CHRIST'S THIRST, A SYMBOL OF HIS HUMANITY

VATICAN CITY, 27 MAR 2011 (VIS) - At midday today, returning from his visit to Rome's "Fosse Ardeatine", the Holy Father appeared at the window of his study to pray the Angelus with faithful gathered in St. Peter's Square.

He spoke about the Gospel reading of this third Sunday of Lent, which describes Christ's meeting with the Samaritan woman "who daily went to draw water from the ancient well that dated back to the Patriarch Jacob. That day she found Jesus there, 'tired out by his journey'", the Pope said. "Jesus' tiredness, a sign of His authentic humanity, can be seen as a prelude to the Passion in which He fulfilled the work of our redemption. What particularly emerges from His meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well is the theme of Christ's thirst, which culminates with His cry on the cross: 'I am thirsty'.

"His thirst, like His tiredness, certainly had a physical basis", Benedict XVI added, but as St. Augustine says, Jesus was also "'thirsting for the faith of the woman', as He thirsts for the faith of each one of us. God the Father sent Him to satisfy our thirst for eternal life, giving us His love; but to make us this gift Jesus asks for our faith. The omnipotence of Love always respects man's freedom; it knocks at the door of his heart and patiently awaits an answer.

"The meeting with the Samaritan woman highlights the symbol of water, a clear allusion to the Sacrament of Baptism, font of new life for the faith in the Grace of God", the Holy Father concluded. "This water represents the Holy Spirit, the 'gift' par excellence which Jesus came to bring us from God the Father. ... Thanks to the meeting with Jesus Christ and to the gift of the Holy Spirit, the faith of each individual attains fulfilment in response to the fullness of God's revelation".
ANG/ VIS 20110328 (330)