Reflection –
The woman at the well seems a marginal figure, coming to draw water alone and in the heat of the day. Her encounter with Jesus causes her to leave her bucket behind, and what had seemed so essential for life now pales into insignificance compared to the new life and healing that faith in Christ brings.
Mass readings.
3rd Sunday of Lent – Year A – 7th& 8th March, 2026
1st Reading: Exodus 17: 3-7
Responsorial Psalm. O that today you would listen to his voice!, ‘Harden not your hearts’
Second Reading: Romans 5: 1-2, 5-8
Gospel Acclamation: Alleluia,Alleluia…Glory to you O Christ, you are the word of God. Lord, you are indeed the Saviour of the world; give me living water, so that I will not be thirsty. Glory to you O Christ, you are the word of God …. Alleluia!
Gospel: John 4:5-42
Important Note: Please scroll within the below window to have access to daily readings for the Holy Catholic Mass. To keep scrolling down Our Lady’s newsletter, just scroll outside the window.
PARISH UPDATES:
Easter Services – the following are the planned services for Lent & the Easter Period
| Ash Wednesday 18th February | Holy Thursday 2nd April | Good Friday 3rd April | Easter Vigil 4th April | Easter Sunday 5th April |
St Cuthbert’s | 7pm | 7pm | 3pm | 8pm | 10am |
Our Lady’s | 10am | 6pm | 3pm | 8pm | 11.30am |
Stations of the Cross -The Archdiocese hosts online Stations of the Cross each Monday in Lent. The first one is on Monday 23 February at 7:45pm and will feature a reflection from Archbishop Leo. The annual event is to pray for unborn children, their mothers and all pro-life intentions. Register at bit.ly/stations26
Assisted Suicide final vote – This is your last chance to help stop assisted suicide in Scotland and protect vulnerable people. Email your MSPs today – visit carenotkilling.scot and enter your postcode to find contact details for your local MSP. The Campaign against Assisted Dying are keen to find two St Cuthbert’s parishioners to volunteer to present letters against the bill to Daniel Johnson (MSP) at his Edinburgh office as this has more impact face to face and needs to be done by a constituent. A campaign member shall be there to accompany them. Target date is the 17th March. Please let Father Francis or Mary Mulligan know if you can help.
Special Collection – On Sunday 15 March there will be a special collection for Papal & Episcopal Charities (including SCIAF). 75 per cent of the collection goes to SCIAF and 25 per cent to the Archdiocesan Care Fund, which supports various good causes. Last year £32,067 was raised from this collection in the Archdiocese. Thank you for your support.
What’s Happening at Mass – Mass is the climax of Catholic life. Join the Archdiocese’s Catechetics Commission to explore what we are ultimately doing with God at Holy Mass. What’s Happening at Mass takes place at The Gillis Centre,100 Strathearn Road, Edinburgh, EH9 1BB, on Saturday 14 March, from 9:30am-4:00pm. Register: bit.ly/archmass
Youth Helper – Lourdes – Our Lady’s will be sponsoring John Kerr as a Youth Helper for Lourdes this year. John will be holding a Coffee Morning in the near future to raise funding, and we hope that you will all join in supporting this. Our congratulations to John.
IMPORTANT – Stations of the Cross will take place at 7pm every Friday in Lent.
Children’s Singing Performance for 60th Anniversary Celebration – Children are invited to take part in a singing and action performance for our Celebration. To support, a practice video will be sent to parents for children to learn the song at home. Practices will also take place during Children’s Liturgy on 1st and 8th March. On the day of the celebration, children are encouraged to arrive 30 minutes before Mass for a final rehearsal. To join, please scan the QR code below and sign up.
60th Anniversary parking arrangements (15th March) – Parking in the church car park will be restricted to visiting priests and guests, and to those parishioners with mobility issues. We would ask that others to park in the Pentland View or Currie Library car parks or alternatively the Pentland Medical Centre car park on Pentland View. The reception after Mass is in the Gibson Craig Hall, a 5min walk from the church; anyone who would find this difficult and would like a lift should contact Norma or Blanca so that arrangements can be made. Note: parking at the Gibson Craig Hall is limited and will only be available for Disabled Badge holders.
Please note – there will no coffee morning after mass today
Parish Council Meeting minutes – Latest PPC Meeting Minutes now available on the website
Our Lady’s Offertory Collections.
Last Sunday’s collection: £256.
Month total collections (Bank & Cash) £256
Bank Total (month) £778
Mass Bookings.
We are reminded that the booking of mass for our special intentions, wedding anniversaries, Birthday thanksgiving, Death anniversaries of our loved ones and general prayers is highly recommended. The mass stipends (Donations) are part of our contribution towards the good of the church and support of our priest.
MASS TIMINGS
MASS INTENTIONS
MASS DONOR
Wednesday, March 11th 10.00am
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Friday March 13th 10.00am
-Georgina & James Donnelly
-Theresa Scott
Sunday, March 15th 11.30am
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Blessings to you, your families and those who are dear to you in Jesus’ name, Amen.
A woman from Samaria came to draw water
John 4:5-42
At that time: Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, near the field that Jacob had given to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well was there; so Jesus, wearied as he was from his journey, was sitting beside the well. It was about the sixth hour.
A woman from Samaria came to draw water. Jesus said to her, ‘Give me a drink.’ (For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food.) The Samaritan woman said to him, ‘How is it that you, a Jew, ask for a drink from me, a woman of Samaria?’ (For Jews have no dealings 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 nothing to draw water with, and the well is deep. Where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob? He gave us the well and drank from it himself, as did his sons and his livestock.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Everyone who drinks of this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him will never be thirsty again. The water that I will give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I will not be thirsty or have to come here to draw water.’
Jesus said to her, ‘Go, call your husband, and come here.’ The woman answered him, ‘I have no husband.’ Jesus said to her, ‘You are right in saying, “I have no husband”; for you have had five husbands, and the one you now have is not your husband. What you have said is true.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, but you say that in Jerusalem is the place where people ought to worship.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. 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 is seeking such people 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 Messiah is coming — he who is called Christ. When he comes, he will tell us all things.’ Jesus said to her, ‘I who speak to you am he.’
Just then his disciples came back. They marvelled that he was talking with a woman, but no one said, ‘What do you seek?’ or, ‘Why are you talking with her?’ So the woman left her water jar and went away into town and said to the people, ‘Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?’ They went out of the town and were coming to him.
Meanwhile the disciples were urging him, saying, ‘Rabbi, eat.’ But he said to them, ‘I have food to eat that you do not know about.’ So the disciples said to one another, ‘Has anyone brought him something to eat?’ Jesus said to them, ‘My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to accomplish his work. Do you not say, “There are yet four months, then comes the harvest”? Look, I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see that the fields are white for harvest. Already the one who reaps is receiving wages and gathering fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true, “One sows and another reaps.” I sent you to reap that for which you did not labour. Others have laboured, and you have entered into their labour.’
Many Samaritans from that town believed in him because of the woman’s testimony, ‘He told me all that I ever did.’ So when the Samaritans 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 indeed the Saviour of the world.’
