Thursday, March 16, 2017

“He Told Me Everything I Have Done!”

Jan Saenredam after Hendrick Goltzius, The Samaritan Woman
Dutch, 1600-1650
Washington, National Gallery of Art*
“Jesus came to a town of Samaria called Sychar,
near the plot of land that Jacob had given to his son Joseph.
Jacob's well was there.

Jesus, tired from his journey, sat down there at the well.
It was about noon.

A woman of Samaria came to draw water.
Jesus said to her,
"Give me a drink."
His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
The Samaritan woman said to him,
"How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?"
—For Jews use nothing in common with Samaritans.—
Jesus answered and said to her,
"If you knew the gift of God
and who is saying to you, 'Give me a drink, '
you would have asked him
and he would have given you living water."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, you do not even have a bucket and the cistern is deep;
where then can you get this living water?
Are you greater than our father Jacob,
who gave us this cistern and drank from it himself
with his children and his flocks?"
Jesus answered and said to her,
"Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again;
but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst;
the water I shall give will become in him
a spring of water welling up to eternal life."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty
or have to keep coming here to draw water."

Jesus said to her,
"Go call your husband and come back."
The woman answered and said to him,
"I do not have a husband."
Jesus answered her,
"You are right in saying, 'I do not have a husband.'
For you have had five husbands,
and the one you have now is not your husband.
What you have said is true."
The woman said to him,
"Sir, I can see that you are a prophet.
Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain;
but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem."
Jesus said to her,
"Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You people worship what you do not understand;
we worship what we understand,
because salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in Spirit and truth."
The woman said to him,
"I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ;
when he comes, he will tell us everything."
Jesus said to her,
"I am he, the one speaking with you."

At that moment his disciples returned,
and were amazed that he was talking with a woman,
but still no one said, "What are you looking for?"
or "Why are you talking with her?"
The woman left her water jar
and went into the town and said to the people,
"Come see a man who told me everything I have done.
Could he possibly be the Christ?"

Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in him
because of the word of the woman who testified,
"He told me everything I have done."
When the Samaritans came to him,
they invited him to stay with them;
and he stayed there two days.
Many more began to believe in him because of his word,
and they said to the woman,
"We no longer believe because of your word;
for we have heard for ourselves,
and we know that this is truly the savior of the world."

John 4:5-29, 39-42 (Excerpt from the Gospel for the Third Sunday of Lent, Year A)

This section of the Gospel of John has been recognized as of great importance since it was written.  It is scheduled for the third Sunday of Lent in Year A and, like the other Year A readings, is used for the Sunday Mass of the Third Sunday at which the catechumens of a parish (i.e., those adults preparing to receive Baptism at the Easter Vigil) participate.  It reminds us of the importance of Baptism, of receiving the “living water” of Jesus, not just for our own lives, but as a cause of the joy that leads to both our own conversion and to our mission to convert the world. 
Christ and the Samaritan Woman at the Well
Late Antique Roman, c. 350
Rome, Catacomb in Via Latina
It has also been a very important subject in the history of Christian art.  Indeed, the earliest image that illustrates it slightly predates the generally agreed point in time at which the Canon of accepted New Testament Scripture was completed.  A painting from the mid-fourth century catacomb in Via Latina shows the woman at the well listening to Jesus, who is represented, as He frequently was at this time, as a youthful, non-bearded philosopher.1

What is it about this story that has made it so powerful over such a long time?  The setting is simple.  There is a well, known to both Jews and Samaritans as the well of their ancestor, Jacob.  There is a man, Jesus, who decides to sit there and rest, while sending His followers to find food for the midday meal.  There is a woman who comes to draw water.  We are specifically told that it is “about noon”.  

Anonymous, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Russian, Second half of 19th Century
St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum
This last statement is important.  “About noon” in the region of Palestine is the hottest time of the day in a generally very hot climate.  It is the time when the sun beats down most directly.  It is not the time for running daily chores, if you can avoid going outside, unless you really want to be by yourself.  It would appear that this woman wanted to avoid encountering others.  She is either ashamed of something or fearful of the comments and actions of others.  In other words, she is hiding.

