We are getting together at the Mandarin restaurant, Wednesday,6pm June26th,2019,before we break for the summer

We are getting together at the Mandarin restaurant, Wednesday,6pm  June26th,2019,before we break for the summer 

Quest resumes Wednesday, April 24th at 7pm in the Church Library

Quest resumes Wednesday, April 24th at 7pm to about 8:30 pm in the Church Library,ALL ARE WELCOME.Quest is cancelled April 10 for a Parish reconciliation and April 17 for HOLY WEEK.

There is Quest this Wednesday, March 27 at 7pm

There is Quest this Wednesday, March 27 at 7pm to about 8:30 pm in the Church Library,ALL ARE WELCOME























questQuest

QUEST Cancelled tonight Feb 27th, 2019 resumes next Wednesday March 6th at 6 pm

Our Dear Family of Christ,

It looks as though God is sending us more snow and cold weather today. Snow and rain are signs of New Life! We have to nurture the seed of God's Word (Love) with this snow and rain to break our hearts of stone. God will then give us a heart of flesh. 

So, may I suggest we stay home tonight and read the Word of God and discuss over email (each one send a brief summary of what God spoke to them today through His 'Word of Love')?? Those who cannot, please do not feel bad. Write it down and share with us when we meet next.  Those who can, please share away through emails! Any other suggestions welcome...

Love you all 

Stay warm and safe and reflect in silence!!! (perfect opportunity).

Your sister in Christ,

Hilda

QUEST Cancelled Wednesday 20th February,2019, resumes next Wednesday February 27th

Dear Quest Family,

It is very hard for me to decide whether to cancel Quest again tonight! I don't know what God is telling us.  Any thoughts???

Ash Wednesday is fast approaching and we will lose another Wednesday on March 6th.

I will say it is cancelled and wait to hear from you.

I am truly sorry for the three successive cancellations.
Your sister in Christ,
Hilda

QUEST Meeting Cancelled Feb 13th,2019, resumes Feb 20th.

Hilda Thomas	3:27 PM (14 minutes ago)
to Charlene, Dennis, Fr, Hilda, Jim, me, Ken, Linda, Linda, Margit, marie, Nancy, Nancy, Reverend, Shelia, Teresa, Tom, Vicky

Dear Quest Family,

I ventured out for a little bit. It is not that cold but quite messy, slushy out. With the safety of everyone in mind, I decided to cancel tonight. I had two other programs during the day today and they were both cancelled. Stay warm and stay dry. We'll be connected in our Readings tonight.

Please let me know you saw this so we can call others who did not see.

Peace,

Hilda

Vicky Chen	10:18 AM (20 minutes ago)
to Charlene, Dennis, HildaThomas, Fr, Jim, Ken, Nancy, Linda, Margit, Linda, Martin, Mrs, Tom, Mrs, Sheila&George, Teresa, me

Dear friends,

    This freezing rain, icy condition will continue through the evening till tomorrow morning...........  Dennis and I have decided we will cancel the meeting this evening.

    Some of you have expressed concern about my proposed approach to cultivate better listening to the Word. As a late comer to this group, I have no idea that the primary purpose of this meeting is supposed to be for Bible Study. However, the two is not mutually exclusive. What I have proposed have two effects on myself - 1. I really want to read the readings before the meeting - umm, now I can relate to the psyche of Adam and Eve. 2. As a facilitator (or what you refer to as a leader), getting into a meeting like this is like jumping into the sea walking towards Christ. Well, I see the temptation of trusting in my own ability and my resources at hand - than truly giving the Holy Spirit a chance to work on a relatively blank canvas. 

