PRAYER / Lenten Reflection 2005 Sunday, February 27, 2005 Third Sunday of Lent

Water is the dominant element in today’s readings.

“Strike the rock, and the water will flow,” is God’s answer to Moses’ plea for help. In the gospel, Jesus says to the woman at the well, “Give me a drink.” Later in the story, the woman of Samaria says to Jesus, “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.” We know water is essential to sustain the Earth and its inhabitants. It is a basic human right. All of us understand our need for water, when we are thirsty on a humid summer day, when we are tired and sweaty while walking in the sun, and when the city water main bursts a few blocks from our home. This Samaritan woman can remind us of the many women throughout our world who must walk to a well every day and carry large jars of water back to their village.

Aren’t governments everywhere responsible for the access and distribution of water in their countries?

Let us reflect on our own use of water. Do I appreciate my easy access to water? Do I try to conserve water in my own home, at work, in school? Could I be an advocate and defender of “water for all” as a Human Right? Today, when I see or use water I will remember it is a gift of God. I will develop a reverential attitude toward water and pray with gratitude for this gift. My prayer will reach out to all those who must struggle to obtain it and for those who do not have clean water. “God, you are truly the Savior of the world; give me living water, that [we] may never thirst again.”

Contributor: Sister Ethel Howley

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