Sunday, March 19, 2017

Lent calendar prayer and reflection for 19 March - Third Sunday of Lent

Anyone who drinks the water that I shall give will never be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will turn into a spring inside him, welling up to eternal life.

John 4:5-42
The area where 25-year-old Vladimir lives in Bolivia is arid and barren, and crops struggle to survive. Vladimir is afraid he won’t be able to provide for his wife and three-year-old son.

“When there’s no rain,” says Vladimir, “we worry because the plants will be small and we won’t have enough food. The lack of rain really worries us. But I have faith that everything will work out OK.

Among the scorched crops, empty streams and parched land, Vladimir’s faith continues to flow. He showers all those around him with his hope and trust in the Lord.

In his encounter with the woman at the well, Jesus says “worship the Father in spirit and in truth”. 

Vladimir worships God in this way: with his heart, soul, strength and mind.

Vladimir has begun to work with CAFOD’s partner Fundación Nuna in Bolivia to learn how to dig a well on his land, so that even during droughts he will have life-giving water for his family and for his crops. He says, “with water, anything is possible.”

Pray

Lord God, help us to open our hearts to your love so we shall never again be thirsty. Amen.