So, imagine her dismay at finding this solitary Jewish man sitting at the well.  Jews and Samaritans did not mix, nor did unrelated men and women speak to each other in public.  One can imagine similar situations in our own day in areas of fundamentalist Islam where women are tightly circumscribed.  Nevertheless, she needs to get the water before the sun diminishes and the town becomes active again.  So, she decides to ignore the man and steps up to the well to draw her water.  No doubt to her intense astonishment the man speaks to her and asks for a cup of water.  This is not a surprising demand in itself, since water is so very important in a dry, hot land.  What is astonishing is that He is a man and a Jew and she is a woman and a Samaritan.  And she tells Him so (John 4:9).

Pieter de Grebber, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Dutch, 1635
Private Collection
Then He tells her something that is more astonishing even than His speaking to her.   He tells her that He is someone special, a “gift of God” and that He has a source of “living water” (John 4:10).  Living water implies water that is flowing, as at a spring where the water never ceases to flow out of the earth or at a stream, not standing as in a pool or water cistern.  Taking Him at His literal word, she wonders aloud how He can do this since He has no vessel for collecting any water, let alone living water. (John 4:11-12)  Again He answers somewhat cryptically that He is the source of a living water that will prevent thirst forever. (John 4:13-14)  We know He means the water of life that is given to those who believe in Him, enabling them to flourish spiritually forever.  She interprets Him literally.  Still thinking on an everyday level, she asks for this water, so she won’t have to come back to the well again (John 4:15) – and risk painful encounters with those she wants to avoid. 

Bartholomeus Breenburgh, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Dutch, c. 1640-1657
Private Collection
At this point Jesus changes the conversation and asks her to go get her husband and come back. (John 4:16)  Then the bitter truth behind her avoidance of her community comes out.  She has no husband.  And Jesus astonishes her further by telling her the story of her life.  She has no current husband, but has had five and is currently living with a man not her husband. (John 4:17-18) And now she begins to realize that this is not just some ordinary Jewish traveler who happened to sit down at the well.  He is a prophet, who can see into the human soul. (John 4:19)

But, this woman is spirited.  Since He is a prophet she has something she wants to get off her chest.  It is probably a complaint that many Samaritans had “Our ancestors worshiped on this mountain; but you people say that the place to worship is in Jerusalem." (John 4:20).  And He tells her the most astonishing thing so far:
"Believe me, woman, the hour is coming
when you will worship the Father
neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
You people worship what you do not understand;
we worship what we understand,
because salvation is from the Jews.
But the hour is coming, and is now here,
when true worshipers will worship the Father in Spirit and truth;
and indeed the Father seeks such people to worship him.
God is Spirit, and those who worship him
must worship in Spirit and truth." (John 4:21-24)


Abraham Bloemaert, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Dutch, c. 1620
Private Collection 

With that a suspicion grows in her.   “The woman said to him, "I know that the Messiah is coming, the one called the Christ; when he comes, he will tell us everything." (John 4:25)   Could this be Him?  Then, comes confirmation.  “Jesus said to her, "I am he, the one speaking with you." (John 4:26) This is the first time Jesus has made this claim for Himself – and He is making it to a Samaritan who is also a woman and a sinner!  What clearer indication could He give for what His church was going to be for everyone:  Jews, non-Jews, sinners, even women who have been married five times and are now living in an irregular relationship! 

At this point the disciples come up and are so shocked at seeing Him talking to a solitary woman that they seem to be rendered speechless. (John 4:27)

Meanwhile, a great transformation has been worked in this formerly fearful woman.  She leaves her water jug, rushes into the village and tells everyone she meets to “"Come see a man who told me everything I have done.  Could he possibly be the Christ?" (John 4:28-29)   Only half an hour before she was so fearful of being seen in public that she chose to go to the well in the middle of the hottest time of the day, sure that everyone else would be indoors behind thick walls.  Now one can imagine her rushing from house to house, knocking on doors or grabbing people by the arm.  “Come, see!”  Her whole being has been transformed.  Her joy has driven out her fear.  She has become a missionary. 

