Sunday Micro Retreat – March 12, 2023
As you begin your time of reflection, try to realize that you are standing on holy ground and in the presence of God, who wants to talk to you and listen to you.
Make the Sign of the Cross. The Holy Spirit is opening your heart and mind so the Word of God that you are about to read can flourish in you for God's glory. Pray that you continue to work with his grace. Let the words or your prayer flow from your mind through your heart. Try to "feel" what you are saying.
Is there anything you would like to ask God now? What graces does your heart desire?
Talk to God about it.
Today, we ask for the grace of God's Word to transform our lives.
Now read the Sunday's Gospel:
Jesus came to a Samaritan city called Sychar, near the plot of ground that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there, and Jesus, tired out by his journey, was sitting by the well. It was about noon.
A Samaritan woman came to draw water, and Jesus said to her, “Give me a drink.” (His disciples had gone to the city to buy food.)
The Samaritan woman said to him, “How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?” (Jews do not share things in common with Samaritans.) Jesus answered her, “If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.”
The woman said to him, “Sir, you have no bucket, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and with his children and his flocks drank from it?” Jesus said to her, “Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but the one who drinks of the water that I will give will never be thirsty. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” The woman said to him, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may never be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.
"I see that you are a Prophet. Our ancestors worshipped on this mountain, but you say that the place where people must worship is in Jerusalem.”
Jesus said to her, “Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and is now here, when the true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for the Father seeks such as these to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth.”
The woman said to him, “I know that the Messiah is coming” (who is called the Christ). “When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us.” Jesus said to her, “I am he, the one who is speaking to you.”
Many Samaritans from that city believed in Jesus.
So when they came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word. They said to the woman, “It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the Saviour of the world.”
(John 4.5-15, 19-26, 39a, 40-42)
The Word of God touches everyone differently. If there is anything that really stood out for you in this reading, meditate on it.
Go to the depths of your heart and listen to what God is trying to say to you.
Next, let's spend some time reflecting on the following point:
1. How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?
People, in general, are inclined to judge others because of their place of origin, jobs, hobbies, habits, etc. Jesus is different, he never "frames" people into a specific stereotype. He treats people as individuals, accepting them with love and compassion.
Thus, review today how you see others. Do you put people in a specific "frame" based on a single interaction with them? or maybe after several interactions, you think you know them for sure? Do you even accept that the person you know could drastically change since the last time you saw him/her? Think about your "judgments"... what can you say about them? do you judge actions, or do you judge people?
Record all the feelings and emotions that accompany your reflection. What do the feelings point to? Can you see a clear path of your behaviour?
2. When he comes, he will proclaim all things to us
By reaching out to the Samaritan woman, Jesus showed that his mission of salvation was directed to all people, not just some chosen ones.
Therefore, reflect on your own discipleship. Are you proclaiming the Good News only in those places where you feel safe and welcomed? or are you able to rich out to those who may not share your values or your standards? Is your home a place where anyone can find some rest? or even the love of God? or is your home a place that is opened just to the circle of your close friends? If this is the case, why do you think you are not open to welcoming strangers into your home? Is this related to a bad experience from the past? or are you simply focused on yourself and do not want to deal with uncomfortable situations? Would you open your home and your heart to welcome someone who does not think and behaves like you?
Once again, record your feelings, your thoughts, and your desires and look at the true motivation that stands behind your mission that God is asking you to embrace.
You may end this retreat by visiting your local soup kitchen and volunteering to serve the food.
It is good to keep a personal journal in which reflections that stood out for you are recorded. The outcome of those Sunday Micro Retreats is
good material that you can talk about in your spiritual direction.
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