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WORD FOR MISSION Every week EUNTES.NET
offers
to lay, religious people and priests an itinerary of reflections on the
Sunday Liturgy in a missionary prespective. These are elements for a
missionary meditation, individual or in community, on the Word of God ,
which constantly and surprisingly continues to enlighten, strengthen
and sustain the missionary journey of the Church, for the life of the
World
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The
Samaritan Woman:  III
Sunday in Lent Exodus
17:3-7
The One who asks for water to drink (v. 7) is the One who will give himself as the water that will quench the thirst of the woman and of all nations: the Messiah – “I who am speaking to you, I am he”. (v.26). It is the supreme revelation of the identity of Jesus. And it is made to the ironic (v. 9) woman of doubtful reputation because of her relationships, who becomes an enthusiastic messenger of the good news of the Messiah: “Come and see...” (v. 29); and turns many of the Samaritans of the town into believers, who make Him stay for two days and recognise Him as the “Saviour of the World ” (v. 42).
The disciples have to learn to read the signs of the Kingdom that are already flourishing: “Look around you, look at the fields; already they are white, ready for harvest” (v. 35). These words of the Master bring to mind the words about the abundant harvest, in which the labourers are few; so that it is imperative to pray to the Lord of the harvest to send labourers into His harvest (cf. Mt 9:37-38). The missionary has to have the eyes and the heart to act upon those signs, because the Spirit has been at work for a long time, as Paul tells us in the second Reading. Because Christ died for us, and “the love of God has been poured into our hearts by the Holy Spirit” (v. 5). He is present and works in all peoples, even before the arrival of missionaries (v. 36-38); and he transforms peoples’ hearts, even where it is least expected.
Jesus brings in the topic of the gift of Faith and of the living water with the words: “If only you knew what God is offering...” (v. 10), leading on to mission; that is, to the diffusion of that divine gift. Jesus himself is the supreme gift of the Father and, as such, presents himself as a gift for the whole human family. A gift to understand, welcome, keep and share. That is the full missionary compass of the gift of faith in the Lord Jesus, a special reason for giving thanks and for renewing our missionary commitment. Indeed, faith urges on to mission; mission in turn strengthens faith.
Today, as in the past (1st Reading) the people are tired and thirsty, and call for water. They have the right! (v. 3). Before the spiritual water of the Faith and of the Spirit, humanity is always aware of the importance of real water to sustain human life and the planet. Because of meteorological imbalances, with consequent irregularity of rain, reduction of water supplies, increase in desertification, etc., experts in geopolitics foresee trouble in the next decades: the question of water will lead to increasingly serious conflicts all over the world. The problem will affect both rich and poor countries. The lack of drinking water brings the worst consequences to the poorest countries, with tragic effects on health and life. For instance, in Mozambique only 17% of the population has access to clean water; infant mortality is 126 per 1000; life expectancy is 47 for men, 51 for women. These are part of the problems that affect the life and activity of missionaries in many parts of the world, where people suffer hunger and thirst. They thirst for God, it is true: but also for justice, food and water. Many initiatives started or influenced by missionaries need to be supported in the name of the Gospel! (*)
Benedict XVI Speech to the Diplomatic Corps to the Holy See, 7.1.2008, n. 12
In
the steps of Missionaries - 25/2: St. Walburga (710-779) English in origin and sister of Sts. Willibald and Winebald. She was part of a group of monks and nuns who helped St. Boniface to evangelise Germany. - 25/2: Bl. Sebastiano Aparicio (+1600). He went from Spain to Mexico, from husband to widower, from rich to poor Francican lay-brother. He died in Puebla, in Mexico, almost 100 years old. - 25/2: Saints. Louis Versiglia, Bishop, and Fr. Callisto Caravario, Salesian martyrs killed in the Chinese province of Guandong in 1930. - 26/2/1885: An important date for the history of Colonialmism in Africa and for the Missions. It marked the end of the Berlin Conference (1884-1885) at which the European powers divided the continent of Africa among themselves. -27/2: Bl. Carità (M.G. Carolina) Brader (1860-1943), a Swiss nun, who was a missionary in Ecuador and Colombia and foundress. She combined the contemplative and the missionary life. - 28/2: St. Auguste Chapdelaine, of the Parisian Society for Overseas Missions, martyred in 1856 at Xilinxian, Guangxi Province - 1/3: The birth of CLAR (1959), the Latin-American Confederation of Religious, with HQ at Bogotà (Colombia): a truly meritorious institution for its work in supporting, organising and inculturating the Consecrated Life.
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++ Translated by Fr. J.M. Troy, mccj Website:
www.euntes.net “The Word
for Mission”
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