    We can still go through this exercise on our own at home. I would suggest skipping the introduction first so that you are not affected by someone else' reflection. Go through each reading very slowly, more than once or twice if necessary. See if there is any message or word that hit you. If not, be gentle on yourself, go to the next reading. If there is something that you particularly feel drawn to at this point in time, pause prayerfully (i.e. just be aware that Jesus is next to you) and search honestly - "Why does this hit me?" Listen to your heart. It often has something to do with our past or very recent experience. Whatever it is, how will this realization affect my future action?? Thank your Friend for the discovery. Please do not skip reading the psalm. After all the readings, feel free to read the introduction and see the interpretation of the author regarding the readings. If nothing seems to come to you, give thanks. Sometimes it feels like Jesus has fallen asleep in the storm. :-)  Finally, if you like, open you big study Bible and look through the foot notes or side reference - or some other resources.

    Stay safe. Tread carefully on the ice if you have to go out.

    By the way, that free little booklet of Fr. Scott Lewis is excellent, compact and easy to understand but sprinkled with reference to the Hebrew Text. It takes an experienced teacher to sum up and present something profound in a simple fashion. 

    I tried to type out Ken's prayers for the group but something else came to me..................so here they are if you wish to use them.

In Communion,

Vicky

Quest Meeting Feb 6 2019 

Opening Prayer – Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of those gathered here. Kindle in us the fire of your divine wisdom, knowledge and love. Help us appreciate that the Scriptures, in addition to Sacraments and teachings of our Church, are always part of our lives. Open our minds and hearts as we listen, ponder and share your words. Lead us to discover your great love for us through the Bible. Amen.

Closing Prayer – Lord, we are grateful for your presence among us this evening. Be with us as we strive to listen to you more clearly, love you more dearly and follow you more nearly. Help us to love as you love and to spread your Good News by our lives to those we meet along this earthly journey. Amen.

  

On Mon, Feb 4, 2019 at 9:06 AM Vicky Chen <siuming.chen@gmail.com> wrote:

Dear friends,

   I am wondering whether our group would like to try this out for the upcoming meeting this Wednesday evening.

   Bishop Crosby has invited us to pay special attention to listen to the Scripture this year. Fr. Martin's quotation from the song 'Sound of Silence' also stays with me. "People talking without speaking; hearing without listening." 

   Hearing is a biological function but listening is a choice of will, just as sight is different from seeing. How can we listen better? Personally I know if I have a preconceived idea or some preoccupation, a second 'conversation' will be bubbling up inside me as someone else is speaking. How can I 'hollow' my mind to listen better?

   Well, this is what I would like to try - I am not going to bring any reference material, I will not even read around the topic ahead of Wednesday. Being a layperson - this is a freedom that I can enjoy. I have never come to any of the meetings intending to teach some points. Each of us will listen and perceive differently because of our personal experience...... We can come to the meeting almost empty-handed. (And yes, we will use Ken's prayers.)  This is why I didn't want to be the leader, but only a facilitator - so that we can find God together as a group. 

   Now this is only an invitation, a one-time experiment. I don't even know if it will work. Do whatever you feel more comfortable. Let's try to listen better.

Gratefully,

Vicky

Hilda is back !! Safe and Sound ! With her feedback on Vicky's request

Dear Quest Family,

I am glad to be home. I had a wonderful, satisfying and relaxed visit with loving family and friends throughout. Everyone is well there and so was I through all the travels.

I had my iPhone but did not take my laptop along. So I only checked email sometimes. On returning I checked my emails mostly and was happy and content to know how well you have run the program in my absence. I had no doubt about that. Braving the storm is so admirable and God is always with you. Hats off to you all under the guidance and facilitation of Vicky, Ken, Dennis and Tom, George, Margit and the rest of the important family.

I like the idea of attending Quest unprepared and not reading the introduction to start with and then discussing spontaneously. It involves listening, contemplating and stimulating your brain spiritually and to share our understanding. I am willing to try it next week, 13th Feb and we can see how everyone likes it and proceed from there. I hope everyone will be open to new ways of thinking and learning. We still will do Bible Study. Changes break monotony and help form new neural pathways eliminating repetitions and mundaneness. I am willing to try it. Thanks for the suggestion Vicky! We will give it a try this one week and see how it goes. We will never know if we don't try.

