Well, there may be no public liturgies in the Archdiocese of Anchorage due to the COVID-19 virus, but that doesn’t mean we stop being Church! We have gone virtual! Check out the St. Pat’s livestreamed Cyber Mass at: https://www.facebook.com/stpatsak/videos/206950027285782/?comment_id=207502080563910¬if_id=1584229735882168¬if_t=video_comment
Deacon Mick gave a great homily. Click on the audio below to hear it or read his text below that…or you can do both!
During this Coronavirus “Inter-MISSION”, let us all keep one another in prayer, those who are actually suffering from the virus, and especially all who care for them. – Fr. Leo
In today’s Gospel reading,
Jesus and the Samaritan woman seem to be
talking about drinking water but
it’s about more than that.
The conversation we overhear
is not just about her but
very much about you and me as well.
In the gospel, we never learn the woman’s name,
maybe because
she really stands for all of us in some way.
She had several strikes against her.
First, she was a Samaritan
and there was deep-seated resentment
between the Jewish people and the Samaritans that
was already centuries old in Jesus’ time.
Secondly, she was a woman
and women were to be silent
in the presence of a rabbi.
Finally, she was considered in her community as a sinner.
Because of her multiple marriages,
she was probably shunned by the neighborhood which
may explain her solitary trip to the well
alone at noon time,
the hottest time of the day,
when nobody else was around.
The Samaritan woman was a person
on the margins of the society in which she lived,
butJesus reaches out to her
as he does to each of us.
Jesus knows our past as he knew hers.
What interests him now is our future.
The well was the place where people gathered.
In a sense, this building
This Church is our well.
Here we gather with other Catholic Christians
and here we too can meet the Lord.
Through the Liturgy,
the Lord speaks the truth of who we are,
what we have done with our lives
and what we can become
if we follow him.
Finally, there is the water.
We all need water.
Water is necessary for human survival.
But, Jesus knew the woman
needed something more
than drinking water in her life.
He gradually leads her
from her need of drinking water
to show her the need that she has for
a living, flowing, spiritual refreshment
which we know as grace or the Holy Spirit.
By pursuing the needs of the body,
we can forget the very real needs of our soul.
Like the Samaritan woman,
we too must face the truth about ourselves
in an encounter with Jesus Christ,
confess our sins and come to know Jesus as Savior in our life.
The season of Lent
calls us to by like Moses in the first reading
and strike open the rock that
blocks the flow of God’s grace into our lives.
Strike the rock of anger
——-to let in the peace of Christ.
Strike the rock of lust
——-to let in an appreciation of our human dignity.
Strike the rock of envy
——to let in the grace of gratitude.
Strike the rock of gluttony or addiction
——to release the grace of temperance.
Strike the rock of laziness or apathy
——to reclaim spiritual energy and enthusiasm.
Strike the rock of pride
——to unleash the grace of honesty.
Strike the rock of greed
——to uncover spiritual wealth in Christ.
My friends,
We Strike that rock through penance and confession,
And by changing the way we live.
If we don’t take the call of Lent to heart,
then we can be like someone who Is thirsty
and reads about water,
listens to talks about water,
sees beautiful posters about water,
hangs pictures at home that show water,
collects books about water,
sings songs about water,
gathers with others to hear homilies about water,
joins discussion groups about water,
hears stories about those who have found water
until finally one day,
he or she dies of thirst.
What happened?
My friends ——— he or she never drank the water.
Jesus has living water that will bring life to your life.
Please, today—— take a drink.