THIRD SUNDAY OF LENT

The first time I heard Fr. Rito telling our St. Matthew congregation that we needed to have a “personal encounter with Jesus Christ,” I was not yet a Catholic. I was going to Mass regularly, learning about the faith, and discerning my path. But when I heard that specific phrase—a personal encounter with Jesus Christ—my ears perked up. It had never occurred to me to think of it in those terms. What would such an encounter be like? How could I have one? And could it really be personal?

This week’s Gospel is about a personal encounter with Jesus Christ. It tells the story of a Samaritan woman who goes to the well for water and leaves with something infinitely more valuable. In this encounter, Jesus sees her in a way no one ever has before. He knows her story and her sins; He knows her down to her very core. He knows that she thirsts for the living water and the life everlasting, even if, like me, she had been unaware.

Jesus tells her that God will be worshiped not just in Jerusalem, but “in spirit and in truth.” With this teaching, He is reminding us that we can adore Him anywhere. A personal encounter with Jesus Christ could happen at a well two thousand years ago, and it could happen today, at the Church, at our homes, at our places of work. The Samaritan woman did not have to be perfect, and neither do we. All that we must do is open our hearts to God’s love and look to Jesus Christ to guide the way.

–Sarah Moll

Send Us Forth are reflections written by St. Matthew parishioners and friends.