Thought of the Day Februar 11, 2019 The water of life is the Spirit
In John: 7, Jesus used the opportunity to teach that He is source of this
life-giving water. This river of grace flowed from his pierced side at the time
of his death. It was then that he poured
out his Spirit who is the means by which we receive this life-giving grace. But
for this life-giving water-grace to impact us we have to have a greater thirst
for Jesus than we have now. To believe in Jesus is not an initial assent of the
head but a deeper commitment of our heart to the person who is truly the Lord
of our lives. Understanding of who Jesus is to us is necessary, but more
important is our ever growing love for him.
The gift of the Spirit we received in Baptism and again through
a fresh infusion in Confirmation. But for this gift not to be dormant but to be
effective and fruitful, we must learn to plunge more fully in the life of the
Spirit, allowing the Spirit to lead us into the fuller life of God through holiness
and service.
We do not plunge into the deeper life of this river of grace for
ourselves only. We are to become a conduit by which this river of life can
satisfy others’ in their thirst, like the Samaritan woman.
Listen to Pope Benedict XVI: “In this way the
believer himself becomes a wellspring which gives living water to the parched
earth of history. We see this in the saints. We see this in Mary, that great
woman of faith and love who has become in every generation a wellspring of
faith, love and life. Every Christian…should become, starting from Christ, a
wellspring which gives life to others. We ought to be offering life-giving
water to a parched and thirst world.” (To be continued)
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