Third Sunday of Lent

March 27
Sunday

►1st Reading: Ex 17:3–7
In those days the people thirsted for water there and grumbled against Moses, “Why did you make us leave Egypt to have us die of thirst with our children and our cattle?”
So Moses cried to Yahweh, “What shall I do with the people? They are almost ready to stone me!” Yahweh said to Moses, “Go ahead of the people and take with you the elders of Israel. Take with you the staff with which you struck the Nile, and go. I will stand there before you on the rock at Horeb. You will strike the rock and water will flow from it and the people will drink.” Moses did this in the presence of the elders of Israel.
The place was called Massah and Meribah because of the complaints of the Israelites, who tested Yahweh saying, “Is Yahweh with us or not?”

►Ps 95:1–2, 6–7, 8–9
If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.

►2nd Reading: Romans 5:1–2, 5–8
Brothers and sisters, by faith we have received true righteousness, and we are at peace with God, through Jesus Christ, our Lord. Through him we obtain this favor in which we remain and we even boast to expect the Glory of God.
And hope does not disappoint us because the Holy Spirit has been given to us, pouring into our hearts the love of God.
Consider, moreover, the time that Christ died for us: when we were still helpless and unable to do anything. Few would accept to die for an upright person; although, for a very good person, perhaps someone would dare to die. But see how God manifested his love for us: while we were still sinners, Christ died for us.

►Gospel: Jn 4:5–16, 19–26, 39–42 (or Jn 4:5–42)
Jesus came to a Samaritan town called Sychar, near the land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well is there. Tired from his journey, Jesus sat down by the well; it was about noon. Now a Samaritan woman came to draw water and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” His disciples had just gone into town to buy some food.
The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan and a woman, for a drink?” (For Jews, in fact, have no dealings with Samaritans.) Jesus replied, “If you only knew the Gift of God! If you knew who it is that asks you for a drink, you yourself would have asked me and I would have given you living water.”
The woman answered, “Sir, you have no bucket and this well is deep; where is your living water? Are you greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well after he drank from it himself, together with his sons and his cattle?”
Jesus said to her, “Those who drink of this water will be thirsty again; but those who drink of the water that I shall give will never be thirsty; for the water that I shall give will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him, “Give me this water, that I may never be thirsty and never have to come here to draw water.” Jesus said, “Go call your husband and come back here.”
The woman then said to him, “I see you are a prophet; tell me this: Our fathers used to come to this mountain to worship God; but you Jews, do you not claim that Jerusalem is the only place to worship God?”
Jesus said to her, “Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you shall worship the Father, but that will not be on this mountain or in Jerusalem. You Samaritans worship without knowledge, while we Jews worship with knowledge, for salvation comes from the Jews. But the hour is coming and is even now here, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for that is the kind of worshippers the Father wants. God is spirit and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah, that is the Christ, is coming; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” And Jesus said, “I who am talking to you, I am he.”
In that town many Samaritans believed in him when they heard the woman who declared, “He told me everything I did.” So, when they came to him, they asked him to stay with them and Jesus stayed there two days. After that many more believed because of his own words and they said to the woman, “We no longer believe because of what you told us; for we have heard for ourselves and we know that this is the Savior of the world.”

Feast of St. Joseph

March 19
Saturday

Joseph, Husband of Mary

►1st Reading: 2 S 7:4–5, 12–14, 16
But that very night, Yahweh’s word came to Nathan, “Go and tell my servant David, this is what Yahweh says: Are you able to build a house for me to live in?
When the time comes for you to rest with your ancestors, I will raise up your son after you, the one born of you and I will make his reign secure. He shall build a house for my name and I will firmly establish his kingship forever. I will be a father to him and he shall be my son. If he does wrong, I will punish him with the rod, as men do.
Your house and your reign shall last forever before me, and your throne shall be forever firm.”

►Ps 89:2–3, 4–5, 27, 29
The son of David will live for ever.

►2nd Reading: Rom 4:13, 16–18, 22
Brothers and sisters: If God promised Abraham, or rather his descendants, that the world would belong to him, this was not because of his obeying the Law, but because he was just and a friend of God through faith.
For that reason, faith is the way and all is given by grace; and the promises of Abraham are fulfilled for all his descendants, not only for his children according to the Law, but also for all the others who have believed.
Abraham is the father of all of us, as it is written: I will make you father of many nations. He is our father in the eyes of Him who gives life to the dead, and calls into existence what does not yet exist, for this is the God in whom he believed.
Abraham believed and hoped against all expectation, thus becoming father of many nations, as he had been told: See how many will be your descendants. This was taken into account for him to attain righteousness.

►Gospel: Mt 1:16, 18–21, 24a (or Lk 2:41–51)
Jacob was the father of Joseph, the husband of Mary, and from her came Jesus who is called the Christ—the Messiah.
This is how Jesus Christ was born. Mary his mother had been given to Joseph in marriage but before they lived together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit.
Then Joseph, her husband, made plans to divorce her in all secrecy. He was an upright man, and in no way did he want to discredit her.
While he was pondering over this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife. She has conceived by the Holy Spirit, and now she will bear a son. You shall call him ‘Jesus’ for he will save his people from their sins.”
When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had told him to do and he took his wife to his home.