the pigs that he is forced to deal with. He sees that the pigs have food and that he
doesn’t. He likely notices as well how
the pigs eat in filth and fight among themselves for more pods to eat. The young man then “comes to his senses.” He remembers that on his father’s farm there
is food aplenty. He should realize also
that he is a human being, and not a pig.
As such, he should not behave like them but emulate the best of his kind. He seems to do so when he overcomes his pride
and returns to his father with a confession on his lips.
The parable ends without saying whether the elder son comes
to the same realization. As the father
offers this son a chance to repent of his anger against his brother, God offers
us an opportunity to curb our pride and selfishness during Lent.
Friday, March 6, 2026
Friday of the Second Week of Lent
(Genesis 37:3-4.12-13a.17b-28a; Matthew 21:33-43;45-46)
Today’s gospel signals a change in direction for the season
of Lent. Its “parable” is very much an allegory,
a one-for-one representation of the players in a historical event. Rather than promote Lenten discipline, the
allegory looks forward to Christ’s coming passion, resurrection, and ascension.
In the allegory the landowner is God the Father, who established
the Kingdom of Israel, represented by the vineyard. The tenants are Jewish leaders, who exploit their
positions by not leading the people to holiness. When the owner sends his servants, who are
the prophets in salvation history, the tenants mistreat and even kill them. Finally, the vineyard owner sends his only son,
that is Jesus, Son of God. The vicious
tenants kill him also in attempt to acquire the owner’s legacy. Finally, the owner takes the land from the
original tenants and gives it to others.
These are the members of the Church, the New Israel.
As members of the Church, we must not think that the rules God
establishes for the Jewish leaders do not apply to us. We too are expected to help one another (of
course, this goes double for bishops and priests) to attain holiness. We do this by encouraging prayer and upright
living among one another. We also seek
to improve the lives of those living at the margins so that they too may prosper. Finally, we reach out to the people of other faith
traditions to tell them of our Father’s love in Jesus Christ.