Your Mother Mary's protege (trying to be)

Hilda 

Hilda Thomas	11:12 AM (46 minutes ago)
to Charlene, Dennis, Fr, Hilda, Jim, me, Ken, Linda, Linda, Margit, marie, Nancy, Nancy, Reverend, Shelia, Teresa, Tom, Vicky

Dear Quest Family,

Have a joyous and love filled Christmas Season. We will resume Quest for the new year on January 9th. I will be there for that meeting. 

I leave for India on Jan 13th and will be back February 6th. Kindly take turns and keep Quest running for the 16th, 23rd, 30th of Jan and also 6th of Feb. Thank you! I'll be thinking of you all.

Have a very merry Christmas and happy New Year!

Love, safe travels and blessings from God for all of us.

Hilda 

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Quest Opening and Closing Prayers, October 2018

Opening Prayer

Dear Holy Trinity, we are grateful for the bountiful blessings of food, shelter and clothing and the camaraderie of prayerful people in our Quest Family. You are present in the Word, Eucharist, in  the least of our brethren and in us. Help us to carry on with an attitude of gratitude in whatever we do. Help us put our words into action and perform our small deeds with great love like St. Therese, the Little Flower of Jesus. We ask these in the Holy and Powerful name of Jesus. Amen.

Closing Prayer

Dear Jesus, thank you for our friendship in Your name and the exchange of holy thoughts and stimulating views. Help us to support one another as we learn lessons of life and lend a hand when one is in trouble. May our Guardian Angels guide us home safe to rest and reflect Your Word.
 Amen

QUEST is now over for this season.Startup date for QUEST is September 5th,2018

QUEST is now over for this season. We had a well attended party on Wed, June 13,2018.

Thanks to Hilda for her leadership.

Startup date for QUEST is September 5th ,2018


Dear Quest Family,

Warm greetings to you all! I particularly enjoyed Father Mike's discussion about the Icons from the Catechism of the Catholic Church. May I kindly suggest we allocate about 15 minutes of discussion at the beginning after "Opening Prayer" for healthy catechism and then start the readings, for a few weeks?

Every one's participation being mindful of others' time is essential. Looking forward eagerly. Have a great weekend!!!!

Love and prayers,

Hilda

Quest resumes Wednesday, Jan 10th, 2018 Merry Christmas and Prosperous 2018 :)

Another successful evening, Thanks Hilda

QUEST Cancelled Nov 29th . No Quest for remainder of 2017 - Quest resumes Wednesday, Jan 10th, 2018

QUEST Cancelled Nov 29th .  No Quest for remainder of 2017 - Quest resumes Wednesday, Jan 10th, 2018

Dear Quest Family,

I apologize for yet another cancellation of Quest meeting. There is a Parish Memorial Mass on the 29th Nov at 7:00 PM. I myself have lost two very dear family members this year and would very much like to attend this mass. I am sure some of you may want to attend the mass as well. So Quest is cancelled for that day and we will all meet for the Quest dinner on December 6th at Tucker's Market Place for 6:00 PM. Then we have a Christmas Break until the 10th of January, 2018.

Those who have not yet responded about your attendance at Tucker's Market Place on December 6th, please do. 

God bless!

Hilda :) 

Hebrews 6:18-19 

18 God did this so that, by two unchangeable things in which it is impossible for God to lie, we who have fled to take hold of the hope set before us may be greatly encouraged. 19 We have this hope as an anchor for the soul, firm and secure. It enters the inner sanctuary behind the curtain

Congrats Dear Christina on your new JOB

Congrats Dear Christina,

While we congratulate you, hope you don't have to move for this new chapter of your life.

http://www.cccb.ca/site/eng/media-room/4953-next-director-of-the-national-liturgy-office

June 4th, 2017: PENTECOST SUNDAY

PENTECOST SUNDAY: June 4th, 2017


Read about the Holy Spirit


Listen to Dr Scott Hahn

Scott Hahn talks about this important feast day:

The giving of the Spirit to the new people of God crowns the mighty acts of the Father in salvation history.Read about the Holy Spirit

The Jewish feast of Pentecost called all devout Jews to Jerusalem to celebrate their birth as God's chosen people, in the covenant Law given to Moses at Sinai (see Leviticus 23:15-21; Deuteronomy 16:9-11).

