Jesus, give me the water to quench my thirst

Pope Francis Midday Lesson on the Samaritan Woman. 

Vatican City, 23 March 2014 (VIS) – On the third Sunday of Lent, the Holy Father appeared at the window of his study in the Vatican Apostolic Palace to pray the Angelus with the faithful and pilgrims present. Before the Marian prayer, the Pontiff commented on the Gospel passage in which the Samaritan woman goes to collect water from the well and encounters in Jesus the water of mercy; she finds what she had sought, and returned to the judged and rejected to announce to them that she had encountered the one who had changed her life. “We too have many questions to pose, but we do not find the courage to put them to Jesus! Lent is the ideal time to look within ourselves, to let our truest spiritual needs emerge, and to ask the help of the Lord in prayer. The example of the Samaritan woman invites us to express ourselves thus: 'Jesus, give me the water so I may thirst no more'”.

The Woman at the Well,
Frans li Mieris, 1689

“The result of this encounter at the well was that the woman was transformed. … For every encounter with Jesus changes our lives, always. It is a step ahead, a step closer to God. And so every encounter with Jesus changes our lives, always. … In this Gospel reading we also find the impetus to 'leave our amphora', our water jar, the symbol of all that is seemingly important, but which loses its value before 'God's love'. We all have one, or more than one! … What is your inner amphora, what weighs upon you, what distances you from God?” he asked the faithful. “Let us set it aside a little and hear in our hearts Christ's voice, offering us a different water, a water that brings us closer to the Lord”.

The Pope continued, “We are called to rediscover the importance and the meaning of our Christian life, beginning with our Baptism and, like the Samaritan woman, to bear witness to our brethren of the joy of the encounter with Jesus; bear witness to the joy of this encounter. Each encounter with Jesus changes our life, and each encounter with Jesus also fills us with joy, that joy that comes from within. Let us tell how many marvellous things the Lord is able to do within our hearts, once we find the courage to let go of our amphora”.