At his General Audience held in St. Peter’s Square on March 26, Pope Francis offered a moving catechesis centered on the biblical encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4:5-26), continuing his reflections in the lead-up to Jubilee 2025 under the theme "Jesus Christ, Our Hope."
Before a large crowd of pilgrims and faithful, the Holy Father spoke of how Jesus meets us in the most unexpected places and at the most vulnerable moments of our lives.
“Jesus waits for us and lets Himself be found precisely when we think that there is no hope left for us,” the pope said.
He highlighted how the Samaritan woman, burdened by her past and social isolation, unexpectedly encounters Jesus, who initiates dialogue not with condemnation but with a simple request: "Give me a drink."
This, the pope explained, is Christ’s way of expressing desire and humility. Quoting St. Augustine, he added, “He who was asking for a drink was thirsting for the faith of the woman herself.”
Pope Francis noted the significance of Jesus revealing Himself to the woman as the Messiah and inviting her to worship “in spirit and truth.” The Pope emphasized that through this personal encounter, the woman experiences healing and renewal.
“The past is no longer a burden; she is reconciled,” he said. “And it is like this for us too: to go and proclaim the Gospel, we first need to set down the burden of our history at the feet of the Lord.”
The pope concluded by encouraging the faithful not to lose hope, no matter how complicated or wounded their personal history may seem.
“Even if our history appears burdensome, complicated, perhaps even ruined to us, we always have the possibility of consigning it to God and setting out on our journey. God is merciful and awaits us always!”
The General Audience forms part of the ongoing catechetical cycle in preparation for the Jubilee Year 2025, inviting Catholics to rediscover Christ as the source of hope and new beginnings.
Radio Veritas Asia (RVA), a media platform of the Catholic Church, aims to share Christ. RVA started in 1969 as a continental Catholic radio station to serve Asian countries in their respective local language, thus earning the tag “the Voice of Asian Christianity.” Responding to the emerging context, RVA embraced media platforms to connect with the global Asian audience via its 21 language websites and various social media platforms.
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