March 8, 2026 Third Sunday of Lent Gospel: Jn 4:5-42 The Spring of Water that Gushes to Eternal Life
We often form fixed patterns of thought according to the common sense accumulated in our lives. Just like that Samaritan woman, when she came from the well her ancestors had left her, drawing the water needed for daily life from the well, she saw Jesus sitting by the well and, having no bucket, doubt arose in her heart (Jn 4:7-12). In her view, only the well called “Jacob’s Well” in earthly life was the sole source for her to live on earth. Our understanding of the grace God bestows upon us is no different. In our eyes, when we receive Christian Baptism, the holy water poured by the priest on our heads grants us eternal life; the flame taken from the Easter candle illuminates us; the white garment put on us by our godparents obtains forgiveness of sins and gives us new life. Whenever we understand the grace God bestows upon us in such a way, we are no different from that Samaritan woman who conversed with Jesus (Jn 4:13-20), because the Samaritan woman’s knowledge of God was based on human transmission; therefore, when Jesus revealed to her the spring of water that makes one never thirst again, she still adhered to human transmission and continued to worship God on Mount Gerizim known to her ancestors. As I write this reflection, I often think of a scene I witnessed during a pastoral visit to a parish. It was a parish with an elderly majority, who were extremely devout and attended Mass almost every day. After obtaining permission from the pastor, I had an exchange with them. I asked them: Do you know what the spring of eternal life is? They said: The baptismal font is that spring of eternal life. Then I asked them: Where does the water in this baptismal font come from? They said: Our pastor draws it from the tap. I thought, perhaps this is the Samaritan woman mentioned in the Gospel. Today, we receive Christ’s Baptism in the baptismal font, and the water used for Baptism originates from the Sacred Side of Jesus Christ. Just as humanity sinned through the rib of the first Adam, so through the rib of the second Adam, we are reconciled with God, and by God’s mercy, all our sins are completely washed away. As I mentioned in my reflection on the Gospel at the Mass of Divine Mercy Sunday in 2023: Each of us receives the same Baptism of Christ as those brothers and sisters who joined the Church by receiving Christ’s Baptism on the evening of Holy Saturday. In the Sacrament of Baptism, the water poured by the priest on our foreheads is the spring flowing from the Sacred Side of Jesus, pierced on the Cross out of love for us. We are thus cleansed of original sin in the fountain of His grace, and through the Baptism received, we are united with His death, die with Him, and are buried with Him, so that we may begin a new life in Him through resurrection similar to His (cf. Rom 6:1-10). Thus, we are reborn in the Sacred Side of Christ. Whenever we join with all brothers and sisters who have received the Sacraments of Baptism and Confirmation to participate in the Holy Eucharist, celebrated in memory of the Savior’s Passion, Holy Death, and Resurrection, in the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass, the merciful Christ continues to reveal to us the truth about the Kingdom of Heaven through His faithful servants. Today, I want to say: The merciful Christ reveals to us that the truth about the Kingdom of Heaven is a Kingdom full of fraternal love, where there are no authorities or rulers anymore, only the loving God and those loved by God. All are cleansed from Jesus Christ—the spring of living water that makes one never thirst again—and together receive the Most Holy Body of Our Lord Jesus Christ, which is the bread of angels that makes one never hungry again.