In today's First Reading the mysteries prefigured in that feast are fulfilled in the pouring out of the Spirit on Mary and the Apostles (see Acts 1:14).

The Spirit seals the new law and new covenant brought by Jesus, written not on stone tablets but on the hearts of believers, as the prophets promised (see 2 Corinthians 3:2-8; Romans 8:2).

The Spirit is revealed as the life-giving breath of the Father, the Wisdom by which He made all things, as we sing in today's Psalm. In the beginning, the Spirit came as a "mighty wind" sweeping over the face of the earth (see Genesis 1:2). And in the new creation of Pentecost, the Spirit again comes as "a strong, driving wind" to renew the face of the earth.

As God fashioned the first man out of dust and filled him with His Spirit (see Genesis 2:7), in today's Gospel we see the New Adam become a life-giving Spirit, breathing new life into the Apostles (see 1 Corinthians 15:45,47).

Like a river of living water, for all ages He will pour out His Spirit on His body, the Church, as we hear in today's Epistle (see also John 7:37-39).

We receive that Spirit in the sacraments, being made a "new creation" in Baptism (see 2 Corinthians 5:17; Galatians 6:15). Drinking of the one Spirit in the Eucharist (see 1 Corinthians 10:4), we are the first fruits of a new humanity - fashioned from out of every nation under heaven, with no distinctions of wealth or language or race, a people born of the Spirit.

2017 April 23rd, DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY

2017 April 23rd, DIVINE MERCY SUNDAY


Listen to Dr Scott Hahn:


Read about Belief

Read Dr Scott Hahn:
We are children of Jesus' Resurrection from the dead. Through this wondrous sign of His great mercy, the Father of Jesus has given us new birth, as we hear in today's Epistle.

Today's First Reading sketches the "family life" of our first ancestors in the household of God (see 1 Peter 4:17(https://biblia.com/bible/rsv/1%20Pet%204.17)). We see them doing what we still do—devoting themselves to the Apostles' teaching, meeting daily to pray and celebrate "the breaking of the bread."

The Apostles saw the Lord. He stood in their midst, showed them His hands and sides. They heard His blessing and received His commission—to extend the Father's mercy to all peoples through the power and Spirit He conferred upon them.

We must walk by faith and not by sight, must believe and love what we have not seen (see 2 Corinthians 5:7(https://biblia.com/bible/rsv/2%20Cor%205.7)). Yet the invisible realities are made present for us through the devotions the Apostles handed on.

Notice the experience of the risen Lord in today's Gospel is described in a way that evokes the Mass.

Both appearances take place on a Sunday. The Lord comes to be with His disciples. They rejoice, listen to His Word, receive the gift of His forgiveness and peace. He offers His wounded body to them in remembrance of His Passion. And they know and worship Him as their Lord and their God.

Thomas' confession is a vow of faith in the new covenant. As promised long before, in the blood of Jesus we can now know the Lord as our God and be known as His people (see Hosea 2:20-25(https://biblia.com/bible/rsv/Hos%202.20-25)).

This confession is sung in the heavenly liturgy (see Revelation 4:11(https://biblia.com/bible/rsv/Rev%204.11)). And in every Mass on earth we renew our covenant and receive the blessings Jesus promised for those who have not seen but have believed.

In the Mass, God's mercy endures forever, as we sing in today's Psalm. This is the day the Lord has made—when the victory of Easter is again made wonderful in our eyes.

