In those days, in their thirst for water, the people grumbled against Moses
According to the United Nations, the world has entered a dire era of “global water bankruptcy” where approximately 2.2 billion people lack access to safely managed drinking water. This critical shortage means that roughly one in four people globally are forced to rely on unsafe, contaminated water sources or must spend hours walking miles to collect water for their daily survival. The crisis disproportionately impacts children. Ultimately, billions are living with chronic water insecurity, with nearly 4 billion people experiencing severe water shortages for at least one month of the year. The world is truly thirsty
As people of faith, we know that in addition to physical thirst, underneath the pursuit of success, security, and self-expression there is a profound longing for something eternal, a thirst for God. The church therefore finds itself called to assist in the quenching of physical and spiritual thirst. As a seminarian, I had the opportunity to travel with Catholic Relief Services. When our group was being prepared for the trip, it was explained that when we work to meet the thirst of the impoverished, we pave the way for an encounter with Christ, who quenches the spiritual thirst. When physical needs are met, a door is open for us to share the faith that sent us to them.
Throughout January I used this column to share Dilexi Ti, the first Apostolic Exhortation of Pope Leo XIV. In that document the Pope writes about our Lord’s thirst.
For Christians, the poor are not a sociological category, but the very “flesh” of Christ. It is not enough to profess the doctrine of God’s Incarnation in general terms. To enter truly into this great mystery, we need to understand clearly that the Lord took on a flesh that hungers and thirsts, and experiences infirmity and imprisonment.
In a similar way, Saint Mother Teresa of Calcutta called her community to be focused on the Lord’s words from the cross, “I Thirst.” She told her sisters to imagine Jesus saying those words directly to them. She even encouraged them to put their own name before “I thirst” and hear Jesus saying their name. This, she says, is because Jesus thirsts for our love. Jesus, she says, “thirsts for souls, not water.” Mother Teresa taught that we satiate Christ’s thirst is by loving Him in our neighbor—those people He places in our lives, especially those in most need of our care and attention.
Through the Lenten practices of Prayer, Fasting and Almsgiving, we have a deeper awareness of physical and spiritual thirst. We become more sensitive to the thirsts and hungers of the world, both physical and spiritual. And most importantly we understand the cross of our Lord and his sacrificial love for us. As we come to this third Sunday of our Lenten journey, let’s reexamine our Lenten practices and recommit ourselves to being faithful to them.
THANK YOU FR. ROGER: I believe I speak for all of us who participated in the Lenten Retreat when I say how blessed we were to have these days with him. He brought new energy and direction to our Lenten journey. I know he greatly appreciated the kindness and hospitality you showed him.
NO MORE SNOW! – Many of you have not only expressed kind words and gratitude for the efforts our staff and the snow removal team at Joe Davis and Sons, but you have also asked if you could still contribute to the special snow removal fund. And the answer is, “YES!” We have spent over $55,000 this winter. You can go to the parish website and click on the DONATE button and then in the Special Collection section you will see a link dedicated to the snow collection. You may also send a contribution in to the rectory or place a separate envelope in the collection basket.
GARLIC AND GAELIC – Join us for our annual celebration of Italian and Irish heritage next Saturday evening. It’s an evening of great food, music and Irish Step Dancing. See the flyer in this week’s bulletin for more details.
Peace!
