Greeting (See Second Reading)
The love of God has been poured out into our hearts by the Holy Spirit who has been given to us. May that love of God be always with you.
Introduction by the Celebrant (Two Options)
A. A
Deep Personal Encounter
Often we are not willing to listen to people who judge us or
who look down on us. The people we can easily listen to and whom we can
encounter from person to person are those who do not criticize us but respect
us. Even though we have not always been the persons and Christians we should
have been, we know that Jesus always treats us with respect and sees the
potential for good in us. Let us ask our Lord in this Eucharist that we may
treat one another with the same esteem as he shows us. (or)
B. Living Water
The liturgy of today reminds us strongly of our baptism. It
is the water that began to quench our thirst for all that is good and
worthwhile, above all for God himself. It is the water that never dries up; for
baptism is not just a ritual but life, a new way of living, a lasting
attachment to the person of Christ and a union with the community of the
Church. It is the life of Christ that keeps growing in us. Jesus himself
nourishes this life here in the Eucharist. Let us ask him to keep giving us
this living water and to make us share it with others.
Penitential Act We let the spring of God’s love dry
up in us when we sin. Let us ask the Lord to forgive us.
(PAUSE)
-Lord Jesus, spring of living water, give us always that
water that purifies our heart: Lord, have mercy. R/ Lord, have mercy.
-Jesus Christ, spring of living water, give us the water
that makes our faith grow: Christ, have mercy. R/ Christ, have mercy.
-Lord Jesus, spring of living water, give us the water that
quenches our thirst for the fullness of your life and love: Lord, have mercy.
R/ Lord, have mercy.
Have mercy on us, Lord. and give us the living water of your
gentle forgiveness. Water your life in us and let it well up to everlasting
life. R/ Amen.
Opening Prayer (Two Options)
A. A Deep Personal Encounter
Let us pray to God our Father that Jesus may be the source
of life to all (PAUSE) Creative and
forgiving Father you let people experience your mercy when they encounter your
Son, Jesus Christ. Attune us to his voice speaking to us, your word of
forgiveness and love. Dispose us to meet him from person to person, that he may
quench our thirst for life and that we may live in joy and courage and become
more like him day after day. May all drink from the living water of his love. Grant
this through Christ our Lord. R/ Amen. (or)
B. Living Water
Let us pray to God that the life of Christ in us may be rich
and full (PAUSE)
Father of life and giver of all that is good, we want to
drink your life to the full. Let Jesus, your living Word, speak to us from
heart to heart. Give us an unquenchable thirst for the things that matter: for
faith and for meaning in our lives, for hope in a better world filled with your
justice and peace, for a spirit of committed love that knows how to share
itself. Generously give us all these through Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
First Reading Introduction:
Water Flowing From The Rock
Thirst is the most painful trial of travelers in the desert.
God is, to his people on the march, the rock on whom they can rely on and the
source of life-giving water.
Second Reading Introduction:
The Love Of God Has Been Poured Out Into Our Hearts
Through Christ, who died for us, God has poured out into our
hearts everything that we thirst for: faith, hope in God’s future, the Spirit
of love.
Gospel Introduction: Give Me Your Living Water
Jesus enters into a personal dialogue with the Samaritan woman. He reveals
himself to her as the giver of living, ever-running water, that is, the giver
of new life to us.
General Intercessions
Let us pray in spirit and in truth to God our Father, the
source of all life, and let us say: R/ Lord of life, hear our prayer.
• When we are in trouble, that someone may
come along and talk to us, let us pray: R/ Lord of life, hear our prayer.
• When we meet someone in trouble, that we
may sit down by his or her side and listen with understanding and patience, let
us pray: R/ Lord of life, hear our prayer.
• When we gather around the Lord’s table, that his Word may be living water to us, let us pray: R/ Lord of life, hear our prayer.
• When we search to renew our lives this Lent, that
we may learn to live in the spirit of Jesus, let us pray: R/ Lord of life, hear
our prayer.
• When we try to pray in spirit and in truth, that we may not forget others, let us pray: R/ Lord of life, hear our prayer.
• When we live in unjust situations, that we may
speak out and stand up for the weak and downtrodden, let us pray: R/ Lord of
life, hear our prayer.
• When we are surrounded by the poor, that
we may generously share with them, let us pray: R/ Lord of life, hear our
prayer.
• If we are a real Church community, that we may become to all who are thirsty a fresh source of living water, let us pray: R/ Lord of life, hear our prayer.
Father, all good things come from your
hand. Show us new ways to you and to one another and let us encounter one
another, as you encounter us in Jesus Christ our Lord. R/ Amen.
Prayer over the Gifts
Lord our God, in these signs of bread and wine Jesus your
Son comes among us. May he still our hunger and quench our thirst for a deeper
faith and hope. May we in our turn, as a living Christian community, become a
stream of living water to everyone and all, to satisfy their thirst for truth, for
freedom and justice and for everlasting joy, on account of Jesus Christ our
Lord. R/ Amen.
Introduction to the Eucharistic Prayer
God, our Father has satisfied our hunger and thirst for all
that is true and good by giving us Jesus. Let us thank him with all our hearts.
Introduction to the Lord’s Prayer Let us pray to our
Father in the words of Jesus, his Son, and ask him to give us all we need on
our way to eternal life.
Deliver Us
Deliver us Lord, from every evil and grant us peace in our
day. Open our eyes to our shortcomings and wake us up from our
self-complacency, that we may follow your Son without fear on the way to you
and to all in need. May we thus hasten the coming in glory of our Lord and
Savior Jesus Christ.
Invitation to Communion
This is Jesus our Lord, who tells us: Whoever drinks the
water that I shall give will have a spring inside him or her, welling up for
eternal life. Happy are we to be invited to drink of this water of life and
never get thirsty again.
Prayer after Communion
Lord, God of life, when the Samaritan woman learned who
Jesus was, she believed in him and her life was changed. Your Son has spoken to
us here and revived our strength. May we also learn who is speaking to us in
the people who cry out for help. May we recognize your Son in them and walk by
their side on the way to you, our Father forever and ever. R/ Amen.
Blessing In this Eucharist God has again quenched our
thirst by giving us his Son Jesus. Now we are strong enough again to go our
difficult way in the desert, a way of renewal and conversion to God and to
others. Let our thirst never be satisfied unless we become to one another a
drink of refreshing water. May God give you strength and bless you: the Father,
and the Son, and the Holy Spirit. R/ Amen. May the Lord go with you to love him
in all you meet. R/ Thanks be to God.
