From the Pastor's Desk: March 15, 2020

From the Pastor’s Desk:                                                                                                                   
March 15, 2020
 
     The Third Sunday of Lent takes us to the heart of the season of Lent. In our encounter with Him at the Liturgy of the Word, Jesus challenges us “to know the gift of God” – the life-giving water. In the Gospel, the Samaritan woman reveals to us that the living-water   is Christ Himself, “Love of God, poured out into our hearts.”  Pope Emeritus Benedict said that Jesus’ words to the Samaritan woman, “Give me a drink“, “expresses the passion of God for every man and woman.” Jesus wants to give us this living water, this life-giving flesh and blood, but His Will is not enough. He placed a condition on His own omnipotence; He won’t force us to drink of that water. Paraphrasing the old cowboy aphorism, we can say, “Jesus will lead us to water, but He won’t make us drink.” He wants us freely to ask for it, to truly desire it. We are reminded that Jesus “wishes to awaken in our hearts the desire for the gift of a spring of water within, welling up for eternal life,” for the water given by the Son that alone “can irrigate the deserts of our restless and unsatisfied soul until it ‘finds rest in God.” It alone is the water that “extinguishes every thirst.”
   
   “Many of us will readily admit that we don’t really thirst for God like we ought to, like a man in the desert would. Rather than having hearts out of which “flow rivers of living water,” our hearts are hardened, stubborn, and lifeless. But the same God who had Moses strike the rock and bring forth water in the desert can strike our stony hearts and bring forth living water. But we need to ask him to do it. Our spiritual life is like a family that gets a company to come drill a well in their yard. Often they need to burrow through layers of rock and various geological formations to tap that underground stream or aquifer. But that’s only the beginning. They then need to keep that well free of leaves, free of debris, free of various contaminants. Then they need to pipe that water into their house, then they need to use the water to give life to their daily activities. It’s the same way with our souls. We need to ask God to drill the well. He’ll need to get below the surface or superficial layers of our life, to burrow through the various rocky strata, to go deep, to tap that source of living water.” (-Fr. Roger Landry)

     When we drink the water, we come face-to-face with the Lord, our Savior.  We admit the truth of our own lives, we run to proclaim Jesus’ presence and message to all who will hear. It is His living water that satisfies beyond mere human thirst and leads us towards transformation and new life in the movement of our Lenten journey.

     This week on Friday, March 19 ^th,  we celebrate the Solemnity of Saint Joseph, Spouse
of the Blessed Virgin Mary,  "Lover of poverty, model of workers, patron of the dying, protector of the church.”  These are but a few of the titles used to honor Saint Joseph.
His example leads us to pray that God may protect the Church through his intercessions as God's "good and faithful servant."  Joseph inspires us with his silence, unquestioning attention to God's Will, a trait that places him among the righteous of Israel.

     With the Third Sunday of Lent we also begin the process of Scrutinies for the Elect in the RCIA process as the final steps in their journey to the Easter sacraments. Scrutinies are meant to "inspire in the Elect a desire for purification and redemption," and instruct them about the mystery of sin and our salvation in Christ. The Scrutinies focus on self-searching and repentance, to uncover areas of sinfulness and strengthen what is good. We pray for all our Elect, that the final weeks of preparation for the Easter Vigil will be a time filled with God’s grace, peace, and support of the entire community of St. Luke Parish.

     I want to express words of profound gratitude to everyone who responded to support the Bishop’s Annual Stewardship Appeal this year.  Your witness of sacrificial giving and prayerful offering to support our family of the Diocese of St. Augustine is such a profound expression of the life of stewardship that we embraced and live by every moment of our lives. I also want to thank in a special way the Stewardship Committee for their assistance to present the successful appeal in our parish.  Thank you!

     I pray that we will find new ways to experience a fruitful and transforming season of Lent. May the life-giving water of God satisfy the thirst of your hearts this week and always! 
 
With prayers,
Fr. Andy