EASTER SUNDAY April 16,2017

Sunday, April 16, 2017

EASTER SUNDAY

JOHN 20:1-9

Friends, our Easter Gospel contains St. John’s magnificent account of the resurrection. It was, says John, early in the morning on the first day of the week. It was still dark—just the way it was at the beginning of time before God said, “Let there be light.” But a light was about to shine, and a new creation was about to appear. The stone had been rolled away. That stone, blocking entrance to the tomb of Jesus, stands for the finality of death. When someone that we love dies, it is as though a great stone is rolled across them, permanently blocking our access to them. And this is why we weep at death—not just in grief but in a kind of existential frustration. But for Jesus, the stone had been rolled away. Undoubtedly, the first disciples must have thought a grave robber had been at work. But the wonderful Johannine irony is that the greatest of grave robbers had indeed been at work. The prophet Ezekiel says this, “I will open your graves and have you rise from them.” What was dreamed about, what endured as a hope against hope, has become a reality. God has opened the grave of his Son, and the bonds of death have been shattered forever.

Listen to Dr Scott Hahn


Read about the meaning of the Easter Feast

Dr Scott Hahn Transcript
Jesus is nowhere visible. Yet today's Gospel tells us that Peter and John "saw and believed."

What did they see? Burial shrouds lying on the floor of an empty tomb. Maybe that convinced them that He hadn't been carted off by grave robbers, who usually stole the expensive burial linens and left the corpses behind.

But notice the repetition of the word "tomb"—seven times in nine verses. They saw the empty tomb and they believed what He had promised: that God would raise Him on the third day.

Chosen to be His "witnesses," today's First Reading tells us, the Apostles were "commissioned...to preach...and testify" to all that they had seen—from His anointing with the Holy Spirit at the Jordan to the empty tomb.

More than their own experience, they were instructed in the mysteries of the divine economy, God's saving plan—to know how "all the prophets bear witness" to Him (see Luke 24:27(https://biblia.com/bible/rsv/Luke%2024.27),44(https://biblia.com/bible/rsv/Luke%2024.44)).

Now they could "understand the Scripture," could teach us what He had told them—that He was "the Stone which the builders rejected," which today's Psalm prophesies His Resurrection and exaltation (see Luke 20:17(https://biblia.com/bible/rsv/Luke%2020.17); Matthew 21:42(https://biblia.com/bible/rsv/Matt%2021.42); Acts 4:11(https://biblia.com/bible/rsv/Acts%204.11)).

We are the children of the apostolic witnesses. That is why we still gather early in the morning on the first day of every week to celebrate this feast of the empty tomb, give thanks for "Christ our life," as today's Epistle calls Him.

Baptized into His death and Resurrection, we live the heavenly life of the risen Christ, our lives "hidden with Christ in God." We are now His witnesses, too. But we testify to things we cannot see but only believe; we seek in earthly things what is above.

We live in memory of the Apostles' witness, like them eating and drinking with the risen Lord at the altar. And we wait in hope for what the Apostles told us would come—the day when we too "will appear with Him in glory."

