A new pastor was out visiting his parishioners one Saturday afternoon. All went well until he came to one house. Although it was obvious someone was home, no one came to the door, even after he had knocked several times. Finally, he pulled out his card, wrote, “Revelation 3:20” on the back and stuck it in the door. The next day, as he was counting the offerings, he found his card in the collection plate. Below his message was the notation “Genesis 3:10.” Revelation 3:20 reads: “Behold I stand at the door, and knock; if any may hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will dine with him, and he with me.” Genesis 3:10 reads: “And he said, I heard thy voice in the garden, and I was afraid, because I was naked.”

During this Lenten season it is our Lord who comes knocking at the door and it is our sin that isolates us from God and one another. Through the sin of Adam and Eve humankind cast themselves out of the garden of Divine love into the desert of isolation. The promise of Abraham was to lead them into a new land of prosperity filled with milk and honey. Moses would lead them out of captivity in Egypt and through the desert for forty years. In today’s first reading the people of Israel are grumbling in the desert, testing our Lord, crying out for water at Massah and Meribah.

Water will come from a rock in the desert; the people will be physically quenched of their thirst, but they will not be satisfied. The promise of Abraham and the true living water will not quench the thirst of the people of God until the coming of our Lord and even then, he will be knocking at the door and many will still be hiding in their sinfulness.

That is where we find today’s Gospel, one of the most beautiful dialogues in scripture. Jesus encounters a woman at the well in Samaria during the heat of the day. The first hint that there is a problem is that the woman is at the well in the afternoon and not in the morning with the other woman. She has either isolated herself from the community or has been isolated by them. Next, she is a Samaritan, hence an enemy of the Jews. Jesus will recognize her sinfulness noting that she has had five husbands and the one that she was living with was not her husband. This was not only a condemnation of her individually, but also an indictment of the corrupted religion of the Samaritans: personally recognizing that the people of Samaria were corrupt Jews who during the conquest of Palestine by Babylon they adopted five of their gods and the current religion that they were practicing was not pure Judaism. Yet, Jesus had come to Jacob’s well to allow her and all humanity to drink in the life- giving water of God’s Grace.

In the dialogue with the woman Jesus will prove to the woman that He is more than a Jew (John 4:9); that he is not just a great man like Jacob (4:12); that He is more than a prophet (4:19). Jesus is the Messiah and Savior of the world (4:29, 42). After His encounter with her the woman will leave her jar at the well because her thirst has been quenched, she drank from the living water of Christ’s forgiveness. She returns to the community that she had been isolated from and through her new found joy invites them to share in the loving forgiveness of God’s grace.

The Apostles are still only concerned with earthly food and drink. They are not with Jesus during this exchange because they went to the town to buy food, and when they return they do not understand why Jesus is talking to this woman and why he will not eat with them. They still are unready to receive the fullness of God’s grace.

This year, during Cycle A, this reading is used at all of the Masses throughout the world, however, this reading, and the readings for Cycle A are used for the next three weeks every year for those who are preparing to receive the Sacraments of Initiation at the Easter Vigil. Next Sunday is the Story of the Man born blind and the final Sunday of Lent before Palm Sunday is the story of the Raising of Lazarus. All of these encounters with Christ speak of grace and conversion.

Unfortunately we often are like the disciples, more concerned with the things of the world than with the life- giving water and bread of life that will truly nourish and sustain us. Even though we are in the Third week of Lent, the lines are still empty at the confessional and the church will not be filled to its capacity until Easter. This is not a time to be discovered in the nakedness of our sin, but to robe ourselves with the grace of Christ.

On Friday April 1st at 6pm, I will be part of a fundraiser for Joe Buscaino for Honorary Mayor of San Pedro. I will be making my famous  vegetarian chili and we will be having a salmon dinner as well as many appetizers. The proceeds for the dinner will benefit our local charities here in San Pedro. Joe is a very dedicated parishioner of Mary Star so I am glad to be part of this event.

Please place on your calendar our Annual Parish Lenten Mission. Fr. John Paul Forte, O.P. will be speaking on Forgiveness and Reconciliation on Thursday April 14, Friday 15 and Saturday 16 at 7:00 P.M. I invited Fr. John Paul because first of all I know he is an  excellent speaker; second, he is a friend from High School and college. I know you will love his presentations. He will also give a short talk following the morning mass on April 15 and Saturday April 16.

We are placing envelopes for The Msgr. Patrick Gallagher Scholarship in the pews beginning this Sunday. The last few years we were able to assist directly a number of students from our parish through this scholarship. We are approaching the Anniversary of Msgr. Gallagher' s death (April 4) and I think this is a great way for us to continue to honor his dedication to our Catholic Schools.

God Bless,

Rev John F. Provenza

Pastor