In his March 8 Angelus address, Pope Leo XIV used the Gospel reading of the Samaritan woman at the well to illustrate that Jesus alone can truly quench thirst and instill faith.
Pope Leo reflected that like Jesus’ meeting with the woman, every encounter with God “stirs in the depths of each person ‘a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.’” He said people across the world long for that “spiritual spring” and are looking for contact with Jesus but human nature tends to block the source of living water. However, he encouraged the faithful to open themselves to Jesus, saying, “Dear friends, there is no energy better spent than that dedicated to freeing our heart.”
The Pope also highlighted the fact that the disciples’ reaction to Jesus’ conversation with the woman was astonishment, saying that they were “reluctant to accept his mission as their own.” He noted that Jesus had to remind them that despite appearances, the fields “are ripe for harvesting,” a realization that takes an act of faith.
“In the fields, four months prior to the harvest, one sees practically nothing. But there, where we see nothing, grace is already at work and its fruits are ready to be gathered,” Pope Leo said. “The harvest is great: perhaps the workers are few because they are distracted by other activities. Jesus, on the other hand, is attentive.”
The Pope said that if Jesus had been following Jewish customs, he would have ignored the Samaritan woman. However, Pope Leo said that Jesus recognized her thirst, spoke to her, and treated her with respect, “without a hidden agenda and without disdain.”
He continued, “How many people seek in the Church this same sensitivity, this availability! And how beautiful it is when we lose track of time in order to give attention to the person we are encountering, as we see in this passage.”
That encounter at the well led to several other healed relationships with the Lord after the woman returned to her village and evangelized, Pope Leo pointed out. He said that once “despised and rejected people” from the village came to meet Jesus, “faith bubbled forth like pure water” in them.
He continued, “Sisters and brothers, today let us ask Mary, Mother of the Church, to be able to serve, with Jesus and like Jesus, those men and women thirsting for truth and justice. This is not the time for opposition between one church and another, between ‘us’ and ‘them’: those who worship God seek to be men and women of peace, who worship him in Spirit and in truth.”
Following the Angelus, Pope Leo renewed his calls for peace in Iran and the entire Middle East as the war enters its second week.
“We lift up our humble prayer to the Lord, so that the thunderous sound of bombs may cease, weapons may fall silent, and a space for dialogue may open up in which the voice of the people can be heard,” he said. “I entrust this intention to the Blessed Virgin Mary, Queen of Peace, that she may intercede for those who suffer because of war and lead hearts along the paths of reconciliation and hope.”
He also acknowledged March 8 as International Women’s Day, saying, “We renew our commitment, which for us Christians is based on the Gospel, to recognize the equal dignity of man and woman.”