She probably replayed it in her head over and over again. The regrets went in a continuous loop. If she was honest with herself, which was rare, she felt cornered with nowhere to turn.
The betrayals kept coming. She couldn’t even join the rest of the crowd who went to draw water in the cool of the morning. She chose to walk to the well under the scalding light of the noon day sun. Why?
Because if she was around other people, they’d point. “Don’t turn out like her,” they’d whisper to their children as the rushed them along. She had a reputation in that town. She’d rather endure the unrelenting noon-day heat than the relentless gossip and finger pointing of the crowd.
We meet the woman of Samaria in the Gospel today. So does Jesus. Or rather, she meets Him.
The woman of Samaria was known. She was on her fifth husband. Her life was in turmoil. She was exiled to this sweltering time of the day to do the hard work of lugging water home.
Water, the source of life …
And the Lord comes along: “Jesus, tired from His journey, sat down at the well. It was about noon” (Jn. 4:6). The heat has taken its toll even on the Lord.
Jesus then enters into conversation with the woman. It is as if He begins to hear her Confession. And the Lord reveals Himself as the true well – the true source of the water of life. And now she is known to Jesus. And He forgives her.
This Lent we can pass by the well too. The Confessional is the well. It is the place where we meet the life give water of God’s forgiveness for our sins. Let the world point, whisper and glare.
But let Jesus forgive you. The Sacrament of Confession is the place we meet Him just as sure as the woman of Samaria did. And like her, we can be changed. Parish Confessions are scheduled for Tuesday Afternoon, March 24 at 4 p.m. and in the evening at 7 p.m. in the Church. We will have visiting priests assisting in hearing Confessions at those two times.
God bless,
Msgr. Bransfield