LENT, 2017

Sunday, April 9, 2017 LENT DAY 40 - PALM SUNDAY MATTHEW 26:14-27:66 Friends on this Palm Sunday we are privileged to become immersed in Matthew's great Gospel of the Passion. There are so many ways that we could illumine this text. I will choose just one. Jesus is presented as the divine presence that has journeyed into sin in order to save us. Accordingly, all forms of human dysfunction are on display in the passion narrative. During those terrible hours, Jesus' mission came to its fulfillment. What commenced at Bethlehem and continued at the Jordan River now comes to completion. In contrast to the rock-hard attitude of Jesus, conforming himself to the will of his Father, we find almost all the ways that we flee the will of God. Betrayal, indifference, spiritual sloth, violence, cowardice, untruth, scapegoating, self-destruction, abuse of authority, wanton cruelty. No wonder that "darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon." At the beginning of creation, God said, "Let there be light." But his world had become darkened in every way through sin. But what is the simple and powerful good news? That Jesus associates with all of us sinners, in all of our dysfunction. He entered into the darkness in all of its power in order to bring the light. Read commentary Listen to Scott Hahn Transcript, Dr Scott Hahn "All this has come to pass that the writings of the prophets may be fulfilled," Jesus says in today's Gospel (see Matthew 26:56). Indeed, we have reached the climax of the liturgical year, the highest peak of salvation history, when all that has been anticipated and promised is to be fulfilled. By the close of today's long Gospel, the work of our redemption will have been accomplished, the new covenant will be written in the blood of His broken body hanging on the cross at the place called the Skull. In His Passion, Jesus is "counted among the wicked," as Isaiah had foretold (see Isaiah 53:12). He is revealed definitively as the Suffering Servant the prophet announced, the long-awaited Messiah whose words of obedience and faith ring out in today's First Reading and Psalm. The taunts and torments we hear in these two readings punctuate the Gospel as Jesus is beaten and mocked (see Matthew 27:31), as His hands and feet are pierced, as enemies gamble for His clothes (see Matthew 27:35), and as his enemies dare Him to prove His divinity by saving Himself from suffering (see Matthew 27:39-44). He remains faithful to God's will to the end, does not turn back in His trial. He gives Himself freely to His torturers, confident that, as He speaks in today's First Reading: "The Lord God is My help...I shall not be put to shame." Destined to sin and death as children of Adam's disobedience, we have been set free for holiness and life by Christ's perfect obedience to the Father's will (see Romans 5:12-14,17-19; Ephesians 2:2; 5:6). This is why God greatly exalted Him. This is why we have salvation in His Name. Following His example of humble obedience in the trials and crosses of our lives, we know we will never be forsaken. We know, as the centurion today, that truly this is the Son of God (see Matthew 27:54). Sunday, April 2, 2017 LENT DAY 33 JOHN 11:1-45 Friends, today's Gospel speaks of Jesus' conquest of death in the raising of Lazarus. What if death is not at all what God intended. Mind you, I mean death as we experience it—as something fearful, horrible, terrifying. This comes from having turned from God. Jesus came primarily as a warrior whose final enemy is death. It is easy to domesticate Jesus, presenting him as a kindly moral teacher. But that is not how the Gospels present him. He is a cosmic warrior who has come to do battle with those forces that keep us from being fully alive. Throughout the Gospels, Jesus is dealing with the effects of death and a death-obsessed culture: violence, hatred, egotism, exclusion, false religion, phony community. But the final enemy he must face down is death itself. Like Frodo going into Mordor, he has to go into death's domain, get into close quarters with it, and take it on. Coming to Lazarus' tomb, Jesus feels the deepest emotions and begins to weep. This is God entering into the darkness, confusion, and agony of the death of sinners. He doesn't blithely stand above our situation, but rather takes it on and feels it at its deepest level. Listen to Dr Scott Hahn Reading for this Sunday Transcript from Dr Scott Hahn As we draw near to the end of Lent, today's Gospel clearly has Jesus' passion and death in view. That's why John gives us the detail about Lazarus' sister, Mary—that she is the one who anointed the Lord for burial (see John 12:3,7). His disciples warn against returning to Judea; Thomas even predicts they will "die with Him" if they go back. When Lazarus is raised, John notices the tombstone being taken away, as well as Lazarus' burial cloths and head covering—all details he later notices with Jesus' empty tomb (see John 20:1,6,7). Like the blind man in last week's readings, Lazarus represents all humanity. He stands for "dead man"—for all those Jesus loves and wants to liberate from the bands of sin and death. John even recalls the blind man in his account today (see John 11:37). Like the man's birth in blindness, Lazarus' death is used by Jesus to reveal "the glory of God" (see John 9:3). And again like last week, Jesus' words and deeds give sight to those who believe (see John 11:40). If we believe, we will see—that Jesus loves each of us as He loved Lazarus, that He calls us out of death and into new life. By His Resurrection Jesus has fulfilled Ezekiel's promise in today's First Reading. He has opened the graves that we may rise, put His Spirit in us that we may live. This is the Spirit that Paul writes of in today's Epistle. The same Spirit that raised Jesus from the dead will give life to we who were once dead in sin. Faith is the key. If we believe as Martha does in today's Gospel—that Jesus is the resurrection and the life—even if we die, we will live. "I have promised and I will do it," the Father assures us in the First Reading. We must trust in His word, as we sing in today's Psalm—that with Him is forgiveness and salvation. Sunday, March 26, 2017