Her enthusiasm is so great that her neighbors do go and see.  They are so interested that they even invite Him to stay.  And, when He finally departs they have not only her testimony, but their own experience to guide them.  "We no longer believe because of your word; for we have heard for ourselves, and we know that this is truly the savior of the world." (John 4:42)

The story is dramatic, but the drama consists in the conversation of two people, not in great actions.  There is drama here, but it is the drama of a soul being touched by grace and of a life being changed without large, vehement gestures.  Hence, the art that illustrates it may often seem static.  It is, therefore, more in the nature of a sign than of a great narrative.  Consequently, although there are certain distinct iconographies in which artists have represented the scene, there is little development within these iconographies.

The Primitive

The images I would call Primitive are so because they constitute the earliest iconographic type as well as the simplest composition, but the art by which they tell the story is not simplistic.  It begins to appear almost as soon as Christians began to decorate surfaces with art.  We have already seen the example from the catacombs.  There is Jesus, the woman and the well, sometimes represented as a small scene among many other small scenes.   There is virtually no development within this group.

Christ and the Woman at the Well
Early Byzantine, c. 500
Ravenna, Sant'Apollinare Nuovo

Ivory Book Cover with Christ and the Woman at the Well (center of bottom row of images)
Byzantine (Origin Unknown), 550-600
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Latin 9384


Panel from the Cathedra (Episcopal Throne) of
Bishop Maximian
Byzantine (Italy), c. 550
Ravenna, Archepiscopal Museum


Ivory Pyxis with Christ and the Woman at the Well
Byzantine (Eastern Mediterranean), 2nd half of 6th Century
Paris, Musée du Louvre


Biblical Scenes
From Orations by St. Gregory Nazianzus
Byzantine (Constantinople), 879-882
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Grec 510, fol. 215v


Christ and the Woman at the Well (detail)
From Orations by St. Gregory Nazianzus
Byzantine (Constantinople), 879-882
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France 
MS Grec 510, fol. 215v


Christ and the Woman at the Well
from a Gospel Book
Byzantine (Constantinople), 12th Century
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Supplement grec 27, fol.20

Lazaros, Christ and the Woman at the Well
from a Bible
Turkey (Amasya), 1659
France, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Smith-Lesouef (oriental) 253, fol. 243v


With The Disciples Near Jesus


Next to develop is the scene in which the disciples arrive, coming near enough to Christ and the woman to overhear the conversation.  This sets the scene near the end of the discourse between them.  It was a popular way of presenting the scene for many centuries.

Ivory Plaque with New Testament Scenes
Italian, 11th-12th Century
Salerno, Museo Diocesano San Matteo
Christ and the Woman at the Well is at the top.


Christ and the Woman at the Well
Bernward's Column
German, c. 1020
Hildesheim, Church of Saint Mary


Christ and the Woman at the Well
Single Leaf from a Psalter
English (Canterbury), 1155-1160
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 521, fol. 1v

Mosaic of Christ and the Woman at the Well
Italian, c. 1180
Monreale, Cathedral


Christ and the Woman at the Well
from a Book of Hours
German (Franconia), 1204-1219
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 739, fol. 22r

Duccio, Christ and the Woman at the Well
from the Maestà Altarpiece
Italian, 1308-1311
Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bornemisza


Christ and the Woman at the Well
from Vies de la Vierge et du Christ
Italian (Naples), c. 1350
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 9561, fol. 161


Jesus and the Woman at the Well (painted on glass)
German (Southwest), c. 1420
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art


