He who desired to drink (St. Augustine / Carole M. Stephens)

He who desired to drink
thirsted for the faith of the woman.

 --St. Augustine 

 

   When the woman came to the well, Jesus—the embodiment of living water—said simply, ‘Give me to drink.’ Our Savior will likewise speak to us in a voice we recognize when we come to Him—for He knows us. He meets us where we are. And because of who He is and what He has done for us, He understands. Because He has experienced our pain, He can give us living water when we seek it. He taught this to the Samaritan woman when He said, ‘If thou knewest the gift of God and who it is that saith to thee, Give me to drink; thou wouldest have asked of him, and he would have given thee living water.’ Finally understanding, the woman responded in faith and asked, ‘Sir, give me this water, that I thirst not.’ 

   When we come to Him with humble and teachable hearts—even if our hearts are heavy with mistakes, sins, and transgressions—He can change us, ‘for he is mighty to save.’ And with hearts changed, we can, like the Samaritan woman, go into our own cities—our homes, schools, and workplaces—to witness of Him. 

--Carole M. Stephens,
The Master Healer

Image source: Angelica Kauffman, Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well (1796), https://www.wikiart.org/en/angelica-kauffman/christ-and-the-samaritan-woman-at-the-well-1796
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Sunday Gospel Reflection, March 8, 2026: Hope does not disappoint...

Hope does not disappoint…
What does it take for us to trust in God? 

   As they traverse the desert on their way to the Promised Land in the Book of Exodus, the people of Israel have every reason to grumble against Moses. After all, they are afraid they will die here of thirst with their children and their livestock! It is not an idle complaint. God’s promise was clear; God promised to take care of them. And yet the moment they are afflicted, the promise goes out the window. Their hearts, as Psalm 33 states, are hardened, and they test the Lord, rejecting God and turning on Moses. But Moses turns to God, knowing that God can provide what he himself can’t. Strike the rock, and the water will flow from it, God tells Moses. Moses relies on God to do the unexpected, to lead him where he needs to be, rather than where he wants to be. 

   When, in John’s Gospel, Jesus comes to Jacob’s well in Sychar, a town of Samaria, he plans to call those rejected by the Jews to have faith in him. His encounter with the Samaritan woman is transformative; he is calling her – and her town – to something new, opening her slowly to the revelation present in her midst, Jesus himself, the Christ. Jesus is not caught up in the woman’s possible sin; Jesus is caught up in her personhood and in the dignity of her humanity and in her capacity to give witness. Trusting in the Lord who entrusts her with his presence, the Samaritan woman runs to town filled with the Spirit, leaving behind her water jug but carrying with her living water that she brings to her community to drink. 

    We too are called to trust, to faith, to belief in that which we cannot prove. We are called to take a leap beyond all physical evidence and to trust in all that God has revealed. In his Letter to the Romans, Paul reminds them that we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ; his is the grace in which we stand, a capacity to stand and give witness. Our struggle is to get past our wants and needs and to remain hopeful for that which is to come, that which is promised – his love for us, a love greater than any we have ever imagined. For that is where true faith leads us, beyond our comprehension, stretching us farther than we ever thought possible, so long as our hearts are open to his revelation and to his promise.

This post is based on Fr. Pat’s Scripture Class.
Image source: www.wordclouds.com

Bless the world (John J. Morris S.J.)

Mighty God, Father of all,
Compassionate God, Mother of all,
Bless every person I have met,
every face I have seen,
every voice I have heard,
especially those most dear.
Bless every city, town and
street that I have known.
Bless every sight I have seen,
every sound I have heard,
every object I have touched.
In some mysterious way
these have all fashioned my life:
all that I am,
I have received.
Great God, bless the world. 

--John J. Morris, S.J. 

Image source: Snow on Mt. Tam, February 24, 2023, https://millvalleylit.com/rare-snow-on-mt-tam/
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He was transfigured (St. Leo the Great / St. Anastasius)

He was transfigured so that
we might be transformed.

