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This Lent, share the good news This column is the sixth in a series to run through Lent on Pope Benedict XVI’s 2011 Lenten message. In Pope Benedict XVI’s Lenten message to the Church he tells us that “In order to undertake more seriously our journey towards Easter and prepare ourselves to celebrate the resurrection of the Lord … what could be more appropriate than allowing ourselves to be guided by the word of God?” To that end, I offer these observations from the account of our Lord Jesus with the woman at the well of Sychar in John’s Gospel. The Holy Father says, “The question that Jesus puts to the Samaritan woman: ‘Give me a drink’ (Jn 4: 7), was presented to us in the liturgy of the third Sunday; it expresses the passion of God for every man and woman, and wishes to awaken in our hearts the desire for the gift of ‘a spring of water within, welling up for eternal life’ (Jn 4: 14): this is the gift of the Holy Spirit, who transforms Christians into ‘true worshipers,’ capable of praying to the Father ‘in spirit and truth’ (Jn 4: 23). Only this water can extinguish our thirst for goodness, truth and beauty! Only this water, given to us by the Son, can irrigate the deserts of our restless and unsatisfied soul, until it ‘finds rest in God,’ as per the famous words of St. Augustine.” With the Holy Father having shown us our own inner need for that spiritual fulfillment God alone offers through his Holy Spirit, I would like to take up where the Holy Father leaves off to focus on what such a transformed life can look like when it receives God’s gift and shares it with others who have the same spiritual need common to us all. These are the two stages of conversion. The first is for the sake of our own soul. The second stage is our conversion for the sake of others. After Jesus says to the woman about the Messiah, “I who speak to you am he,” she “left her water jar, and went away into the city, and said to the people, ‘Come see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?’” (Jn 4:26, 28-29). Her concern immediately turned to the people of her community. Why would she leave her water jar when she was going back to the city anyway? Because it would slow her down! Water is heavy at 6.7 pounds per gallon, plus the container’s weight. She wanted people to get back out to the well to meet Jesus before he left! She was in a hurry because this was important! “They went out of the city and were coming to him” (Jn 4:30). Here’s a line of people, in their white linen garments, following the path out of town toward the well and Jesus. While talking to his disciples, Jesus says to them, and us, “Lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white (Greek - leukai) for harvest” (Jn 4: 35). The fields were “white,” not “ripe.” Jesus was directing his disciples’ eyes to the line of white-clad villagers coming across the fields toward them, not to the crops in the fields, which would more likely have been golden in color. Remember, his call was to make them “fishers of men!” These people of Sychar “believed in him because of the woman’s testimony” (Jn 4:39). Seeing people come to faith in Jesus Christ is the Apostle John’s point of emphasis throughout his Gospel. These new believers prevailed upon Jesus to stay with them and he did so for two days. “And many more believed because of his word” (Jn 4:41). They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of your words that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is indeed the Savior of the world” (Jn 4:42). This is our message—Jesus Christ is the savior of the world! That message is important enough for us to lay aside our mundane preoccupations and to bring that news to those around us. It is powerful enough that it will be self-authenticating to those who receive it. Have you experienced stage-one conversion and recognized Jesus as your savior? Have you grasped the import of this news to the point that it moves you to prioritize sharing it as your stage-two conversion? Can you believe God concerning the neediness and readiness of the people around you to respond to the news you will share and receive “the Savior of the world?” May these things be part of your Lenten experience. Deacon Dennis Garrou of Christ the King Church in Evergreen is detention chaplain at Jefferson County Detention Center. A former Anglican minister, he is the married father of three adult children. He is in formation for priesthood ordination under the Pastoral Provision that enables former Anglican clergy to be ordained to holy orders in the Roman Catholic Church. |
MORE LENT REFLECTIONS:
POPE BENEDICT's 2011 Lenten message to the faithful
ARCHBISHOP CHAPUT: "This Lent, accept God’s love, reflect it to others"
FATHER BARRON: “Why go to a priest for confession?”
FATHER SONGY: "Baptism: A washing away of sin and strengthening with the Spirit"
ABBESS NEWE: "Baptism:
JONATHAN REYES: "‘Made perfect in suffering’ Christ brought—and brings—hope to a despairing world"
TERESA MAJOR: "A mother’s view on the pope’s Lenten message"
DEACON GARROU: "This Lent, share the good news"
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