News & Events
Third Sunday of Lent
Posted in News
8th. March 2026
Gospel text: John 4:5-42
Jesus came to the Samaritan town called Sychar, near the land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob’s well is there and Jesus, tired by the journey, sat straight down by the well. It was about the sixth hour. When a Samaritan woman 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, “What? You are a Jew and you ask me, a Samaritan, for a drink?” – Jews, in fact, do not associate with Samaritans. Jesus replied, “If you only knew what God is offering and who it is that is saying to you: ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have been the one to ask, and he would have given you living water.” “You have no bucket, sir,” she answered “and the well is deep: how could you get this living water? Are you a greater man than our father Jacob who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his sons and his cattle?” Jesus replied: “Whoever drinks this water will get thirsty again; but anyone who drinks the water that I shall give will never be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will turn into a spring inside him, welling up to eternal life.” “Sir,” said the woman “give me some of that water, so that I may never get thirsty and never have to come here again to draw water.” “Go and call your husband” said Jesus to her “and come back here.” The woman answered, “I have no husband.” He said to her, “You are right to say, ‘I have no husband’; for although you have had five, the one you have now is not your husband. You spoke the truth there.” “I see you are a prophet, sir,” said the woman. “Our father worshipped on this mountain, while you say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.” Jesus said: ‘Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know: for salvation comes from the Jews. But the hour will come – in fact it is here already – when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: that is the kind of worshipper the Father wants. God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth.” The woman said to him, “I know that Messiah – that is, Christ – is coming; and when he comes he will tell us everything.” “I who am speaking to you,” said Jesus “I am he.”
At this point the disciples returned, and were surprised to find him speaking to a woman, though none of them asked, “What do you want from her?” or “Why are you talking to her?” The woman put down her water jar and hurried back to the town to tell the people, Come and see a man who has told me everything I ever did; I wonder if he is the Christ?”
This brought people out of the town, and they started walking towards him. 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.”
Homily
My dear sisters and brothers, we have begun our journey of Lent, and as with most journeys, we seek to avoid the difficulties on the roads, especially those things which cause disturbances. Lent however is the period of our lives when the Church reminds us of ways in which we conquer the disturbances which cause us to lose sight of God and what God asks of us. Lent invites us to overcome those disturbances as Jesus did when he was tempted by Satan. Today scripture invites us to conquer those disturbances and shows us the means to so do.
Often in life there are chance encounters which change the course of our lives. We have all experienced this. For some of us it was the meeting with the person with whom we have spent the happiest years of our lives. For others, it determined their careers, for others it was the beginning of a long and fulfilling friendship. In all the scenarios mentioned above, these encounters brought real happiness.
The gospel passage which has been given to us for our meditation this weekend brings us face to face with a chance encounter which brought tremendous happiness with it.
The story of the woman at the well is one that we know very well. Jesus tired and thirsty sits at the well and asks a Samaritan woman for a drink of water.
This was a chance encounter but an encounter which brought happiness to the woman who was asked for water. This woman is a very unhappy woman, unhappy no doubt because of the choices which she has made in life. Her response to Jesus’ request for a drink is countered with real bitterness. “What? You are a Jew and you ask me, a Samaritan, for a drink?” Jesus does not respond in kind however, very gently he begins to lead the woman on a discovery of the truth about herself and the real cause of her unhappiness. Once this truth is acknowledged the unhappiness which this woman has is taken away. The dialogue between Jesus and the woman shows us a person who at first refuses to come to terms with the real reasons for her unhappiness. She tries to lead Jesus down a road of charge and counter charge; “Are you a greater man than our father Jacob who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his sons and his cattle?” Jesus wants the woman to understand that it is not external things which bring happiness but that which is inside of her so he tells her, “Whoever drinks this water will get thirsty again; but anyone who drinks the water that I shall give will never be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will turn into a spring inside him, welling up to eternal life.” The woman however refuses to give in, she continues her debate with Jesus in a rather sarcastic manner; “give me some of that water, so that I may never get thirsty and never have to come here again to draw water.”
Jesus decides to force her to look at herself; Go and call your husband and come back here.” he tells her. She seeks to evade the question; She answers, “I have no husband” but Jesus forces her to acknowledge her truth.” You are right to say, ‘I have no husband’; for although you have had five, the one you have now is not your husband. You spoke the truth there.”
With that woman as with us, the cause of our unhappiness is so often the refusal to accept our truth, that perhaps we have made unwise decisions, often going against the advice of those who know us and who love us most.
But facing the truth is often very hard, so we try to evade looking at ourselves very squarely. The woman does this and brings up a topic totally foreign to the truth about herself. She begins to talk about the place of worship. Jesus turns her remark around and tells her that for true worshippers the place of worship is not the issue. True worshippers worship the father in Spirit and in truth. We cannot be true worshippers unless we come to the Father, with the whole truth of ourselves before us so that we can offer it to God for God to purify it. It is in that purification by the Father that we find true fulfillment. The woman at the well finally accepts the truth about herself and with it came great happiness. She could now bring others to Jesus.
My dear brothers and sisters, companions on the journey, like Jesus we must help others come to the truth of themselves, not harshly but gently and in a clear and loving manner, and when we are corrected, anger must not be our response, but rather thankfulness. This must the journey of Lent, we have to come to the truth of ourselves. At times we are more comfortable living a lie but when God calls, he always calls us to the truth, and we must be comfortable living the truth. People who are comfortable in the truth about themselves have no need to try to make an impression; they do not see insults or slights in everything; they are not constantly trying to force people to their will. When someone arrives at that point, they are a joy to be with, and they begin to have a real influence for good on others. Chance encounters can lead us to great happiness but only if in that encounter we are prepared to move from a standpoint of truth.
As we live this Lent let us ask God to bring us to the truth of ourselves, the truth of our families, and our institute so that in our relationships, old and new we may come to that happiness which we all desire and lead others to an encounter with Jesus in which encounter they too will experience great happiness. This is a long and difficult journey but if we stick with it, we reach the fulfillment which we seek. We discover within ourselves the fountain which truly satisfies.
“Whoever drinks this water will get thirsty again, but anyone who drinks the water that I shall give will never be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will turn into a spring inside him, welling up to eternal life.”
Prayer
All powerful and ever-loving God, You created us out of love in your own image but we have sullied this image by the decisions which we so often make. We then refuse to accept what we have made of ourselves. Help us to accept the truth of our lives so that bringing that truth to You, it may be purified allowing us to become people who lead others to You. We ask this through the intercession of Mary, our Mother and your son Jesus. Amen