LENT DAY 26

JOHN 9:1-41

Friends, today’s Gospel is the story of the man born blind, which is a microcosm of the spiritual life. “As Jesus passed by, he saw a man blind from birth.” Jesus responds by doing something a little weird: he makes a mud paste and rubs it on the blind man’s eyes. And then Jesus tells the man to wash in the pool of Siloam. When the man comes back able to see, his neighbors are confused. Some say it’s the same guy, and others say it just looks like him. This is wonderful. Once you’ve put on the Lord Jesus Christ, you’re changed in every aspect of your life to the point where you may seem odd and different to others. But that wasn’t the end of the story. It then takes a dramatic turn. The Pharisees interrogate the healed man. It becomes clear that Jesus healed him on a Sabbath day and so they condemn Jesus. They throw the formerly blind man out, but Jesus looks for him. He asks the man: “Do you believe in the Son of Man?” Jesus wants us to put every ounce of our trust in him—and our vision will deepen. This in many ways is the heart of the matter: de-center your ego and re-center it on Christ. And now that you see, believe!

Listen to Scott Hahn


PDF for this Sunday

Scott Hahn Transcript:

God's ways of seeing are not our ways, we hear in today's First Reading. Jesus illustrates this in the Gospel—as the blind man comes to see and the Pharisees are made blind.

The blind man stands for all humanity. "Born totally in sin" he is made a new creation by the saving power of Christ.

As God fashioned the first man from the clay of the earth (see Genesis 2:7), Jesus gives the blind man new life by anointing his eyes with clay (see John 9:11). As God breathed the spirit of life into the first man, the blind man is not healed until he washes in the waters of Siloam, a name that means "Sent."

Jesus is the One "sent" by the Father to do the Father's will (see John 9:4; 12:44). He is the new source of life-giving water—the Holy Spirit who rushes upon us in Baptism (see John 4:10; 7:38-39).

This is the Spirit that rushes upon God's chosen king David in today's First Reading. A shepherd like Moses before him (see Exodus 3:1; Psalm 78:70-71), David is also a sign pointing to the good shepherd and king to come—Jesus (see John 10:11).

The Lord is our shepherd, as we sing in today's Psalm. By his death and Resurrection He has made a path for us through the dark valley of sin and death, leading us to the verdant pastures of the kingdom of life, the Church.

In the restful waters of Baptism He has refreshed our souls. He has anointed our heads with the oil of Confirmation and spread the Eucharistic table before us, filling our cups to overflowing.

With the once-blind man we enter His house to give God the praise, to renew our vow: "I do believe, Lord."

"The Lord looks into the heart," we hear today. Let Him find us, as Paul advises in today's Epistle, living as "children of light"—trying always to learn what is pleasing to our Father.

Sunday, March 19, 2017

LENT DAY 19

JOHN 4:5-42

Friends, today we read the magnificent story from John's Gospel about the woman at the well. The image of thirst is used throughout the Bible to speak of the human longing for God. At the height of the heat of the day, Jesus asks a Samaritan woman for a drink of water. We are on very holy ground for the whole of salvation is summed up here: our thirst for God meets God's even more dramatic thirst for us. Augustine picked up on this in his commentary on the passage: "Jesus was thirsty for the woman's faith." At first, of course, the woman is put off. How could this Jewish man be asking me for a drink? Translate this into spiritual language: how could almighty God be thirsty for my faith and my attention? Jesus' answer is magnificent: "Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst." We are built for union with God, and therefore we thirst for God with an infinite desire. What Jesus offers her is the life of grace, the divine life, God's own self. That's the only energy that can ever satisfy our infinite longing.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Read about the Samaritan Woman

Listen to Dr Scott Hahn

Dr Scott Hahn transcript:

The Israelites' hearts were hardened by their hardships in the desert.

