3rd Sunday of Lent, Year A, 08.03.2026

Exodus 17:3-7 / Romans 5:1-2, 5-8 / John 4:5-42   

To begin a conversation, the obvious thing to do is to talk. 

To talk might seem easy, because what is needed is to open our mouths and speak to the other person. 

But what if the two parties don't want to talk to each other. 

Then there is what is called “cold war”.

So, there is cold war in the family, cold war between neighbours, cold war in work-place, and maybe even cold war in the Church.

The parties involved in the cold war don’t want to talk to each other. 

But they talk to everyone else about the other. 

And obviously, the more they talk about the other, the more the resentment against the other. 

And that is also a bit like how when we don’t want to talk to each other. 

We talked to others about the other, and obviously what we say about the other are not nice or pleasant things. 

And the more we talk about the other, the greater will be the rift and the greater the resentment. 

In the gospel, Jesus and His disciples came to the Samaritan town of Sychar. 

His disciples went to buy food, and Jesus tired out by the journey, sat down by the well, tired and obviously thirsty. 

Then, a Samaritan woman came by to draw water, and Jesus asked her for a drink. 

The gospel narrative made it clear that Jews, in fact, do not associate with Samaritans. 

Between the Jews and Samaritans, there is a deep-rooted centuries-long animosity and tension. 

They would avoid contact and not talk to each other. 

So, when Jesus asked the Samaritan woman for a drink, she was surprised and probably agitated. 

She would be hesitant to continue the conversation, and besides, she also wouldn’t want to be seen talking with a Jewish man. 

But as the conversation went on, Jesus turned the request for water into an offer of living water. 

The Samaritan woman became interested in the living water that Jesus was talking about. 

And coming to the well at noon, also indicated that she didn’t want to meet anyone or talk to anyone, because there is something in her life that she wants to hide. 

As the conversation went on, she revealed her real thirst, and that is her thirst for God. 

And it is Jesus who will quench her thirst with living water, the water of God’s love. 

Today’s gospel makes us reflect and ponder about our interactions with others. 

As we come to Church, as we come to the House of God, do we greet each other as brothers and sisters in Christ? 

A polite nod, or a “hello”, would be enough to acknowledge each other’s presence.

There is this story of a woman who worked in a meat-processing factory. 

One day, after she was about to finish her work, she went into the cold storage room to carry out a routine inspection. 

Suddenly, the cold storage door accidentally shut automatically. She was locked inside and disappeared from everyone’s sight.

She shouted and banged on the door with all her strength, but no one could hear her. By then, most of the workers had already gone home from work, and no one knew that she was in the cold storage room.

Five hours later, when she was almost frozen to death, the factory security guard opened the door of the cold storage room and miraculously saved her.

Later, she asked the guard, “Why did you go to open the cold storage door? That’s not part of your job!”

The guard explained, “I’ve worked in this factory for 35 years. Every day, hundreds of workers come in and go out. Many people treat me as if I’m invisible. But you are the only one who greets me ‘good morning’ when you arrive at work and says “goodbye” to me when you leave.

“Today, after you greeted me in the morning, I didn’t see you say goodbye to me when work ended. I felt something was strange, so I decided to look around the factory. I was waiting to hear your ‘hi’ and ‘goodbye,’ because those words remind me of who I am and made me very happy. That is why I searched every corner for you.”

When we greet others, we also show our respect for them, and we are also letting them know then we care about them. 

When Jesus spoke to the Samaritan woman, He also respected her, although He knew what was going on in her life. 

In their conversation, Jesus shared with her the living water of God’s love. 

May our conversation with others also be dignified and respectful. 

And may our conversations also be like living waters that flow from the heart of Jesus into our hearts. 

May the living waters of God’s love quench our spiritual thirst, and heal that dryness and burnt-out areas of our lives.

And may our hearts be filled with the living waters of God’s love so that we will talk to those whom we have stopped talking with.

2nd Week of Lent, Saturday, 07-03-2026

Micah 7:14-15, 18-20 / Luke 15:1-3, 11-32  

As much as we know that we should live a good and upright life, very often, it is the opposite that happens.

Maybe it is out of curiosity, or just out of defiance, we venture into the wild and dark side of life.

But something keeps calling us back to the light and to what is right.

One thing is certain is that it is the prayers of our loved ones with the power of God that will bring us to our senses.

In the famous parable of the “prodigal son”, that wayward son came to his senses in the depths of his misery.

Nothing was mentioned of how he came to his senses.

Maybe it was the pain of hunger and isolation, the coldness of loneliness, or the thoughts of his home and his father.

Whatever it may be, when we reflect on the parable in the reality of our lives, we may also come to this realization.

When we turn away from the wild and dark side, and come back to light and what is right, we can be sure of this.

And that is someone, or some people, prayed for us.

And God, in His love for us, made us come to our senses.

May we also remember to pray for those who are still in the wild and dark side of life.

With our prayer, and with the power of God’s love, they will come back to the light and to what is right.

2nd Week of Lent, Friday, 06-03-2026

Genesis 37:3-4, 12-13, 17-28 / Matthew 21:33-43, 45-46   

One of the most difficult questions to answer is the question of taking lives, or plainly putting it, the question of killing.