Master of Otto of Moerdrecht, Christ and the Woman at the Well
from a History Bible
Dutch (Utrecht), c. 1430
The Hague, Koninklijk Bibliothek
MS KB 78 D 38-Dl2, fol. 165r

Workshop of the Master of the Rouen Echevinage, Christ and the Woman at the Well
from a Book of Hours
French (Rouen), 1465-1475
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 32, fol. 13v

Workshop of Giovanni della Robbia, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Italian, 1500-1530
Cleveland, Museum of Art

Annibale Carracci, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Italian, c. 1595
Milan, Pinacoteca di Brera


Hendrick de Clerck, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Flemish, c. 1620
Private Collection

Jacob Jordaens, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Dutch, c. 1640
Nizhny Novgorod, Nizhny Novgorod State Art Museum


Jacob van Oost the Younger, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Flemish, 1688
Private Collection

Alessandro Magnasco, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Italian, 1705-1710
Los Angeles, J. Paul Getty Museum

Franz Anton Maulbertsch, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Austrian, 1752-1753
Vienna, Cloister of the Piarist Order, Church of Maria Treu

Johann Jakob Zeiller, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Austrian, 1764
Ottobeuren, Monastery Church of Saints Theodore and Alexander



The Disciples Approaching in the Distance

Another version of the story includes the disciples, but places them in the distance.  They are coming but not yet nearby.  So, the moment is seen as being somewhat earlier in the story.  This also was popular for many centuries.

Fernando Gallego
Spanish, 1480-1488
Tucson AZ, University of Arizona Museum of Art, Kress Gift

Jan Joest von Kalkar, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Dutch, 1508
Kalkar, Catholic Parish Church of Saint Nicholas


Joachim Wteweal, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Dutch, c. 1600
Private Collection

Venetian School, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Italian, First half 17th Century
County Durham UK, Barnard Castle, Bowes Museum

Abraham Bloemaert, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Dutch, 1624-1626
St. Petersburg, FL, Museum of Fine Arts

Lambert Jacobszoon, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Dutch, c. 1625-1635
Private Collection

Bartholomeus Breenburgh, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Dutch, 1634
Private Collection

Francisque Millet, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Flemish, 1650-1700
Cherbourg-Octeville, Musée Thomas Henry


Rembrandt, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Dutch, 1659
St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum


Pierre Mignard, Christ and the Woman at the Well
French, 1690
Paris, Musédu Louvre


Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, Christ and the  Woman at the Well
French, 1752
Rouen, Musée des Beaux-Arts


Norbert Grund, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Czech, c. 1760
Vienna, Belvedere Museum

Just Jesus and the Woman

The version of the story that has resonated the most over the centuries is, however, the scene in which only Jesus and the woman appear in conversation.  It is a natural development from the primitive image of the two figures and the well, fleshed out with all the artistic language of the succeeding centuries.  It may be set close up or in the middle of an open landscape, but the focus is on the interaction of the two.  It does not tie the imagination down to any one moment of the encounter, but is a versatile enough focus to permit artists to set any part of the encounter that appeals to them. 
  • Some chose the first moment of the encounter, as Jesus makes His request to the startled woman.
Juan de Flandres, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Flemish, c. 1496-1504
Paris, Musée du Louvre



Perugino, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Italian, 1500-1505
Chicago, Art Institute
  • Others chose a moment in which the woman responds.

Bedford Master and His Workshop, Christ and the Woman at the Well
from a Book of Hours
French (Paris), 1430-1435
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 359, fol. 55r

Michelangelo, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Italian, c. 1540
Liverpool, Walker Art Gallery

Anonymous Stained Glass Artist, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Dutch, 17th Century
London, Victoria and Albert Museum

Bernardo Strozzi, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Italian, 1630-1640
Heino, Fondation Honnema

  • Still others chose a moment in which she listens attentively to the words of Jesus.

