Lent-the forty-day period of spiritual preparation for the most significant days of the Church's year: Holy Thursday, Good Friday, and Easter Sunday -is one of the oldest liturgical periods in the history of Christianity. Although its current form came about officially only in the fourth century, its special liturgical character was lived even earlier, throughout the era of Roman persecution.For this reason, the Gospel passages we proclaim at Mass each year on the Sundays of Lent also have a long history, especially the passages for the first year in the three-year cycle of Sunday readings. In fact, those passages have so long been part of the Lenten season that pastors always have the option of using them every year, not just once every three years.This ancient tradition chooses as the Gospel passage for the Third Sunday of Lent the mysterious encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman. It takes place while Jesus is resting alone near Jacob's Well and his disciples have gone into town to get some supplies before continuing their journey. That encounter is the subject of this Retreat Guide.