“A Love of Cold Water …”

“Here is Divine Innocence, dealing with a woman whom we will discover to be a great sinner. And what is his method and approach to that soul? He finds a common denominator of conversation. It’s human necessity. He had to go down deep to find anything in common between them, but there was still something common, namely, a love of cold water in the middle of a hot day.”

— Servant of God Fulton Sheen (1895-1979) on the Woman at the Well

I recently heard this quote on a Catholic radio show, and it made me think of the good people who line race courses handing out cups of water to the runners-by. Volunteers, all of them, who out of their kindness and generosity make possible the events that bring joy to so many runners.

A race can, paradoxically, be the most unifying and the most isolating of circumstances. Here we run, crammed alongside other runners. We all share the same passion and the same goal, and there is a tangible energy that connects us all in those minutes before the starting gun. Yet we seldom if ever speak to one another during the race. And as we slip into the “zone,” we slip out of awareness. By the time we reach the first, fifth, or fifteenth water station, we may grab the offered cup without even thinking, without so much as looking at the volunteer handing it out, let alone expressing our gratitude.

Still, again and again, we are brought together by … our love of cold water on a hot day.

With God there are no coincidences, no wasted moments, no purposeless meetings. Every person we encounter, every time our eyes meet with someone else’s, somehow, He uses this exchange for His purpose. In running, of course, we encounter many people: Every jog down the block involves passing meetings with neighbors and friends, strangers and other runners. Likewise, every trip to the water station entails the making of a new acquaintance for both parties. How we treat the volunteer, whether it be with indifference, or eye contact and a smile, or perhaps even some kind words, can have an effect greater than we will ever know.

Jesus used a trip to the well to evangelize one woman and, through her, an entire community. “Many of the Samaritans of that town began to believe in Him because of the word of the woman” (Jn. 4:39). Something to keep in mind at that next water station, drawn, as we are, by a love of cold water in the middle of a hot day.


Woman at the Well (Part 1) - Archbishop Fulton Sheen