Attributed to Jasper van der Lanen, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Flemish, c. 1600-1630
Private Collection

Anonymous (Italian School), Christ and the Woman at the Well
Italian, c. 1600
Detroit, Institute of Arts

Ceramic Figurine, Christ and the Woman at the Well
French, First half of 17th Century
St. Petersburg, State Hermitage Museum

Artemisia Gentileschi, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Italian, mid-1630s
Private Collection

Matthias Stomer, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Dutch, c. 1630
Zürich, Kunsthaus Zürich


Guercino, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Italian, 1640-1641
Madrid, Museo Thyssen-Bronemisza


Christ and the Woman at the Well
From a Lay Mass Prayer Book
Prayers at the Last Gospel
French, 1700-1750
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Nouvelle acquisition latine 84, fol. 51

Adriaen van der Werff, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Dutch, 1702-1722
Private Collection


Jean Francois de Troy, Christ and the Woman at the Well
French, 1704
Greenville, SC, Museum and Gallery, Bob Jones University

Benedetto Luti, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Italian, 1715-1720
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art

Georg Raphael Donner, Christ and the Woman
at the Well
Austrian, c. 1737-1738
Vienna, Belvedere Museum

Thomas Schaidhauf, Christ and the Woman at the Well
German, 1750-1800
Fuerstenfeldbruck, Catholic Parish Church of Saint Mary Magdalene
(formerly the Monastery Church of the Assumption)


Angelika Kauffmann, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Swiss, 1796
Munich, Neue Pinakotek

Jean Ferdinand Chaigneau, Christ and the Woman at the Well
French, 1857
Bordeaux, Musée des Beaux-Arts

James Tissot, Christ and the Woman at the Well
French, 1886-1892
New York, Brooklyn Museum

Leon Augustin Lhermitte, Christ and the Woman at the Well
French, 1897
New York, Dahesh Museum of Art

All of them present the figures are essentially on a level ground.  Jesus is not larger or very much more active than is the woman.  And she has a dignity that is implied by her bold responses to some of His statements.  One senses a give and take in their encounter that is a trifle different from the encounters shown for most of Jesus’ ministry, most of which involve people pleading for a healing or other action. 

The Missionary

A small number of paintings represent, not the encounter itself, but its aftermath in which the woman reacts to the new understanding she has received.  She is shown engaging with her neighbors, telling them about the things Jesus has told her, or rushing off to town to do it.  Her gestures convey the excitement she feels and the urgency with which she is trying to convey it to her neighbors.

Christ and the Woman at the Well
from a Bible
Egyptian (Damietta), 1178-1180
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Copte 13, fol. 231

Hungarian Master and workshop, Christ and the Woman at the Well
 Single Leaves from Hungarian Anjou Legendary
Italian (Bologna), 1325-1335
New York, Pierpont Morgan Library
MS M 360, fol. 1

Sebastien Bourdon, Christ and the Woman at the Well
French, 1664-1669
Boston, Museum of Fine Arts

The Well

Some comments should be made about the well itself.  Most of the time it is simply a well, usually round and made of blocks.  It may be of the simplest type, in which the user throws in a bucket, scoops up some water and pours that into their jug or other kind of vessel.

Student of Rembrandt, Christ and the Woman at the Well
Dutch, c. 1655
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art


Carl Kretschmar, Christ and the Woman at the Well
German, 1821
Berlin, Nationalgalerie der Staatlichen Museen zu Berlin


It might have a winch, a device to help raise the bucket of water by using the energy of the coil, or it may have an even older device, called a water sweep or shadoof, that uses a counterweight to assist the lift.  All of these images are simple references to a well.  Some later images use the image of a fountain instead of an actual well for the encounter.

Attributed to Jean Faur Courrege, Christ and the Woman at the Well
French, c. 1800
Bordeaux, Musée des Beaux-Arts




Jean Colombe, Christ and the Woman at the Well
from Vita Jesu Christi by Ludolphe of Saxony
French (Bourges), 1475-1500
Paris, Bibliotheque nationale de France
MS Francais 177, fol. 255v

However, a few of the images present a shaped well.  This may take the form of a square or of a hexgon or octogon.  It may even be round.  What makes it obviously different is that the sides are frequently decorated and that there is almost always a rim.

