Sacraments of Christian Initiation
Sacraments of Christian Initiation
The Sacraments of Christian Initiation are Baptism, Confirmation, and the Eucharist. Catechism of the Catholic Church 1212 says, "The sharing in the divine nature given to men through the grace of Christ bears a certain likeness to the origin, development, and nourishment of natural life. The faithful are born anew by Baptism, strengthened by the sacrament of Confirmation, and receive in the Eucharist the food of eternal life. By means of these sacraments of Christian initiation, they thus receive in increasing measure the treasures of the divine life and advance toward the perfection of charity."
The third Sunday of Lent invites us to reflect on Baptism and Eucharist. The readings for the Mass are centered on Baptism, and as we close the second week of 33 Days of Eucharistic Glory, the theme is the Eucharist and the Saints.
The first reading, from Exodus 17, tells us that the Israelites complained of their thirst and were given water from the rock at Horeb. In Deuteronomy 32, Moses calls God the Rock. St. Paul in First Corinthians (10:4) says that the rock is Christ. The spiritual rock followed the Israelite and satisfied their thirst.
In the Gospel of John (4:5-42), Jesus was talking to a Samaritan woman at the well. This well was located on a piece of land that had been bought by Jacob (Genesis 33:18-19), and later given to Joseph (48:22). Samaritans were half Jews, ritually impure, and therefore Jews were forbidden to drink from any vessel used by Samaritans. They didn’t have anything in common. Jesus oversteps the boundaries of Jewish tradition by conversing with a Samaritan woman and asking her for water.
In the Old Testament we read the stories of the meeting of future spouses at the well. Isaac meets Rebekah (Genesis 24: 10-67), Jacob meets Rachel at the well of Haran (Genesis 29:1-30), and Moses and Zipporah meet at a well in Midian (Exodus 2:15-21). In the Gospel, Jesus is the divine bridegroom seeking believers to be his covenant bride. Jesus said to the Samaritan woman, “Give me a drink.” His thirst was for her soul.
Normally, women used to go fetch water in the morning or evening when it was not too hot. But she came to fetch water at noon. She may be trying to avoid the crowd. Jesus came to her level to reach out, walk with her, and lead her to faith. Jesus reveals himself as the source of Living Water.
The liturgy uses the symbol of water to refer to our relationship with God. It represents God’s Spirit, which comes to us in Baptism. The water that Jesus promises is closely linked to conversion and the forgiveness of sin. In the second reading, Saint Paul asserts that, as the savior of mankind, Jesus poured the living water of the gift of his Holy Spirit into our hearts. In the Gospel of John, the Samaritan woman once embraced the faith. Jesus, the living water, becomes a missionary who brings others to Jesus. Once she had a life-changing experience, she couldn’t hold it in for herself.
In 33 Days of Eucharistic Glory, we looked at the lives of Saints Mother Teresa, John Paul II, Therese of Lisieux, Maximilian Kolbe, Thomas Aquinas, Sister Faustina, and Mary. Several times, I had the great privilege to participate in the celebration of the Eucharist when Pope John Paul II celebrated in Rome. When I read about his canonization, my first thought was, “I had the privilege to meet and greet a saint.” He wrote, “The Eucharist is the secret of my Day. It gives strength and meaning to all my activities in service to the Church and to the whole world.” Mary said yes to the Lord and became the first Tabernacle to carry the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. What did she do first? She got up and hurried to see her cousin Elizabeth, who was pregnant. When Mary greets Elizabeth, the child John the Baptist leapt for joy in Elizabeth’s womb. St. Maximilian Kolbe volunteered to take the place of another person to be starved to death in an underground bunker. All the saints demonstrated and lived the Eucharistic life. Another aspect of the saints' lives is spending time with Jesus in silence. Matthew Kelly describes a life-changing moment when he witnessed Pope John Paul II enter a deep moment of thanksgiving after Holy Communion. And St. Mother Teresa drew inspiration from St. Therese of Lisieux, who did little things. They received grace through time with Jesus in Adoration and at the celebration of the Eucharist.
At every Mass, after the Holy Communion, we have the great privilege to enter into intimacy with Jesus, whom we received and give thanks. We have the privilege to visit Jesus, who is waiting for us in the tabernacle. Every Mass, a commissioning and sending out takes place. Jesus breaks and shares his very life with us and sends us out to live the Eucharistic life, like the saints we meditated on this past week.