19 March 2017
3rd Sunday of Lent

Exodus 17: 3-7
Psalm 94: 1-2, 6-9
Romans 5: 1-2, 5-8
The Gospel of John 4: 5-42

Jesus came to the Samaritan town called  Sychar, near  the  land  that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well is there and Jesus, tired by the journey, sat straight down by the well. It was about the sixth hour When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink’. His disciples had gone into the town to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘What? You are a Jew and you ask me, a Samaritan, for a drink?’ – Jews, in fact, do not associate with Samaritans.

Jesus replied: If you only knew what God is offering and who it is that is saying to you: Give me a drink, you would have been the one to ask, and he would have given you living water’.

‘You have no bucket, sir,’ she answered ‘and the well is deep: how could you get this living water? Are you a greater man than our father Jacob who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his sons and his cattle?’

Jesus replied: ‘Whoever drinks this water will get thirsty again; but anyone who drinks the water that I shall give will never be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will turn into a spring inside him, welling up to eternal life’.

‘Sir,’ said the woman ‘give me some of that water, so that I may never get thirsty and never have to come here again to draw water.’ ‘I see you are a prophet, sir’ said the woman. ‘Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, while you say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.’ Jesus said: ‘Believe me, woman, 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 do know: for salvation comes from the Jews. But the hour will come – in fact it is here already – when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: that is the kind of worshipper the Father wants. God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth.’ The woman said to him, ‘I know that Messiah – that is, Christ – is coming; and when he comes he will tell us everything’. ‘I who am speaking to you,’ said Jesus ‘I am he.’

Many Samaritans of that town had believed in him on the strength of the woman’s testimony when she said, ‘He told me all I have ever done’, so, when the Samaritans came up to him, they begged him to stay with them. He stayed for two days, and when he spoke to them many more came to believe; and they said to the woman, ‘Now we no longer believe because of what you told us; we have heard him ourselves and we know that he really is the saviour of the world’.

The Action of the Spirit

In Scripture the grace of the Holy Spirit is sometimes called fire, sometimes water, which shows that these words are expressive not of its substance but of its action. The metaphor of fire conveys the lively and sin-consuming property of grace; that of water the cleansing of the Spirit, and the refreshing of the souls who receive Him.
St. John Chrysostom, In Ioannem

Saints of the week
Mon 20 Saint Joseph, husband of the Blessed Virgin Mary Solemnity
Thu 23 Saint Turibius of Mongrovejo, Bishop
Sat 25 Solemnity of the Annunciation of the Lord

Next Sunday’s readings
1 Samuel 16:1.6-7.10-13
Psalms 22
Ephesians 5:8-14
John 9:1-41

Psalter week III

The Annunciation and the Religious of the IVE

On the Solemnity of the Annunciation, the Church celebrates the most important event in history: The Incarnation of the eternal Word of God, when the Son became flesh in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary and dwelt among us. It is from this mystery that the Institute of the Incarnate Word (IVE), draw their spirituality, this is the religious family to which Fr. Carlos and Fr. Fernando belong.

The Charism of the Order: To work concretely so as to extend the presence of Christ in all the legitimate manifestations of human life such as families, education, mass media, etc. We want every person to be like another Incarnation of the Word, thus fulfilling the call to be missionaries consecrated to Jesus through Mary.

NEWS

Fridays during Lent: Mass 11:30am, Stations of the Cross 12pm

The Way of the Cross: St. Paul’s Parish Passion of the Lord, 9 Apr.

Hot Pot Supper: Fri 31 March, 7pm at the T Junction Restaurant. To help Hospice. Live entertainment, vegetarian options. €15 (limited seats). Sponsored by Fitzgerald’s Marketing. Call Linda 99562387

For Sick Calls at home or the hospital, please call Fr. Carlos, Fr. Fernando or Fr. Jim. Numbers in the back of Newsletter.

CARITAS PAPHOS: We need nοn-perishable food to help the poor in the Paphos area. Prayers and Donations are always welcomed.

Archangel Michael Hospice: Volunteers needed in the areas of reception, nursing assistants and cafeteria. Contact Mona 99 494140.

Daylight saving time 2017 Cyprus: Don’t forget to set your clocks forward one hour on Sun 26 March.

Mass Times HERE