This “well” is actually a reference to the Baptismal font, the place in which souls are given the living water promised by Jesus in His dialogue with the Samaritan woman and, therefore, in close relation with the text of the story. 2


The Saint
Longstanding tradition, especially in the Eastern Churches, both the Orthodox and the Catholic, has given a name to this Samaritan woman, whose encounter with Jesus was so eye-opening.  She is called Photina in the Latin West, Photini in the Greek and Coptic Orthodox and Svetlana in Slavic Orthodoxy.  All these names are taken from the Greek words “the illuminated one”.  And, she is a saint, called in the Orthodox tradition “equal to the Apostles”.

Modern Icon of St. Photini

According to this tradition, as already hinted in the Gospel of John, she became a missionary, first within Samaria and later, following her baptism, in Egypt, where she continued to spread the news of her encounter with the source of the living water.  From Egypt she and her family moved to Rome.  There they were martyred during the first persecution, under Nero.  According to the tradition, her skull is located in the Roman church of San Paolo fuori le Mura (where St. Paul’s body is also interred).  Her feast day in most of the Orthodox churches is February 26 but in some it is March 20, which it also is in the Eastern Catholic Churches.  She is also remembered on the fifth Sunday after Easter (Pascha) in both the Orthodox and Eastern Catholic Churches. 3 

She has or had a feast day in the Roman Catholic church as well.  It is March 20, the same as her feast day in the Byzantine Catholic churches.  This makes this year of 2017 an interesting juxtaposition, since this Gospel is read the day before what should be her feast day (overshadowed this year by the transfer of the feast of St. Joseph from the 19th (its proper date).  However, I have been unable to verify that Photina still has a memorial in the Roman calendar.  It is possible that she, along with many other semi-legendary saints, was removed from the calendar following Vatican Council II.   It is likely that it was. 4   

Modern Icon of the Meeting Between Jesus and the Samaritan Woman

The feast days of many early saints were removed from the calendar of the universal Church in the pruning of multiple saints’ days that followed the Second Vatican Council. Contrary to what is sometimes asserted, removal from the calendar does not mean that the Church has decided that the saint never existed.  It does means that a deliberate choice has been made about which saints’ days should be celebrated universally, rather than in individual countries or dioceses. 5   There are thousands of Catholic saints and not all of them can be celebrated all over the world.  For example, Saint Patrick is someone whom we know actually existed and, for centuries before the formal process of canonization was established, has been revered as a saint and as the “apostle to the Irish”.  However, his name was removed from the main calendar after Vatican II.  It is celebrated in those countries and locations with a special connection to him.  So, therefore, it is not celebrated in Vietnam, for example, but it is celebrated in Ireland and in those other locations around the world where the Irish settled in large numbers.  Hence, every March 17th in New York, the Saint Patrick’s Day Parade processes past Saint Patrick’s Cathedral on Fifth Avenue.6

Abel Grimmer, Christ at the Well of Jacob
Flemish, c. 1590-1619
Enshede, Rijksmuseum Twente
Here we can see her running off, her jug abandoned at the side of the well, as Jesus talks to His disciples.






So we can see that saints, especially those from the time of the early centuries of
the Church, may have few documentary sources to prove that they existed and, clearly, some of the stories of their lives may have been embroidered over time, but if does not follow that they did not live. It was not until much later in history that an elaborate procedure for canonizing individuals as saints was developed.  The “woman at the well” is someone whose existence, if not her name, is attested to by the Gospel of John, but documentation about her later life is probably sparse, if there is any at all.  Yet, it is highly likely that her encounter with Jesus on that noontime visit to the well, did indeed change her life.  Her immediate action of going into town and telling everyone to come and hear this man who had astonished her suggest that she already had a missionary spirit.  For, in the course of her conversation with Him she had gone from a person seeking to avoid notice, someone in hiding, to someone ready to openly proclaim her experience with Him to the world.  She is thus a model for the very disciples who witnessed her transformation.  They themselves would go from hiding in the aftermath of the Crucifixion and emerge into public proclamation after receiving the spirit at Pentecost.  And, she is a model for us as well.