Though they saw His mighty deeds, in their thirst they grumble and put God to the test in today's First Reading—a crisis point recalled also in today's Psalm.

Jesus is thirsty too in today's Gospel. He thirsts for souls (see John 19:28). He longs to give the Samaritan woman the living waters that well up to eternal life.

These waters couldn't be drawn from the well of Jacob, father of the Israelites and the Samaritans. But Jesus was something greater than Jacob (see Luke 11:31-32).

The Samaritans were Israelites who escaped exile when Assyria conquered the Northern Kingdom eight centuries before Christ (see 2 Kings 17:6,24-41). They were despised for intermarrying with non-Israelites and worshipping at Mount Gerazim, not Jerusalem.

But Jesus tells the woman that the "hour" of true worship is coming, when all will worship God in Spirit and truth.

Jesus' "hour" is the "appointed time" that Paul speaks of in today's Epistle. It is the hour when the Rock of our salvation was struck on the Cross. Struck by the soldier's lance, living waters flowed out from our Rock (see John 19:34-37).

These waters are the Holy Spirit (see John 7:38-39), the gift of God (see Hebrews 6:4).

By the living waters the ancient enmities of Samaritans and Jews have been washed away, the dividing wall between Israel and the nations is broken down (see Ephesians 2:12-14,18). Since His hour, all may drink of the Spirit in Baptism (see 1 Corinthians 12:13).

In this Eucharist, the Lord now is in our midst—as He was at the Rock of Horeb and at the well of Jacob.

In the "today" of our Liturgy, He calls us to believe: "I am He," come to pour out the love of God into our hearts through the Holy Spirit. How can we continue to worship as if we don't understand? How can our hearts remain hardened?

PDF 2nd Sunday in Lent

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Sunday, March 12, 2017

LENT DAY 12

MATTHEW 17:1-9

Friends, today's Gospel recounts the story of the Transfiguration. Here the glorified Jesus represents the fulfillment of the Old Testament revelation, symbolized by Moses, representing the law, and Elijah, representing the prophets. Let's look at the two basic divisions. God gave the Torah, the law, to his people, in order that they might become a priestly people, a holy nation, a people set apart, in the hopes that they would then function as a sort of magnet to the rest of the world. But the law didn't take. From the very beginning, the people turned away from its dictates, and became as bad as the nations around them. And then the prophets. Repeatedly we hear the call to be faithful to the Torah, to follow the ways of the Lord. The prophets constantly turn on Israel itself, reminding her of her own sinfulness. And then came Jesus, God and man. Jesus did what no hero of Judaism had ever done. He fulfilled the law, remained utterly obedient to the demands of the Father, even to the point of laying down his life. He brought the Torah and the prophets thereby to fulfillment.

First Sunday of Lent

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Sunday, March 5, 2017

LENT DAY 5

MATTHEW 4:1-11

Friends, our Gospel for the first Sunday of Lent is the story of the temptation in the desert. At every point in the Gospels, we are meant to identify with Jesus. Jesus has just been baptized; he has just learned his deepest identity and mission. And now he confronts—as we all must—the great temptations. What precisely is entailed in being the beloved Son of God? First, the tempter urges him to use his divine power to satisfy his bodily desires, which Jesus dismisses with a word. Having failed at his first attempt, the devil plays a subtler game—the temptation faced by Adam and Eve in the garden, to pretend to be God. And then, last and perhaps greatest of the temptations, power. Power is extremely seductive. Many would gladly eschew material things or attention or fame in order to get it. But Jesus' great answer in Matthew's account is, "Get away Satan!" To seek power is to serve Satan—that's the blunt point of Jesus' response.