A tired and thirsty Jesus sits by Jacob's well in Sychar in Samaria - quite unusual as Jews were told not to enter Samaritan towns. Meanwhile, a Samaritan woman also comes to draw water from the same well. It surprised the woman that Jesus would engage in conversation with her about so-called living water that is able to quench one's deepest thirst: "those who drink of the water that I shall give will never be thirsty."
The Samaritan woman knows what Jesus was talking about. Despite differences in their beliefs, she recognizes Jesus' statements. She also wanted the same living water: "Give me this water, that I may never be thirsty or never have to come back here."
Today we are invited to reflect on our hearts' deepest desire, the one desire about to quench our deepest thirst and our deepest hunger. In our search for our deepest desire, we stumble upon fleeting ones. We can only pursue our hearts' deepest desire when we are free from any kind of inordinate attachment. We all have attachments, some healthy, though some may appear healthy but may not be helpful at all. And as such they become inordinate attachments and, for some, even addictions.
Ultimately our hearts' deepest desire orients us to do God's will. His will is really not something external to us. St. Ignatius of Loyola tells us that we can know God's will through our hearts' deepest desires. God's
will is deeply embedded in our hearts at the onset of life. By prayer we can discern the will of God and obtain strength to do it.
Redeemed by Christ by his own blood and sacrifice, this living water comes down to us in and through the Church, through the sacraments and through our relationships with one another. In and through the Church, we can faithfully discern God's will, the one desire that will quench our deepest thirst and satisfy our deepest hunger.
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