In October last year, while awaiting the start of the walk to mark the Day of Prayer, Repentance and Healing I engaged a Hindu woman in discussion. While we sat at the Fernandes compound I listened to her as she shared her beliefs with me.

As we conversed she shared that despite being a devout Hindu, she sensed that there was a deeper meaning to life that she had not grasped or experienced.

I then began to share with her my experience of God's love and the difference that the life, death and resurrection of Jesus makes to my life and others like me who believe in him. As the walk began we both joined our respective groups but she promised to keep in touch with me.

In the following months I continued to share the power of Jesus with her and I saw the intensity with which she entered into all that I said to her whenever we met.

Earlier this month she called me to say that she had signed up to join an RCIA programme where she lived because she had come to believe the truth of all I had explained to her and that she desired to know more.

The Samaritan woman of today's gospel had a similar encounter and experience with Jesus. Here is a woman, devout and honest about what she believes in but lacking that extra meaning to her life.

As she enters into the encounter with Jesus, her beliefs are clarified and her life is so transformed that she proclaims to the people " come and see a man who has told me everything I ever did ". That transformation, however, only occurred because of the attitude of Jesus as he related with the Samaritan woman.

As we continue our Lenten journey we are invited by today's Gospel to reflect Jesus' attitude and examine our own attitudes as we relate to our world and people with beliefs and philosophies different to ours.

Although the Jews and Samaritans had fundamentally different beliefs that were well known, Jesus, as he entered into the encounter with the woman, listened to her as she shared her belief.

He did not assume to know what her experience was but rather allowed her to relate exactly what that was. How many times in our relationships with people we do not allow ourselves the opportunity to meet them where they are and begin our relationship from there.

To do so is to enter into a relationship that would allow people to come into real self-discovery and is the basis for transformation that is permanent and fulfilling. In those circumstances like the Samaritan woman they can honestly respond, " I have no husband."

There is so much transformation that we wish to effect around us. As individuals, we recognise the futility of our lifestyles, in our families there are loved ones not realising their full potentials, in our parish and Church communities we fail to fully live the gospel values, in our country and world we live by philosophy that is death-leading rather than life-giving.

We would like transformation to take place in all these areas. It can and will happen to the extent that we and all others who desire such transformation adopt the attitude of Jesus in today's Gospel and respectfully listen to the life story of those whom we wish to change.

It is in that listening that we can enter into relationship with them and lead them to the self-realisation that " the Messiah that is the Christ is coming; and when he comes he will tell us everything."

As they enter into this self -realisation they will then be able to accept with conviction the truth that, " I who am speaking to you," . "I am he."

Lord, we thank you for the great leaders we have who have transformed our world.

•  Mahatma Gandhi in India

•  Martin Luther King in America

•  Nelson Mandela in South Africa

•  Pope John Paul II in our time

They have listened respectfully to the experience of their world and used that experience to bring meaningful transformation to the world. May their example inspire us as we undertake to transform our world.

Lord, we ask forgiveness for all the times when we have attempted to impose our beliefs on people.

•  We condemn young people for listening to a different type of music.

•  We are intolerant of other faiths and beliefs.

Help us to understand that those attitudes will not bring people into a deeper meaning of life. Give us the grace to ask like Jesus, "Give me a drink."

Lord, we pray for all those who are honestly seeking the truth of life. Bring to them people like Jesus who will enter into relationship with them and "tell them everything they have ever done."

Gospel Meditations for February are by Glen Cazoe, a member of the Maloney Parish Council and chairman of the Spirituality Committee.