Life-Giving Fountains: A Lenten Reflection
By Fr. Mauricio Carrasco
Springs of water were made holy as Christ revealed his glory to the world. Draw water from the fountain of the Savior, for Christ our God has hallowed all creation. — Morning Prayer Antiphon, Liturgy of the Hours
Lent is a time of springs and fountains. This season is a journey toward the baptismal font for all catechumens and for us as well. This might lead us to reflect on the significance of springs and fountains in the Bible.
Their importance can be traced back to the appearance of wells in the Old Testament. Abraham’s servant finds Rebekah, Isaac’s future wife, at a well (Gen 24:11-15). Jacob meets his future wife Rachel at a well (Gen 29:1-14). Moses meets his wife Zipporah by a well (Exod 2:15-22). One could easily put in the mouths of all these patriarchs the beautiful expression from Antoine de Saint-Exupéry’s The Little Prince: “What makes the desert so beautiful . . . is that it hides a well somewhere.”
Geographically speaking, wells are places of life. Biblically speaking, they are places of encounter. We should not be surprised, then, that on the third Sunday of Lent, the Church recommends that all catechumens and their parish communities listen to a story about Jesus meeting a woman at a well (John 4:5-42). This is because Lent is about finding the well, the place of life and encounter, in our deserts. We are the Samaritan woman, and Christ is our Fountain, our Well. The hope is that in our encounter with him throughout Lent, we might become fountains ourselves.
As we take that journey this Lent, we can focus on three fountains that we find in all of our churches:
First, the altar. In the Old Testament, the Lord “split the rocks in the desert. He gave them plentiful drink as from the deep. He made streams flow out from the rock” (Ps 78:15-16). This is what happened when God commanded Moses to strike a rock so that water would flow and the Israelites could drink (Exod 17:1-7; Num 20:2-13). This rock, St. Paul would later make clear, was Christ (1 Cor 10:4). Today this rock, represented by the altar, continues to give plentiful drink. Accordingly, it is recommended that the altar should be fashioned from natural stone whenever possible. The priest no longer strikes this rock but prays the words of consecration, and grace flows out in the Body and Blood of Christ.
Another fountain we find in all Catholic churches is a crucifix, the body of Jesus on a cross. Here, we are reminded of the water that perpetually flows from the side of Jesus (John 19:34). Every time we celebrate Mass in memory of him (Luke 22:19), we are drinking from a wellspring that exists outside of time. The letter to the Hebrews explains that because Jesus was the Eternal High Priest, he only needed to offer “one sacrifice for sins” (10:12). This spring, therefore, reaches backward and forward in time.
The third fountain we find in our churches is the baptismal font. Here, the church’s womb bears forth new life. We are invited to await, birth, nourish, and restore this new life. Christ, our Blessed Mother, the saints, and the whole earth, bear witness that this process, like human birth, can be painful and messy, but for Christians, this is transformation and newness of life (Rom 8:22; Gal 4:19).
Perhaps the question we can ask as we begin Lent this year is: What do I need to do to become a life-giving fountain, and not a drain?
