Many of us are familiar with the encounter between Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well. Exhausted from his journey and from the noonday heat, Jesus asks the woman for a drink of water. Surprised by the request, she initially refuses to help him. Jesus replies, “If you knew the gift of God and who is saying to you, ‘Give me a drink,’ you would have asked him and he would have given you living water” (John 4:10). Jesus thirsted for some actual water, but his words reveal an even deeper thirst: He longed for this woman to receive the gift of the Holy Spirit, the gift of eternal life.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church comments beautifully on this scene:

2560 “If you knew the gift of God!” 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.

2561 “You would have asked him, and he would have given you living water.” Paradoxically our prayer of petition is a response to the plea of the living God: “They have forsaken me, the fountain of living waters, and hewn out cisterns for themselves, broken cisterns that can hold no water!” Prayer is the response of faith to the free promise of salvation and also a response of love to the thirst of the only Son of God.

It seems to me that this is one of the most important truths we can learn about the heart of Jesus: He thirsts for us to turn to him and discover the joy we were created for. We so often seek joy in the passing things of this world, which can never truly satisfy our hearts, but Jesus longs for us to turn to him in prayer and find the fulfillment of the desires of our hearts.

Mother Teresa of Calcutta often reflected on the words of Jesus on the Cross - “I thirst” (John 19:28). The Lord thirsts for us to learn to love one another, especially the poorest of the poor, as he loves us. In one of her final letters to her religious community, Mother Teresa wrote:

Jesus wants me to tell you again, specially in this Holy Week, how much love He has for each one of you – beyond all you can imagine. I worry some of you still have not really met Jesus – one to one – you and Jesus alone. We may spend time in 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. How can we last even one day without hearing Jesus say “I love you” – impossible. Our soul needs that as much as the body needs to breathe the air. If not, prayer is dead – meditation, only thinking. Jesus wants you each to hear Him – speaking in the silence of your heart.

Be careful of all that can block that personal contact with the living Jesus. Devil may try to use the hurts of life, and sometimes our own mistakes – to make you feel it is impossible that Jesus really loves you, is really cleaving to you. This is danger for all of us. And so sad, because it is completely opposite of what Jesus is really wanting, waiting tell you. Not only that He loves you, but even more – He longs for you. He misses you when you don’t come close. He thirsts for you. He loves you always, even when you don’t feel worthy. When not accepted by others, even by yourself sometimes – He is the one who always accepts you. My children, you don’t have to be different for Jesus to love you. Only believe – you are precious to Him. Bring all you are suffering to His feet – only open your heart to be loved by Him as you are. He will do the rest.

As we approach the heat of the summer, how can you and I strive to satisfy this thirst of Jesus? Can we set aside time daily to be with Jesus and listen to him in the depths of our heart? Can we make regular trips to the Adoration chapel to spend time with the Lord? Jesus thirsts!