Woman at the Well, Carl Heinrich Bloch,
c. 1865 to 1879, Chapel at Frederiksborg Palace, Copenhagen.

Jesus answered and said to her,
“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life.”
The woman said to him,
“Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty
or have to keep coming here to draw water.”
(John 4:13–15)

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Third Sunday of Lent
Romans 5:1–2, 5–8
March 12, 2023

We return today to the letter of Paul to the Romans. This was our second reading for the first week of Lent and we will read from it again on the 5^th Sunday. Romans is Paul’s closest attempt in putting his thoughts in order and it is often used at Mass. The first two verses and verse 5 from today’s reading were read for Trinity Sunday last year. Today we add three verses and apply them to Lent. Although the message is the same the different context allows them to better illuminate a different truth. As is often said the best interpreter of scripture is scripture.

Continue reading “3rd Sunday of Lent – God’s Love for Us” →

The Transfiguration (Upper Portion), Raphael,
1516-1520, Pinacoteca Vaticana, Vatican.

While he was still speaking, behold,
a bright cloud cast a shadow over them,
then from the cloud came a voice that said,
“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased;
listen to him.”
(Matthew 17:5)

Fr. Smith’s Commentary on the Second Reading
Second Sunday of Lent
2 Timothy 1:8b–11
March 5, 2023

Today we will look at the 2^nd letter to Timothy. We have not only read this letter before but have virtually read around this passage. Last year we examined 1:8 but then skipped to verse 13. The most likely reason is that verses 9–10 may be a hymn which the author has placed here for emphasis. It is something of a digression from the main point of the previous section but fits in very well with the Transfiguration that we celebrate today.

General information about 2^nd Timothy can be found here.

These letters present themselves as written by St. Paul to his protégé. The first letter of Timothy examines how a church can be governed by a non-apostle. Second Timothy is more personal. Indeed, it is very warm and tender and tells the story of the friendship of Paul and Timothy in Christ. We are not, however, sure if Paul himself wrote it. We can be sure that even if Paul was dead when it was written there were enough eyewitnesses to testify that the story was true or false. Minimally but most importantly it is a depiction of an older follower of Jesus inspiring a younger one.

Inspiring someone to a be a Christian is not easy. The cross is always present. Jesus not only died but he died the most humiliating death possible. Crucifixion was designed to strip a person of his humanity and honor. This would be terrifying in any age but particularly so in the ancient world. They held honor above all things and a person was worthless if deprived of it. Jesus then would have been considered worthless. How could someone follow him? How could someone not be ashamed of him?

Continue reading “Second Sunday of Lent – Joined with Jesus“ →