Today we contemplate the conversation with the Samaritan woman. The woman went every day to draw water from an ancient well, and on that day she found Jesus sitting beside the well, “wearied from his journey”.

Saint Augustine comments: “Not for nothing was Jesus tried. The strength of Christ created you, the weakness of Christ recreated you. With his strength he created us, with his weakness he came to seek us out”. Jesus’ weariness, a sign of His true humanity, can be seen as a prelude to the Passion. In the encounter with the Samaritan woman at the well, the topic of Christ’s “thirst” stands out in particular. It culminated in His cry on the Cross “I thirst”. This thirst, like His weariness, had a physical basis. Yet Jesus thirsted for the faith of that woman, as He thirsts for the faith of us all.

—God the Father sent Him to quench our thirst for eternal life, giving us His love, but to give us this gift Jesus asks for our faith. The omnipotence of Love always respects human freedom.