O God, author of every mercy and of all goodness, who in fasting, prayer and almsgiving have shown us a remedy for sin, look graciously on this confession of our lowliness, that we, who are bowed down by our conscience, may always be lifted up by your mercy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever
March 7, 2026 Saturday of the Second Week of Lent Or Optional Memorial of Saints Perpetua and Felicity, Martyrs Gospel: Gospel: Luke 15:1-3, 11-32
Today is the Second Week of Lent, Saturday, and also the Optional Memorial of the martyrs St. Felicity and St. Perpetua. The hagiography tells us they were martyrs of the 3rd century A.D. St. Perpetua, a noblewoman of good education, was martyred at age 22 while nursing an infant son. St. Felicity, who was arrested alongside her, was pregnant at the time of her arrest. The early Church historian St. Eusebius of Caesarea informs us that these two martyrs gave their lives for the Lord around A.D. 203. Today’s Gospel from St. Luke recounts Jesus’ Parable of the Prodigal Son. This parable speaks profoundly to our present lives. We often witness in daily life children whose parents are still living requesting their share of the inheritance. Like the younger son in today’s parable (Luke 15:11-12), once they receive their portion, they squander it recklessly, heedless that all they possess will eventually be exhausted by their wastefulness. When faced with such destitution, they, like that younger son, forget their dignity and choose a degrading life to survive (cf. Luke 15:13-16). Only when they realize this cannot sustain them in the world do they understand how blessed they were to have parents who cared for them. As I write this reflection, I often think of a scene I witnessed in my parish: brothers and sisters whose consciences trouble them, who come to participate in Mass yet refuse to receive Holy Communion. They believe the Heavenly Father is just and will severely punish them for their sins. Thus, they dare not come before the throne of God to receive Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, nor even seek reconciliation with Him through the Sacrament of Reconciliation. I wish to take this opportunity to speak to those brothers and sisters who dare not come to parish Mass, dare not receive Holy Communion, or dare not approach the Sacrament of Reconciliation: In today’s Gospel, that compassionate father is our Heavenly Father. As St. John says, “For God so loved the world that He gave His only Son, so that everyone who believes in Him might not perish but might have eternal life. For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through Him” (John 3:16-17). He is not the harsh God described by the Pharisees, nor the God who loves sacrifices alone as the Sadducees claimed, but a Heavenly Father who actively loves us and actively forgives us. I also wish to address those brothers and sisters who regularly go to confession, and indeed all of you: After seeking reconciliation with the Heavenly Father through the Sacrament of Reconciliation, we must resolve to renounce sin, renounce the devil, renounce all his works and all the temptations he offers us, and live the spirit of the Gospel daily. Let us not be like the elder son in Jesus’ parable, who grew jealous of brothers and sisters sincerely seeking reconciliation with God and receiving His mercy (cf. Luke 15:25-30). Instead, let us sit together at the Eucharistic table, sharing the cup, so we may more abundantly share in the salvation Christ brings us.
O God, who grant us by glorious healing remedies while still on earth to be partakers of the things of heaven, guide us, we pray, through this present life and bring us to that light in which you dwell. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
March 6, 2026 Friday of the Second Week of Lent Gospel: Mt 21:33-43, 45-56 Despising Worldly Things, Yearning for the Heavenly Homeland
Today is Friday of the Second Week of Lent. Through the Gospel of Saint Matthew, Jesus tells us a parable of a landowner and his tenants. In life, we often resemble those tenants, attaching great importance to all we currently possess. The root cause lies in sin itself. Because of sin, we frequently fall into various anxieties, so we strive to hold on to everything we have now—for in our eyes, the more we hoard, the safer we feel. Yet we forget: all we possess today, even ourselves, were created by God in His image. At the beginning of creation, God made man in His likeness, to have dominion over all things on earth. Our faith life is no different. When we are deeply ensnared by the temptations of the devil and its messengers, we harden our hearts like those tenants, refusing to accept the shepherds sent by the Lord to proclaim the Gospel of the Kingdom to us, and all the words that proceed from their mouths by God (Mt 21:34-39). All kinds of evil thoughts arising from our hearts gradually distance us from God; evil thoughts born from within lead us to commit such vices as murder, adultery, fornication, theft, false witness, and slander (Mt 15:19-20). The result of all these evil thoughts is eternal perdition. Lent is a time that urges us to find ourselves anew, renew ourselves, re-receive the teachings of the Savior, rediscover the unique vocation God has given us, set out again, and live the spirit of the Gospel in daily life. This spirit of the Gospel is no longer the one taught by the Pharisees or the Sadducees, but the one personally taught by the merciful Lord Jesus Christ. This Gospel is love—love conquers sin, love restores us to once again possess the freedom of being children of God. Love enables us to always centre our daily lives on the Word of God and in all places, makes us more like God, and allows those who live with us day and night to see the true face of God through our complete transformation. In this way, we build the Kingdom of God in this changing world.
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, purifying us by the sacred practice of penance, you may lead us in sincerity of heart to attain the holy things to come. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
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