So, what makes a person take another person’s life?

What makes a person kill another person?

It is a very difficult question to answer.

At most, it can be said that something in the human nature just snapped, and then something inhuman erupted.

In the 1st reading, the brothers of Joseph wanted to kill him.

Their jealousy was so intense that it erupted into an intention to kill their own brother.

In the gospel parable, there is also killing – the servants were killed, and even the landowner’s son was killed.

Even though it is a parable, yet it reveals the darkest side of humanity.

But, on the other hand, when we look at the Cross, we see Jesus crucified and died for us.

Actually, He was killed, but in His death, Jesus saved us.

Jesus has already shed His blood for us and died to save us.

Let us not shed any more blood, literally or figuratively.

On the Cross, Jesus taught us this great truth of life.

In the face of inhuman acts, the response is love.

Only with love, will killing and shedding of blood be stopped.

2nd Week of Lent, Thursday, 05-03-2026

Jeremiah 17:5-10 / Luke 16:19-31   

In the spectrum of the social economic status, there are those who are very very rich.

And there are those who are very very poor.

In between is the majority who are neither that rich nor that poor.

But whether rich or poor, the important thing is how does one live life?

If one becomes rich by ill-gotten gains, then it will be of no lasting value, and even lead to ruin.

If a poor person tries to make an honest living, he may not make much money but he will be respected.

That is the teaching from the Lord in the 1st reading as He says:

“A curse on the man who puts his trust in man, who relies on things of the flesh, whose heart turns from the Lord.”

But, “a blessing on the man who puts his trust in the Lord, with the Lord for his hope.”

In the gospel parable, the rich man was in eternal torment because he only wanted to enjoy life while on earth, and didn’t bother that poor beggar at the gate.

The poor Lazarus was in eternal comfort not because he was a poor beggar but because he didn’t complain or protest about his miserable state.

One of the spiritual directions of the season of Lent is almsgiving.

Let us share with the poor in whatever we can afford.

And let us also do it in secret, and God who sees all that is done in secret, will bless us.

2nd Week of Lent, Wednesday, 04-03-2026

Jeremiah 18:18-20 / Matthew 20:17-28   

There is one question that seems to have an obvious answer.

The question is: How is it that we have enemies?

The obvious answer would be that someone has done us a terrible wrong and we can’t forgive that person.

So that person is our enemy, and because the pain and the hurt is too deep, we can’t forgive that person.

In the 1st reading, the enemies of the prophet Jeremiah were plotting against him.

Although Jeremiah had done nothing wrong or harmful to them, they were offended by his call to repentance.

Jeremiah’s enemies were not taking revenge. They just wanted to get rid of a nuisance and silence the truth.

In the gospel, Jesus knew what His enemies would do to Him.

They wanted nothing less than to take His life.

But Jesus and Jeremiah taught us that in the face of adversaries and adversities, they turned to God for help and protection.

Let us not fight against our enemies, but let us pray for them.

God is the Divine Judge and He will see justice done.

Let us stand by God and He will stand by us.

2nd Week of Lent, Tuesday, 03-03-2026

Isaiah 1:10, 16-20 / Matthew 23:1-12   

The saying that “practice makes perfect” is a good motto for improvement and achievement.

It also means that consistency and perseverance will eventually bear results.

Certainly, when it comes to skills and other abilities, then constant practice will develop to perfection.

While it is a good motto to adopt in many areas of life, it needs to be understood correctly in the spiritual life.

Whether in worship or prayer or in works of charity, there is no need for perfection.

The danger of perfection can be limited to just function or achievement.

And it can lead to the erosion of devotion and even reverence.

In the 1st reading, the Lord tells His people to wash, to make themselves clean and to take their wrong-doing out of His sight.

God tells them to get the basics right, and that is to cease to do evil, to learn to do good, to search for justice, to help the oppressed, to be just to the orphan and to plead for the widow.

The people may get all the rituals right and prayers said correctly, and keep to the letter of the law.

But the reality of their lives is not connected with their worship and prayer.

We are reminded in the 1st reading, as well as in the gospel, that the spiritual life is not about external perfection or even to gain the attention of others.

Our worship and our prayer should lead us to the obedience of God’s will.

It is in obedience to God’s will that we will understand what is salvation.

2nd Week of Lent, Monday, 02-03-2026

Daniel 9:4-10 / Luke 6:36-38

The world that we live in is such a volatile world.

Humanity does not seem to want to live in peace.

Another large-scale war has broken out again.

The whole world will be affected, but the biggest tragedy is that lives are lost and there are destructions.

We, the Church, cannot just look away or worry about how badly we will be affected.

That would be the sin of omission, as we need to look at the problems of the world as our problems.

With all this happening in this holy season of Lent, the direction and the mission is clear for us.

We need to have recourse to the greatest power that we have, and that is the power of prayer together with penance.

As the prophet Daniel prayed for his people, so must we pray for peace in the world.

As Jesus taught us in the gospel, let us not judge who is at fault and who started the war.

Let us pray that God will be compassionate on the world and on us.

May our prayers be poured out for the innocent and those who are suffering from the violence and the tragedy of the war.

Let us beg for God’s mercy on the world and on ourselves.