Feeling (spiritually) thirsty?

This meditation (click the address) is part of this homily. It is worth reading in its entirety, two pages. Use it to start prayer/quiet time! https://avemariaradio.net/wp-content/uploads/2013/03/Jesus-I-Thirst.pdf


The COVID-19 pandemic is obviously at the forefront of people’s minds, as so many things are shutting down temporarily, including schools, and groups larger than 250 are discouraged in the state of Indiana.

We are tempted to draw back in fear from others entirely, instead of balancing that fear with the courage and love we are called to as Christians. If we are attentive to proper hygiene and following the advice of medical professionals, we are doing well.

This period of “social distancing” is in fact a great opportunity for a really powerful Lent. In fact, see if the circumstances in the Gospel today match up with what’s going on in our society right now: The woman at the well today encounters Christ at a time of day when no one else is out and about. It’s so hot outside that no one is coming to the well at that time. People are probably taking their afternoon siesta or busy in their homes. The outside world is rather quiet. It is there that the Samaritan woman is out, alone, pushed to the edge of society by others (and perhaps by herself) due to her past. Now it is there, in that quiet space of feeling alone, that Jesus meets her. It is there she can have an extended conversation, a long and deeply personal encounter with Christ.

Brothers and sisters, during these weeks ahead, it is almost as if God is slowing us down, quieting us down, so that He can speak to our hearts about His thirst for us.  But we need to make sure that we don’t fill it with all kinds of useless noise. Use the opportunity well, for real growth.

1 Pet. 2:16 Be free, yet without using freedom as a pretext for evil, but as slaves of God.

Gal. 5:13 For you were called for freedom, brothers. But do not use this freedom as an opportunity for the flesh; rather, serve one another through love.

If this pandemic has made drastic changes to your life for the next weeks, It might be time for a serious re-thinking of what Lent should look like. So how are you going to live the rest of your Lent? Don’t hide from the invitation by the Lord Jesus.

CCC 2560: The wonder of prayer is revealed beside the well where we come seeking water: there, Christ comes to meet every human being. It is he who first seeks us and asks us for a drink. Jesus thirsts; his asking arises from the depths of God's desire for us. Whether we realize it or not, prayer is the encounter of God's thirst with ours. God thirsts that we may thirst for him.

NOW LISTEN TO THESE WORDS FROM A MEDITATION BY MOTHER TERESA, WHERE JESUS IS SPEAKING TO YOU... (read from the end of the meditation linked at the top of this article)