Come and Drink!

2 quotes every Catholic should know and live by:
Augustine: You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you.
Irenaeus: The glory of God is man fully alive, and the life of man is to see the face of God.
          Union with God is our true spiritual food. And with good habits, we grow to want this true and lasting food that actually satisfies.
          My sister Katie has three kids, two of them are at the toddler age. She probably wishes that they could just simply eat three times a day along with her and not need anything else, but the truth is they want more than just that. So she has to have them nibble on other things. This doesn’t replace the main meal but it is also important, and it also prepares them for the meal if done well. 
          God wishes to transform our minds with spiritual food. This food is above all found in the 
Eucharist, but God gives it to us in so many ways, and our daily prayer lives is an important one, no matter what form that takes.
(AQUINAS) Note on the words, all you that thirst, come to the waters (55:1), that divine doctrine is first called water: and this is first because it heals the sick: she shall give him the water of wisdom to drink (Sir 15:3) second, because it cleanses the filthy: I will pour upon you clean water, and you shall be cleansed from all your filthiness (Ezek 36:25) third, because it satisfies the thirsty: if anyone shall drink of the water that I will give, he shall not thirst for ever (John 4:13).994. Second, it is called wine: and this is first because it stings in argument, above: thy wine is mingled with water (1:22); second, because it inflames in exhortation: the word of the Lord inflamed him (Ps 104[105]:19); third, because it inebriates in consolation, below: that you may be inebriated with the breasts of her consolations (66:11).995. Third, it is called milk: and this is first because of its beauty: Nephthali, a hart let loose, and giving words of beauty (Gen 49:21); second, because of its sweetness: let thy voice sound in my ears: for thy voice is sweet (Song 2:14); third, because of the ease with which it is taken: as newborn babes, desire milk (1 Pet 2:2).

READ ALL OF ISAIAH 55! We heard half of it in two weekends this past month. You will love it.
Isaiah 55:1 All you that thirst, come to the waters: and you that have no money make haste, buy, and eat: come ye, buy wine and milk without money, and without any price. 55:2 Why do you spend money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which doth not satisfy you? Hearken diligently to me, and eat that which is good, and your soul shall be delighted in fatness.
55:3 Incline your ear and come to me: hear and your soul shall live, and I will make an everlasting covenant with you, the faithful mercies of David. 55:4 Behold I have given him for a witness to the people, for a leader and a master to the Gentiles. 55:5 Behold thou shalt call a nation, which thou knewest not: and the nations that knew not thee shall run to thee, because of the Lord thy God, and for the Holy One of Israel, for he hath glorified thee. 55:6 Seek ye the Lord, while he may be found: call upon him, while he is near. 55:7 Let the wicked forsake his way, and the unjust man his thoughts, and let him return to the Lord, and he will have mercy on him, and to our God: for he is bountiful to forgive. 55:8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts: nor your ways my ways, saith the Lord. 55:9 For as the heavens are exalted above the earth, so are my ways exalted above your ways, and my thoughts above your thoughts. 55:10 And as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, and return no more thither, but soak the earth, and water it, and make it to spring, and give  seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: 55:11 So shall my word be, which shall go forth from my mouth: it shall not return to me void, but it shall do whatsoever I please, and shall prosper in the things for which I sent it. 55:12 For you shall go out with joy, and be led forth with peace: the mountains and the hills shall sing praise before you, and all the trees of the country shall clap their hands. 55:13 Instead of the shrub, shall come up the fir tree, and instead of the nettle, shall come up the myrtle tree: and the Lord shall be named for an everlasting sign, that shall not be taken away.
          First profession of the SSFPA. Three sisters made three-year promises to live fully the community life of the Congregation.  They have chosen Christ to be the center of their lives and have founded their sense of identity firmly in Him. They look at themselves through the reflection found in His eyes, and thus they are satisfied. They are not feeling, as the lies of this world tell us, that they are “repressed,” “stifled,” or “naive.” They have a joy and a peace that the world does not ever give, even for those with all the money and fame and health that they could ever want. They are fully alive because they behold the face of God in prayer. They are at rest because their hearts rest in God.
          This is what Jesus offers us. We don’t need to be nuns to have this, which is good news for me! God doesn’t rule out anyone. All who are thirsty are invited to come to the waters of baptism, that first water that begins the life that fills us. Through baptism, all of us have the voice of the Father spoken over us can now dare to say, “our Father,” at the savior’s command and formed by divine teaching. Through baptism, all of us have heaven open to us as it was to Jesus, who draws us into Himself. Through baptism all of us are forever carried in the Father’s heart.
          And the deeper you go into this reality, the more you see how the rest of the “food” the world is offering us is just rice cakes and cotton candy: flashy, zingy, sweet, but pretty empty. We end up not-so-fully alive, more just getting by or holding on or treading water.
          So what is that next step for you? How is Jesus calling you to come to the water more fully? What false satisfaction do you need to let go of as you replace it with more time beholding His face and resting in Him? Ask St. Therese to help you. Ask her to show you how to endure the gaze of love that God is showering upon you.