Today’s readings and hymns are available to download below. There are different readings for the two masses. The regular Cycle B readings on page 4 are for the 9 AM Mass. The Scrutiny of the Catechumens will occur at the 11:15 AM Mass, so Cycle A readings begin on page 8.
9 AM and 11:15 AM* Masses (Palms will be available)
Reconciliation Monday
Mar. 29
4 PM to 8 PM – Sacrament of Reconciliation (in Church)
Tuesday
Mar. 30
8 AM* Mass (Online only)
Wednesday
Mar. 31
12:10 PM Weekday Mass (in Church)
Holy Thursday
Apr. 1
8 PM* Mass of the Lord’s Supper (in Church)
Good Friday
Apr. 2
3 PM* Celebration of the Passion of the Lord (in Church) 8 PM* Stations of the Cross (Online only)
Holy Saturday
Apr. 3
8 PM* Easter Vigil Mass (in Church)
Easter Sunday
Apr. 4
9 AM, 10:15 AM, 11:30 AM* Masses (Note extra Mass and change in time for last Mass)
* Will be livestreamed on Zoom and Youtube
Tickets or registration are not required to attend Holy Week services. COVID precautions are in effect – face masks are required for entry. Please follow the instructions of the ushers.
It is significant that Jesus meets the woman at the well at Noon. It is the hottest time of the day and people have returned home to get out of the sun. Yet there is this one woman. She did not oversleep but has chosen this time intentionally. As the story will reveal she is a person of what we once quaintly called “loose morals” and is shunned by her community. These noontime visits were most likely part of her daily routine and Jesus would have been a considerable annoyance to her. She did not know that it would be the beginning of a journey for her and one that you and I have either fulfilled or must do so to be a Christian.
Today’s readings and hymns are available to download below. There are different readings for the two masses. The regular Cycle B readings on page 4 are for the 9 AM Mass. The First Scrutiny of the Catechumens will occur at the 11:15 AM Mass, so Cycle A readings begin on page 8.
Woman at the Well, Carl Heinrich Bloch, c. 1865 to 1879, Chapel at Frederiksborg Palace, Copenhagen.
Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the First Reading Third Sunday of Lent (Scrutinies) Exodus 17:3-7 March 7, 2021
The Biblical readings for Sundays are divided into a 3-year cycle. This year we read from Cycle B which will be feature readings from the Gospel of St Mark. This year however we have the great good fortune of welcoming a new Christian, Makiko Habu Dixon, into the Church and our Parish though Baptism this Easter. As you will see in another section of this email or website, part of the preparation for this is a series of ceremonies called scrutinies. These use the readings from Cycle A which we read last year (the Old Testament reading for Cycle B will be read at the 9 AM Mass). This week however we will examine Exodus 17: 3-7 again as recent events may have given us all a new insight into it since we last discussed it on March 15, 2020.
Last month’s snowfall with resultant freezing temperatures and broken pipes in Texas deepened our understanding of water. We can better understand why ancient peoples were terrified by it. Note that the world was destroyed by water in the flood, but everyone needs it to survive. For desert people this could be very difficult, and it was important that they knew where it could be found. Remember the pictures we saw of Texans in modern cities waiting on long lines for potable water. Some people rose to the occasion and showed great generously, others did not; but certainly much was revealed about Texas. Even those of us thousands of miles away are now aware of much once below the surface of the Lone Star State.
Mark is a minimalist. He can tell a powerful story in very few words. In today’s three verses he will show us what Jesus will do and how we should respond. He will also hint as to why we should do it.
The wilderness is a place of revelation. God not only reveals himself to his people but they – we – reveal ourselves in return to Him. It is thus is a place of testing. The faith of the Israelites was tested for 40 days when Moses was on Mt Sinai and indeed for 40 years after their failure. The generation that left the captivity of Egypt were given the opportunity for freedom, but they rejected it and entered a long period of training in the school of the desert.
Jesus is now also tested. Mark is very clear that it is by Satan. Originally, Satan was seen as an official in the heavenly court. He tested creatures to see if they were loyal to the LORD. For Mark, however, he is the prince of daemons, invisible spirits who oppose God’s plan. Mark, of all the gospel writers, most clearly presents Jesus as confronting Satan and destroying his hold on humanity. We have already seen Jesus’ exorcisms and in several key moments in the Gospel and he will tell us very clearly how Satan was defeated. We see today the first defeat. Mark is not interested in Satan’s strategies or deceptions, only that Jesus was stronger and prevailed over him. We know that he succeeded because he escaped alive. Mark emphasizes that Jesus was with the wild beasts. They are often associated with Satan, yet Jesus is unharmed. We remember that Satan appeared to Adam and Eve in the garden as a serpent. They did not pass the test and the animals with whom they lived in peace in the garden became wild and turned against them. But always there was the promise that the LORD would bring all things back to harmony again. That Jesus lived in peace with the wild animals is the first sign of this harmony would come with what Jesus calls the Kingdom. Jesus’ ministry would be a re-creation of the world. Jesus is in the desert because the Spirit literally drove him there. This is the same spirit who appeared as a great wind at the beginning of creation. It is in the power of the spirit that re-creation begins. When Adam and Eve are cast out of the garden angels are stationed outside to keep the gates locked. Now angels are dispatched to help Jesus open them again.
