What Do You Thirst For?

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

In the first reading the people of Israel are grumbling against Moses for a lack of water.  Why did you bring us out to this desert so that we could die with our children and our animals?  How is that possible?  It is wonderful how the LORD lowers himself and gives them what they want right away.  I would have said wait until tomorrow, but God is not like us.  He humbles himself and shows them infinite mercy.  I am moved by the mercy he shows to these grumbling people.  He does the same with us.  He has given us life, a family, a wonderful history and faith and we are always murmuring.  We say, my spouse is this way and not that way, I have too much work or I have no work…Our heart is hard.  Let us see how God lowers himself for us and gives us so much.

In the first sentence of this chapter, which we didn’t hear, John says “it was necessary” for Christ to go through Samaria.  Well, not really, if you know the geography, he could have gone another way.  But for his mission and for the apostles, it was necessary, it was fundamental to go that way to meet this woman and her townspeople.  It was really imperative.  We have many situations in life where it is necessary for us to be present, to say something, to give a Word of hope or a defense of the Church or of the Christian way of life.  It is necessary for us to be there, to speak, to transmit faith to the kids.  It is imperative!

The woman at the well was thirsting for life.  She had five husbands.  She came at noon to the well so no one would see her.  For life we need water for without it we die.  We can last only two or three days with no water.  Without food we can last much longer depending on how much fat we have.  But without water we can last only three or four days.  What do we long for in our life?  It is LOVE.  When we lack love, we are thirsty.  We have to go looking for it so we go to the well to find love.  However, we spend a lot of time looking for love in things that make us more thirsty.  They do not fill us.  We are made for love and when we have an experience s of God’s gratuitous love, we are happy, we are filled.  The other things do not fill us.

People who feel that they are not loved do drugs or take their own life.  They think, all of a sudden, that they are not loved.  It is not a rational decision.  It is a lie of the devil who is always trying to get us to harm ourselves.  He is doing a particularly good job these days.  When we encounter this love of god, this profound love, we do not do stupid things.  Often people go to the wrong well.  Go to the well where Christ is, that is the well of the Church and receive living water, which is eternal life.  This will satisfy you forever and you don’t need to look for anything more.

This living water fills us.  We do not need anything more.  When you have this water, you will be able to love as Christ loved you.  It is something marvelous.  This is the mission of a Christian: to love as Christ has loved you.  The Lord will give it to us this Lent.  As Easter approaches, we can live this time with joy.  The Lord quenches my thirst; nothing else does.

He has begun to do a marvelous work in you.  The Lord does not want to give us a stony heart; he wants us to experience his love.  Even though we have seen all the works of the Lord, we can fall back into looking in the wrong places.  Every day is a battle; every day it is necessary to convert.  Let us ask him: Lord, help me to do your will, help me to accept your will, and to give my life for you!

Subscribe Now To Our Daily Email

We respect your email privacy