John 4:5-42

Exodus 17:3-7

Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9

Romans 5:1-2, 5-8

John 4:5-42

Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar, 

near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.

Jacob’s well was there.

Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well.

It was about noon.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water.

Jesus said to her,

“Give me a drink.”

His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.

The Samaritan woman said to him,

“How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?”

—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—

Jesus answered and said to her,

“If you knew the gift of God

and who 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 do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep;

where then can you get this living water?

Are you greater than our father Jacob, 

who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself 

with his children and his flocks?”

Jesus answered and said to her, 

“Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; 

but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;

the water I shall give 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 may not be thirsty 

or have to keep coming here to draw water.”

Jesus said to her,

“Go call your husband and come back.”

The woman answered and said to him,

“I do not have a husband.”

Jesus answered her,

“You are right in saying, ‘I do not have a husband.’

For you have had five husbands, 

and the one you have now is not your husband.

What you have said is true.”

The woman said to him,

“Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.

Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; 

but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem.”

Jesus said to her,

“Believe me, woman, the hour is coming

when you will worship the Father

neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.

You people worship what you do not understand; 

we worship what we understand, 

because salvation is from the Jews.

But the hour is coming, and is now here, 

when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth; 

and indeed the Father seeks 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 the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ; 

when he comes, he will tell us everything.”

Jesus said to her,

“I am he, the one speaking with you.”

At that moment his disciples returned, 

and were amazed that he was talking with a woman, 

but still no one said, “What are you looking for?” 

or “Why are you talking with her?”

The woman left her water jar 

and went into the town and said to the people, 

“Come see a man who told me everything I have done.

Could he possibly be the Christ?”

They went out of the town and came to him.

Meanwhile, the disciples urged him, “Rabbi, eat.”

But he said to them,

“I have food to eat of which you do not know.”

So the disciples said to one another, 

“Could someone have brought him something to eat?”

Jesus said to them,

“My food is to do the will of the one who sent me

and to finish his work.

Do you not say, ‘In four months the harvest will be here’?

I tell you, look up and see the fields ripe for the harvest.

The reaper is already receiving payment 

and gathering crops for eternal life, 

so that the sower and reaper can rejoice together.

For here the saying is verified that ‘One sows and another reaps.’

I sent you to reap what you have not worked for; 

others have done the work, 

and you are sharing the fruits of their work.” 

Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him

because of the word of the woman who testified, 

“He told me everything I have done.”

When the Samaritans came to him,

they invited him to stay with them; 

and he stayed there two days.

Many more began to believe in him because of his word, 

and they said to the woman, 

“We no longer believe because of your word; 

for we have heard for ourselves, 

and we know that this is truly the savior of the world.”

Opening Prayer: Lord God, quench my thirst for you! Give to me to drink from the Rock of your Son. I want the water of your Spirit to well up within me and overflow in works of merciful charity.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Jesus and the Samaritan Woman: The Church reads the Gospel of the Samaritan Woman on the Third Sunday of Lent because her catechumens are preparing for Baptism at Easter. The Gospel focuses on water as a symbol of life, purification, and divine grace. Jesus offers the woman “living water” that becomes “a spring of water welling up to eternal life” (John 4:14). This foreshadows the life-giving waters of baptism. The story also shows Jesus revealing himself as the Messiah to an outsider, highlighting God’s mercy, the call to conversion, the breaking down of barriers between Jews and foreigners, and the invitation to faith and new life. The story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman is highly symbolic. It evokes the Old Testament stories of the Patriarchs meeting their wives: Isaac and Rebekah (Genesis 24); Jacob and Rachel (Genesis 29); Moses and Zipporah (Exodus 2). Jesus is the divine bridegroom, and the Samaritan woman represents Israel as the wayward Bride that Jesus will welcome, purify, save, and give gifts of Baptismal water and Eucharistic blood on the Cross. The woman embodies the forgiven and redeemed bride of the New Covenant, which welcomes both Jews and Gentiles into a relationship with Christ the Bridegroom.

2. The Thirst for God: During the season of Lent, the First Reading is chosen to narrate an important moment in the history of salvation. On the First Sunday of Lent, this year, we heard about the creation and fall of Adam and Eve. On the Second Sunday of Lent, we read about the three covenant promises God made to Abram. On this Third Sunday of Lent, we look at the Exodus of the people of Israel from Egypt. As they journeyed in the wilderness, the people were ready to stone Moses on account of the lack of water. The physical thirst of the Israelites in the desert is a sign pointing to a greater thirst, our thirst for God. Psalm 42 puts it this way: “As a deer longs for flowing streams, so longs my soul for you, O Go. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God” (Psalm 42:1-2) (see Bergsma, The Word of the Lord: Year A, 88-89). God responded to their physical thirst by providing water from the rock. God responds to our spiritual thirst by providing us with the Water of the Spirit from the Rock of Christ. 

3. The Love of God: In the Second Reading, taken from Romans 5, Paul speaks about being “justified by faith.” Justification is a fruit of being washed in the waters of Baptism. For Baptism to be effective, it must be received in faith. The love of God was initially poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit at Baptism. When we were justified, we were established in a right relationship with God the Father. We have peace with and are reconciled with God through our Lord Jesus Christ. Baptism not only grants us the virtues of faith and love, but also gives us the virtue of hope: We hope in the promise of eternal life, and trust that God will aid us on our journey to heavenly glory. We are no longer helpless. Christ has died for us, opened the gates of heaven for us, and empowered us with the grace of his Spirit.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, divine bridegroom, wash me clean with the water you provide, quench my thirst for eternal life, and grant me the water of your Holy Spirit so that I may proclaim to others the great things you have done for me.

Living the Word of God: Can I spend time today praying for the catechumens entering the Catholic Church at my parish or in my diocese? How can I be a better witness to my Catholic faith?