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Seen and Set Free

6/3/2026

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, March 8th, 2026:
Third Sunday of Lent

John
4.5-15, 19-26, 39a, 40-42

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, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his children and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but the one who drinks of the water that I will give will never be thirsty. The water that I will give him will become in him 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.”

“I see that you are a Prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.”

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 worshippers 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 the Messiah is coming” (who is called the 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.”

Many Samaritans from that city believed in Jesus.

So when they 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.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

It was a day like every other as the Samaritan woman travelled alone to draw water from the well. I imagine her wrestling with her thoughts on the long, hot road to get there. I envision her pausing as a strange man comes into her view just before she arrives. It’s too great a distance to turn back now. Does she remain in the heat of the sun, waiting for Him to leave? She has had some difficult and painful encounters with men in her life. And yet, water is a necessity, and she has things to get back to, so she bravely continues on.

Jesus encountered a tender and guarded heart at the well that day. The heart of a woman who was drowning in shame and longing for mercy. I know this woman. I have met her countless times throughout the course of my life. I’ve seen her in her childhood desire for autonomy, as she clumsily asserted it through one rebellious act after another. I’ve seen her on busy streets, dressed to both stand out and fit in simultaneously. I’ve seen her in my places of work, employing someone else’s persona in an effort to have her voice heard. I’ve seen her behind the pages of a book, both attempting to remain hidden and hoping to learn something about why she is the way she is. I’ve seen her on sports fields, questioning if her athleticism is too masculine, and then embracing aggression as a shield against the internal and external judgments. I’ve seen her sitting alone in a church pew, quietly wrestling with the lie that she doesn’t belong. I’ve seen her tucked up in a ball, forehead to knees, begging for healing, begging to be seen.

I see her every morning as I stare scrupulously into the mirror.

And then, Jesus comes onto the scene.

The story of the woman at the well is one where Jesus flips cultural norms on their heads: Jews don’t share with Samaritans, men don’t serve women. But Jesus, a man, asks a woman to help Him change the culture. He offers to share a drink together. He offers to serve her a drink that will quench thirsts she didn’t even know she had. He gave her a voice of authority to share the news that both Jews and Samaritans alike had been waiting to hear for generations. The voice of a woman, oppressed by the lawmakers of that time. A voice that would unify nations, ignite hope, spark joy, heal wounds, and break free the bonds of oppression because Truth Himself sent her, and then soon after, verified her word.

“If you knew the gift of God ….”

If I knew the gift of God, perhaps I would question the culture rather than His voice calling out from within me: “The water that I will give [you] will become in [you] a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” A water that cleanses shame, self-doubt, and the burden of an unforgiving heart. A constant spring of life-giving Love, from whom my identity has been reborn.

Lori MacDonald

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The One Who Sees Clearly

5/3/2026

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A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, March 8th, 2026:
Third Sunday of Lent

Romans
5.1-2, 5-8

Brothers and sisters: 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.

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Paul goes straight for the scandalous nature of God’s love in this reading when he says, “While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Not after we had begun to improve. Not after we were sorry. Not after we drafted a plan for personal reform. While we were still sinners.

I find myself returning to this passage whenever my old habit of trying to earn His incomprehensible love tries to creep back in. The words of this passage silence the inner prosecutor. If Christ died for me at my worst, then the case against me has already been interrupted by mercy.

Paul underlines how radical this is. It’s rare enough for someone to die for a righteous person. Maybe for someone truly good, someone might dare to give their life. But Christ does not wait for virtue. He dies for the confused, the proud, the self-justifying, for people who are wrong and do not even fully understand how wrong they are.

I try to give people the benefit of the doubt, mostly because I survive on it myself. The more I get to know someone, the easier it becomes to assume the best. I have had moments where someone begins apologizing, explaining what they meant, and I find myself thinking, “I know. I know you. I know what you were trying to do. We are fine.” Knowledge makes mercy easier.

And yet I feel a chill when I hear someone speak about another’s sin with certainty about their guilt. “They must have known.” How can we be sure about that? From our vantage point it might look obvious. The crowds chose a criminal and demanded an innocent man be crucified instead. Nails were driven through His hands and still He said, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” Why would He say that? Surely, they knew He was innocent? But no; according to Jesus, it is entirely possible that if they had recognized who stood before them, they would not have done what they did. Something was darkened. Something was distorted. They were blinded to the point that they called evil good and good evil.

I recognize that blindness. I have lived inside it, and I still miss the mark in all kinds of
ways I do not fully grasp.

If I, with my limited knowledge, can see how wounds and fear and ignorance tangle
together in another person, how much more does the God who formed us from dust
see clearly? He knows what is defiance and what is damage, what is willful and what
is wounded. He alone can separate those threads without crushing the person.This is
why the Church warns us against judgment. We can name an action as wrong, but
we are in no position to discern what is in the heart. There is one Judge, and He is the same
One who chose to die for us while we were still sinners.

The One who sees everything is also the One who said, “Forgive them.”

Madison Gorham

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When the Storm Meets the Rock

4/3/2026

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A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, March 8th, 2026:
Third Sunday of Lent

Psalm 95

R. O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord. Do not harden your hearts!

O come, let us sing to the Lord; let us make a joyful noise to the rock of our salvation! Let us come into his presence with thanksgiving; let us make a joyful noise to him with songs of praise!

R. O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord. Do not harden your hearts!

O come, let us worship and bow down, let us kneel before the Lord, our Maker! For he is our God, and we are the people of his pasture, and the sheep of his hand.