© M. Duffy, 2017

Excerpts from the Lectionary for Mass for Use in the Dioceses of the United States of America, second typical edition © 2001, 1998, 1997, 1986, 1970 Confraternity of Christian Doctrine, Inc., Washington, DC. Used with permission. All rights reserved. No portion of this text may be reproduced by any means without permission in writing from the copyright owner.

*  My own, rather free, translation of the inscription which reads "Quae Solita est viles e fante hauvive liquores / Nunc vivas Christi numine promit aquas" is "The solitary one who once sought worthless liquids now lives through the waters of Christ’s eternal promise."  Prints of this time period often carried a poetically phrased reflection on their subject.  This quotation is attributed on the print to a Bartholomeus Schoneus, who contributed similar epigrams to other prints of this time period.


  1. See my comments on this tradition at: http://imaginemdei.blogspot.com/2008/04/further-on-early-christian-sarcophagi.html and http://imaginemdei.blogspot.com/2011/05/good-shepherd-sunday-fourth-sunday-of.html
  2. See my Mary D. Edwards, ‘On Duccio's "Christ and the Woman From Samaria", Painted For The "Maestà"’, Notes in the History of Art, Vol. 29, No. 4 (Summer 2010), pp. 10-15.  See also:  Richard E. Spear, “Artemisia Gentileschi's 'Christ and the woman of Samaria'”, The Burlington Magazine, Vol. 153, No. 1305 (December 2011), pp. 804-805.
  3. For Saint Photina, Greek Orthodox https://www.goarch.org/chapel/saints?contentid=538, Coptic http://suscopts.org/resources/literature/563/the-samaritan-woman-st-photini/, Antiochene http://www.antiochian.org/st-photini-samaritan-woman, Autochephalus Russian Orthodox in America https://oca.org/saints/lives/2020/03/20/100846-martyr-photina-svetlana-the-samaritan-woman-and-her-sons
  4. See also, the Byzantine Catholic liturgical calendar for 2017.  The Fifth Sunday is May 14 this year. http://www.byzcath.org/index.php/resources-mainmenu-63/2017-liturgical-calendar
  5. “The saints have been traditionally honored in the Church and their authentic relics and images held in veneration. For the feasts of the saints proclaim the wonderful works of Christ in His servants, and display to the faithful fitting examples for their imitation. Lest the feasts of the saints should take precedence over the feasts which commemorate the very mysteries of salvation, many of them should be left to be celebrated by a particular Church or nation or family of religious; only those should be extended to the universal Church which commemorate saints who are truly of universal importance.” (Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy, Sacrosanctum Concilium, Solemnly Promulgated by His Holiness Pope Paul VI on December 4, 1963, Chapter IV, article 111. http://www.vatican.va/archive/hist_councils/ii_vatican_council/documents/vat-ii_const_19631204_sacrosanctum-concilium_en.html.  And see: the Motu Proprio, Mysterii Paschalis (The Paschal Mystery) of Pope Paul VI, dated February 14, 1969, which implemented the changes, specifically Part II, paragraph 3.  http://w2.vatican.va/content/paul-vi/en/motu_proprio/documents/hf_p-vi_motu-proprio_19690214_mysterii-paschalis.html
  6. Press Release from the Congregation for Divine Worship and the Discipline of the Sacraments on the New Roman Missal, Intervention of Cardinal Jorge Arturo Medina Estevez http://www.vatican.va/roman_curia/congregations/ccdds/documents/rc_con_ccdds_doc_20020327_card-medina-estevez_it.html

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