Study:  Reflect on a time when you felt a deep emptiness in your soul.  Where did you find relief?

Pray:  Is there a longing in your heart right now?  Ask the Lord to touch your life with his grace.

Serve:  Many people are struggling, sometimes lost in destructive distractions; how can you help them?

Mass Readings – 3rd Sunday of Lent

As we enter into the heart of Lent, we encounter two readings that speak of a fundamental human need: to satisfy our thirst.  We have all known moments of thirst, accompanied by the profound satisfaction of a cool drink of water.  The relief is tangible, and the sensation reveals in a direct way how our bodily needs can be fulfilled.

In the first reading the people are grumbling to Moses in their thirst for water.  A miracle is performed by the power of God, and the people once again witness the Lord’s presence in their lives.

In the Gospel of John, Jesus is standing by a well and strikes up a conversation with a Samaritan woman.  Here, however, there is more than just physical thirst; the Lord speaks to her heart and satisfies a deep longing for spiritual life.  In turn, she goes back to the villagers and brings them to Jesus…so that their spiritual thirst might be quenched as well.

Today we reflect on the reality of physical thirst to help us understand the longing in our souls.  What’s missing in our lives?  Do we have an ache, an emptiness that longs to be fulfilled?

There are many temptations and distractions in the world that promise fulfillment: drugs, alcohol, sex, money, power, fame, beauty…but all of these ultimately leave us empty.  They are pleasing for a moment, but we long for something lasting.

Jesus Christ is the answer.  The Lord comes to us in our need, knows our sins, and invites us to draw into his grace.  Christ speaks to the deepest longings in our hearts and offers the love, joy and peace that reign supreme in the halls of Heaven.

May we draw close to the Lord today in our need, trusting in his compassion and mercy to quench our spiritual thirst!

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