By Msgr. Joseph Prior • Posted March 21, 2025

(See the readings for the Third Sunday of Lent)

“Give me this water,” the Samaritan woman says to Jesus, “Give me this water.”

Great news – faith is growing! In the past two weeks there were two articles on CatholicPhilly regarding growth of the faith in the Archdiocese: Elena Perri’s “Rite of Election Set to Welcome More Than 700 Entering Catholic Church,” and Matt Gambino’s “Reason for Hope: Catholics Entering Local Church at Highest Level in a Decade.”

Both refer to the recent Rite of Election at the Cathedral Basilica of SS. Peter and Paul, where Archbishop Nelson Pérez and Bishop John McIntyre welcomed 725 candidates and catechumens who are preparing to receive the sacraments of initiation. This 10-year high is a good sign that faith in Christ is growing.

This Sunday, parishes who have catechumens will be celebrating the first scrutiny during Mass. These catechumens are in the immediate stages of preparation for the sacraments. At the Easter Vigil, they will publicly profess their faith in Jesus and will be received into the communion of the faithful. Faith is the focus in the readings this Sunday, particularly the Gospel account.

The theme of faith is present throughout the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. In their conversation at the well, Jesus invites her to have faith in him. Notice that Jesus starts the conversation. He is opening the door to an encounter. He is inviting her. What is highly unusual in that cultural setting is that Jesus, as a Jew, was speaking with a Samaritan; and as a man was speaking alone with a woman.

The woman is shocked that he is speaking to her as she asks, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” Likewise, when his disciples arrive midway through the passage, the evangelist tells us that they “were amazed that he was talking with a woman.” What Jesus has to offer is not bound by cultural norms. He has come to offer the invitation of life to all peoples.

Jesus uses the well water to initiate this conversation which then turns to the topic of “living water.” Jesus will provide this water. He tells the woman that she should ask for this “living water.” By asking for it the woman is demonstrating an openness to receive, an inner desire for the gift and a recognition that Jesus can give what he offers.

So she says, “give me this water.” In this regard she is asking for the gift of faith, a gift Jesus will never deny. As the encounter continues, we see that the focus of faith is in the person of Jesus. He is the source of the “living water.” He tells her “…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 conversation quickly shifts to the woman’s troubled relationships. She is in need of healing. Jesus is aware that she has had five husbands and is now living with someone else. She has had a hard life. Jesus does not need to be told this, he knows. She is amazed at his knowledge and insight. He is here to heal. This leads her to another step on her journey of faith, and she now acknowledges Jesus as a “prophet.”

The conversation shifts again, now to the topic of worship. Just to recap, there is a movement going on here, a journey deeper and deeper into this mystery of faith and life. Encounter leads to invitation, invitation to acceptance of faith, acceptance of faith to profession of faith and profession of faith to worship (and, by the end of the account, worship to proclamation and invitation).

The woman raises one of the differences between the Samaritans and the Jews in terms of worship particularly the place of worship. Jesus moves the question from location to substance saying: “But the hour is coming, and is now here, when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth.”

Once again the focus shifts to Jesus as the woman speaks of the Messiah coming, “the one called the Christ; when he comes, he will tell us everything.” Jesus responds: “I am he, the one speaking with you.” Here we see a further opportunity for the woman to grow in faith. Jesus has made himself known, he is the Christ. The faith is centered on Jesus. She has already recognized him as a prophet; now she is moving toward recognizing him as the Christ.

When Jesus’ disciples arrived, the woman goes back to the village and raises the question with the people there: “Could he possibly be the Christ?” The townsfolk go out to see. There is another shift of focus in the passage. Jesus now speaks with his disciples who are urging him to eat. He says his “food” is “doing the will of the one who sent me and to finish his work.” Jesus is referring to his passion and death both here and in the sower/reaper imagery that follows. There is also a reference to his passion earlier in the passage when he twice refers to the coming “hour.”

Though not directly stated at this point, there is a connection between the “living water” and Christ’s death on the cross, his self-sacrificial offering. On the cross, after the soldiers pierce his side, blood and water flowed out (cf. John 19:34). The evangelist shifts our attention again, now to the Samaritans, who we are told have come to believe because of the woman. They now invite Jesus to stay with them.

He does so. He invites them to faith – first through the woman – and now they invite him. They ask him to stay. This movement is one of faith. They want to be with him, they want to learn from him, they want to be healed by him, they want to be saved by him.

The passage ends with an acknowledgement of faith by the townsfolk (speaking 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.” The movement toward faith is now complete, not only in the woman but for all who came to believe through her witness. Jesus is prophet, messiah and savior of the world.

As we continue our journey toward Easter, we reflect on our faith so that it may be strengthened and renewed. At Easter, those of us who are baptized will renew our baptismal promises which are an expression of our faith. Deepening our faith in Christ Jesus and our thanksgiving for the life he has given us is a life-long endeavor. Perhaps this week we can include those simple words of the Samaritan woman in our prayer for faith: “Give me this water.”

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Msgr. Joseph Prior is pastor of Our Lady of Grace Parish, Penndel, and a former professor of Sacred Scripture and rector of St. Charles Borromeo Seminary.