Daily Reflection – Ask Him to Give You a Thirst for His Word
Give Us This Day – Bountiful the Giver
| In our sickness we need a saviour, in our wanderings a guide, in our blindness someone to show us the light, in our thirst the fountain of living water which quenches forever the thirst of those who drink from it. We dead people need life, we sheep need a shepherd, we children need a teacher, the whole world needs Jesus! If we would understand the profound wisdom of the most holy shepherd and teacher, the ruler of the universe and the Word of the Father, when using an allegory he calls himself the shepherd of the sheep, we can do so for he is also the teacher of little ones. Speaking at some length through Ezekiel to the Jewish elders, he gives them a salutary example of true solicitude. I will bind up the injured, he says; I will heal the sick; I will bring back the strays and pasture them on my holy mountain [cf. Ezek 31:11–16]. These are the promises of the Good Shepherd. . . . Such is our Teacher, both good and just. He said he had not come to be served but to serve, and so the gospel shows him tired out, he who laboured for our sake and promised to give his life as a ransom for many [Matt 20:28; Mark 10:45], a thing which, as he said, only the Good Shepherd will do. How bountiful the giver who for our sake gives his most precious possession, his own life! He is a real benefactor and friend, who desired to be our brother when he might have been our Lord, and who in his goodness even went so far as to die for us! |
Meditation of the Day – Have You Really Met Jesus?
“I worry some of you still have not really met Jesus—one to one—you and Jesus alone. We may spend time in the chapel—but have you seen with the eyes of your soul how He looks at you with love? Do you really know the living Jesus—not from books but from being with Him in your heart? Have you heard the loving words He speaks to you? Ask for the grace; He is longing to give it. Until you can hear Jesus in the silence of your own heart, you will not be able to hear Him saying ‘I Thirst’ in the hearts of the poor. Never give up this daily intimate contact with Jesus as the real living person—not just the idea.” — Saint Mother Teresa, p.129-30
//The Catholic Company//
Daily Devotion – Deepest Longing
“O God, You are my God; with deepest longing I will seek You; My soul [my life, my very self] thirsts for You, my flesh longs and sighs for You, in a dry and weary land where there is no water.” – Psalm 63:1 AMP
Considering his situation, David felt hopeless. He was outnumbered and overwhelmed with problems. Writing this psalm in the wilderness of Judah, he felt alone, without any sense that help was on the way. He was “in a dry and weary land where there is no water.”
It would have been easy to give up. Instead, he determined to seek God with intensity and a sense of desperation. His heart was full of emotion. He was so desperate that his soul thirsted for God. His flesh longed for Him, eager to see His power and glory. David realized that God’s lovingkindness was better than life itself. So, He praised God, lifting his hands in His name.
Looking at your life, you might face similar situations. Does it feel that you are in a dry and thirsty land? Does it appear that there are no solutions to your problems? Do you feel alone and hopeless? Discouraged? Frustrated? Uncertain of where to turn?
Following David’s example, these are times to focus on God with renewed determination. Thirst for His presence. Seek His presence with urgency. Pray with passion. Hunger for His Word as you would crave food if you had not eaten for days.
In your desperation, worship Him. Lift your hands in His name. His lovingkindness is better than life. Seek Him. Trust Him. Praise Him for what He will do in your life.
Prayer
Father, You are my only hope. I cry out for Your help. Thank You that I can trust in You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Extended Reading
Psalm 63
//Inspiration Ministries//
Verse of the Day – I Seek Thee
Sermon Notes – The Thirst of Jesus
“The Thirst of Jesus”
Father Peter Fitzgibbons
March 23-24, 2019
When Jesus arrived at the well, He was weary and thirsty. A woman was also at the well drawing water even though it was the hottest part of the day. She was an adulterous and, because of her shame, avoided the other women…she was a social outcast. Jesus asked the woman for some water. The woman was a Samaritan, and she was shocked that He, a Jew, would dare speak to her. Christ already knew about the woman’s sinful and unhappy life. He pointed out to her that she had been married five times and was living with a sixth man. She had sought peace and happiness that the things of this world cannot provide. She hadn’t found anyone or anything to satisfy the deep longing of her heart until she met Jesus.
We don’t know if Christ ever received the water He had requested from her…however, His real thirst was for this woman’s salvation. Even when the apostles returned with food, He was more intent on doing God’s will than satisfying His hunger. After meeting Jesus, the woman left her water pot at the well and began spreading the gospel with great zeal. She was the first evangelist and led many to Christ. Saint Photina was martyred for her efforts.
What is the price of a soul…Catholic or not? Each person is made in the image of God. Christ died to save us all. He came for the forgotten and the marginalized. The woman at the well was a floozy…an outcast. Nobody wanted to be around her. But, Our Lord came for her too. He wanted her to enter paradise. No soul is so marred by sin that He doesn’t seek its salvation.
By virtue of our baptism, we are all called to evangelize. We are called to lead souls to Him…to seek to save what is lost. How do we approach people? Well, we don’t do it by telling them what to do…nobody likes that. We also don’t talk down to them…they will put up walls. We do what Jesus did…we tell them the truth. Tell them your story and what God’s salvation has done in your life. Sometimes, people like to play “Stump the Priest” with me. They’ll ask where things are in the bible. These folks are just evading the truth. But, our only responsibility is for making the effort…for planting the seed. The result is out of our hands.
Saint Therese of Lisieux, The Little Flower, was a cloistered nun in France. She once prayed fervently for a condemned prisoner who stubbornly resisted God’s love. He basically told the priest to “stuff it.” But, Saint Therese continued to pray in earnest, cloistered inside her convent, for the condemned man. Right before he was executed, the prisoner cried out for the cross and kissed the crucifix. Is that man in heaven? We do not know. The point is that we are not limited by time and place. We do not have to be face-to-face with the people we are trying to reach. Like Saint Therese, we can offer up our prayers and sacrifices for those who are lost.
While I was serving in Iraq, I took a 2-hour drive north to the town of Baja. It was a cool 136 degrees outside, and the military vehicle I was riding in did not have air conditioning. To make the trip even more fun, we encountered a sand storm on the way. But…there were souls to save….soldiers who needed God’s salvation. We cannot allow minor inconveniences prevent us from spreading His love.
Sometimes a bit of street cred helps me reach people that those without it cannot. When I’m working at the VA Hospital, I wear a 101st Air Born patch that was given to me. And, if that doesn’t work, I rely on drugs. When a patient tells me they don’t want last rites, I just wait until the drug cart has left the patient’s room. It’s amazing how a little morphine changes a patient’s outlook and response.
Priests receive training to prepare them to visit hospitals, nursing homes, and prisons. Although they don’t like it, they go. Nobody likes going to the hospital…there’s a lot of yuck. It’s the same with prisons…nobody wants to go. However, this is exactly what we are called to do:
35) For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, a stranger and you welcomed me, 36) naked and you clothed me, ill and you cared for me, in prison and you visited me.’ Matthew 25:35-36
How will you apply this message to your life? God thirsts for our love and faith. He wants us to bring that faith and love to others. Will you quench His thirst by telling people your story of salvation? Will you love Him in your neighbor and in those people He places in your life?