—St. Leo the Great 

    Jesus goes before us to show us the way, both up the mountain and into heaven and — I speak boldly — it is for us now, to follow him with all speed. . . Let us run with confidence and joy to enter into the cloud like Moses and Elijah, or like James and John. Let us be caught up like Peter to behold the divine vision and to be transfigured by that glorious transfiguration. Let us retire from the world, stand aloof from the earth, rise above the body, detach ourselves from creatures and turn to the Creator, to whom Peter in ecstasy exclaimed: ‘Lord, it is good for us to be here.’

--St. Anastasius 

Image source: Giovanni Bellini, Transfiguration of the Lord (ca. 1480), https://newtheologicalmovement.blogspot.com/2011/08/why-did-jesus-privilege-peter-james-and.html
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Being happy (Pope Francis)

    You can have flaws, be anxious and even be angry, but don’t forget that your life is the greatest business in the world. Only you can stop it from failure. You are appreciated, admired and loved by many. Remember that being happy is not having a sky without storms, a road without accidents, a job without effort, relationships without disappointments. 

    Being happy is to stop feeling a victim and become the author of your own destiny. It's going through deserts, but being able to find an oasis deep in your soul. It's to thank God every morning for the miracle of life. It’s kissing your children, cuddling your parents, having poetic moments with your friends, even when they hurt us. 

    To be happy is to let live the creature that lives in each of us, free, joyful and simple. It's having maturity to be able to say: "I made mistakes". Having the courage to say "I'm sorry". It's having a sensitivity to say "I need you". Is having the ability to say "I love you". May your life become a garden of opportunities for happiness... that in spring I can be a lover of joy and in winter a lover of wisdom. 

    And when you make a mistake, start over. Because only then will you fall in love with life. You will find that being happy doesn't mean having a perfect life. But life uses tears to irrigate tolerance. Use your defeats to train your patience. 

    Use your mistakes with the serenity of the sculptor. Use pain to tune into pleasure. Use obstacles to open the windows of intelligence. Never give up ... Above all, never give up on the people that love you. Never give up on happiness, because life is an amazing show. 

 --Pope Francis, 2023 

Image & quotation source: https://sacredheartfl.org/wisdom-from-pope-francis/

Allowing his love to transform us (Fr. Patrick van der Vorst)

There’s something beyond this world
that can be glimpsed through this world.

--Bishop Robert Barron

     Many of us have likely stood on the summit of a mountain at some point in our lives. Standing there, we often experience a profound sense of distance from the world below, a peaceful detachment from the busyness of everyday life. It was to such a place that Jesus led three of his disciples to pray, away from the crowds and distractions. As He prayed, something extraordinary happened: “the appearance of his face changed.” In that moment, Jesus heard his Father’s voice calling Him in love: “This is my Son, my Chosen One.” There’s something deeply human about hearing our name spoken with love—it transforms us. Our faces light up, and our hearts are lifted. Conversely, when we encounter hostility or rejection, the opposite effect is visible—our features darken, and sadness takes hold. We see this contrast vividly in images from war-torn regions, where countless faces reflect grief and suffering. 

    On the mountain, Jesus was being strengthened for what lay ahead: the journey into the valley, where suffering and sacrifice awaited Him. The disciples, however, struggled to grasp this reality. When the voice from heaven commanded, “Listen to him!” it was a call for them to heed Jesus’ words about the necessity of his suffering and death, words they found difficult to accept. They hesitated to come down from the mountain, reluctant to face the challenging road that awaited them. 

    As followers of Jesus, we too live between the mountain and the valley—between moments of prayerful encounter with God and the daily challenges of life and work. We tend to spend far more time in the valley than on the mountain. Yet, the mountain of prayer is essential. It’s where we step back, quieten our hearts, and simply be in God’s presence, allowing his love to transform us and strengthen us for whatever the valley may bring. 

--Fr. Patrick van der Vorst 

Image source: Transfiguration, St. John’s Bible, https://webpages.scu.edu/ftp/cmurphy/courses/sctr015/prep/xams/saint-johns-bible.htm.
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To help God transfigure the world (Michael Battle)

   You and I are placed in this world of hatred, violence, anger, injustice, and oppression to help God transform it, transfigure it, and change it so that there will be compassion, laughter, joy, peace, reconciliation, fellowship, friendship, togetherness, and family. We are here to bring others out of exile. 

—Michael Battle

Image & quotation source: https://cac.org/daily-meditations/loving-in-a-time-of-exile-weekly-summary/