The theme of desire is fundamental to understanding this encounter. Jesus is the first to express His desire: “Give me a drink!” For the sake of opening a dialogue, Jesus makes Himself appear weak, in order to put the other person at ease, making sure that she is not frightened. Thirst is often, even in the Bible, the image of desire. But Jesus here thirsts first of all for the woman’s salvation. “He who was asking drink”, says Saint Augustine, “was thirsting for the faith of the woman herself.”
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Just like a person in love, the Samaritan forgets her water jar, leaving it at Jesus’ feet. The weight of that jar on her head, every time she returned home, reminded her of her condition, her troubled life. But now the jar is left at Jesus’ feet. The past is no longer a burden; she is reconciled. And it is like this for us too: to go and proclaim the Gospel, we first need to set down the burden of our history at the feet of the Lord, to consign to Him the weight of our past. Only reconciled people can bring the Gospel.
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Pope Francis
Catechesis prepared for the General Audience
March 26, 2025
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