R. O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord. Do not harden your hearts!

O that today you would listen to his voice! Do not harden your hearts, as at Meribah, as on the day at Massah in the wilderness, when your ancestors tested me, and put me to the proof, though they had seen my work.

R. O that today you would listen to the voice of the Lord. Do not harden your hearts!

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

Psalm 95 is one of the chapters in the Book of Psalms that I have read over and over. However, today, taking my time to meditate on it brought me to another level of understanding. I often hurry to complete a chapter of Scripture rather than sit with it. Slowing down helped me to realize that I had never truly reflected on what this psalm was saying. If you are reading this today, it is not by coincidence. Perhaps God is inviting both you and me to meditate on His Word rather than rush through it.

As I read Psalm 95, I began questioning my approach to God in prayer. Do I go before Him with gratitude or only seeking answers to unresolved problems? The psalm reminds me to approach God with a joyful noise in every season, not only after prayers have been answered. This sounds easy until real storms come. I have been there. Waking to false accusations, I choose gratitude instead of a hardened heart. It is not easy to remain grateful when life feels overwhelming. Yet the psalm calls God “the Rock”: unshakeable, reliable, and constant. He does not slumber. He watches over us continually. No matter how stormy the path, I choose to go before Him with thanksgiving.

The psalm also invites us to worship and bow down, to kneel before the Lord, our Maker. This challenges me to examine whether I truly surrender everything to Him. Do I rely on my own strength, or do I humbly recognize that the One who created me can turn any situation around? Obedience matters. Scriptures show that when King David honoured God’s instructions regarding the Ark, there was blessing, but when there was disobedience, there were consequences. Reverence and obedience go hand in hand.

Psalm 95 reminds me that we are the people of His pasture, the sheep of His hand. Even when life feels blurred, God remains the Good Shepherd, guiding, correcting, and protecting. My identity is rooted in Him. Therefore, I must listen attentively to His voice through Scripture, through the Word proclaimed at Mass, and through the gentle prompting of the Holy Spirit.

Finally, the psalm warns against hardening our hearts like the Israelites in the wilderness. It is easy to complain during a difficult season and to forget how far God has brought us. One lesson I have learned is this: do not let the discomfort of today rob you of thanksgiving for what God has already done. Even storms serve a purpose. Sometimes discomfort is preparation for testimony.

Let us pray: Gracious Father, please forgive my ingratitude. Please teach me to approach You with thanksgiving, humility, and obedience. May my heart remain soft and receptive to Your voice through Christ our Lord. Amen.

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Doubt or Depend?

3/3/2026

2 Comments

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, March 8th, 2026:
Third Sunday of Lent

Exodus
17.3-7

In the wilderness the people thirsted for water; and the people 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 children of Israel quarrelled and tested the Lord, saying, “Is the Lord among us or not?”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

One beautiful thing that came out of the early days of Covid was the resourcefulness of people to create meaningful connections. This was the impetus for a sister in Christ to start a Zoom group to pray the Liturgy of the Hours. Although she cast a wide net and invited many people, it quickly became a core group of four women, praying together most weekday mornings. Although there may be only two or three of us most days, by the grace of God the same four women still gather in some form four years later.

Psalm 95 is one of the psalms that is part of the Liturgy of the Hours:

“Today, listen to the voice of the Lord:
Do not grow stubborn, as your fathers did in the wilderness,
When at Meriba and Massah they challenged me and provoked me,
Although they had seen all of my works.”

Although my sisters and I have prayed this psalm hundreds of times and I usually gloss over this part (it’s early in the morning!), I often have wondered, “Whatever the people did at Meriba and Massah to challenge and provoke the Lord, it must have been a pretty serious thing! What did the Lord do in response?’

Today’s passage from Exodus holds the answer. In short, the Israelites whom Moses had been chosen to lead through the wilderness acted like children. They wanted water, and they wanted it now! So they grumbled, they muttered, they confronted and likely fought and argued along the way. Certainly enduring the long journey without water tested them, but they began to distrust Moses and suspect that he would not be able to quench their thirst and, in turn, they doubted the power of God to provide.

God’s answer? To once again have the people witness Moses using his staff to perform miracles – this time by striking a rock at Horeb and providing water to drink. God does not chastise or punish; instead, He gives the very thing the people were crying out for. And, by His actions says, “Trust me. I know you are weary and have endured much, but you can trust me.”

Thousands of years later, His answer is the same for us: “You will have trials, you will be challenged, you will have to endure the wilderness, you will have heartache, you will long to have your soul filled by something you cannot name, you might even lose hope. Turn back to me, and I will give you everything you will ever need. Trust me.”

“I am the Living Water. Have I not shown my love for you? Have I not been a constant loving Father as you navigate the world? Do I not hold you in the palm of my hand?”

“You are my beloved daughter!”

“Trust me.”

“Trust me.”

Patty Viscount

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Seen and Set Free

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, March 8th, 2026:Third Sunday of Lent

The One Who Sees Clearly

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, March 8th, 2026:Third Sunday of Lent

When the Storm Meets the Rock

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, March 8th, 2026:Third Sunday of Lent

Doubt or Depend?

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, March 8th, 2026:Third Sunday of Lent

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A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, March 8th, 2026:
Third Sunday of Lent

A Reflection on the Second Reading for Sunday, March 8th, 2026:
Third Sunday of Lent

A Reflection on the Psalm for Sunday, March 8th, 2026:
Third Sunday of Lent

A Reflection on the First Reading for Sunday, March 8th, 2026:
Third Sunday of Lent