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Readings  The Samaritan Woman  Tradition calls the Samaritan woman at the well in John 4 “Photina,” that is, “the enlightened one.”  Her story shows a dramatic turn: a discouraged outcast receives the light of truth about Christ and immediately becomes an enthusiastic evangelist.  She finds Jesus at the well in the loneliest part of the day and he surprises her by asking for a drink, despite the cultural taboos.  He takes her experiences and questions seriously and offers her “living water.”  The pairing of this story with Moses striking the rock is ingenious. In the Exodus reading, the thirsty Israelites are in the desert and Moses cries out to God for water. God instructs him to strike the rock with his staff and water miraculously gushes forth. God says, “I will be standing there in front of you on the rock,” directing the blow to just the right spot.  By analogy, then, the woman is the rock while Christ is Moses, while yet also being God “standing there in front of you.” Jesus strikes the rock, seeking the reservoir of faith hidden, and she responds generously, even gushingly.  She runs back into her town of Sychar, telling everyone, “Come see […]

Reflection on the Transfiguration   Readings: Second Sunday of Lent | USCCB All four gospels are unique and distinct, each having its own way of portraying the life of Christ. However, in Matthew, Mark, and Luke the Transfiguration belongs to a consistent sequence: (1) Jesus makes his first prediction of his coming death, (2) he explains that his followers must “take up their cross daily” (Lk 9:23), (3) and Jesus is transfigured on a mountaintop, becoming a brilliant figure while Moses and Elijah flank him. The Transfiguration seems to play a reassuring role following the passion prediction and the message of discipleship.  Of the three accounts of the Transfiguration, why did the Church choose Luke’s account for a Lenten reading? Most likely because of the mention of the “exodus” or “departure” that Jesus “was about to accomplish at Jerusalem” (Lk 9:31). The use of this word connects Jesus’ coming death with the rescue of the slaves from Egypt, showing that Jesus’ death, too, will be a great, saving event. Also, the term evokes the forty years during which the escaped Hebrew wandered in the desert. This was a time of trial, just as Jesus’s forty days in the desert, were a […]

Readings: First Sunday of Lent | USCCB  Testing in The Wilderness  The Gospel for the first Sunday in Lent is always the account of Jesus’ time in the wilderness, this year from Luke. To understand this text, it is important to remember what comes immediately before it, i.e., Jesus’ baptism by John in the River Jordan, his experience of the Holy Spirit resting on him like a dove, and his hearing a voice from heaven declaring, “You are my son, my beloved; with you I am well pleased.” Today’s text follows this cluster of experiences, proclaiming, “Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness, where for forty days he was tested by the devil. He ate nothing at all during those days, and when they were over he was famished.”    Some details to note here: First, Jesus is filled with the Holy Spirit following his baptism; second, it is that same Spirit who leads him into the wilderness; third, his reason for being in the wilderness is to be tested (a much better translation than “tempted”); finally, the tester is the devil or diabolic one. The text suggests that […]

Ash Wednesday Readings: Ash Wednesday | USCCB Lent: A Call to Simplicity, Solidarity, and Connection Lent is a season of return—not just to prayer and reflection, but to the core of who we are called to be: people of love, justice, and solidarity. It is a time to pause, to strip away what distracts us, and to remember that our lives are deeply connected—to God, to one another, and to our brothers and sisters around the world. The prophet Joel urges us: “Return to me with your whole heart.” This is not a call to empty rituals but to a transformation of the heart—one that shapes how we live and how we show up for others. The Gospel reminds us that prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are not about what we give up but about how we make space for something greater: deeper love, stronger relationships, and a renewed commitment to the common good. Lent invites us to live more simply so that others may simply live. This is where action and solidarity come in. What does it mean to stand with our brothers and sisters—not just in thought or prayer, but in real, tangible ways? One way we do this […]