THURSDAY 3RD WEEK
Sam Mangieri Sem. C ‘16

The Gift of God: Christ’s Thirst and Ours

“Now he was casting out a demon that was mute; when the demon had gone out, the mute man spoke, and the people marveled.” Luke 11: 14

As Luke 11: 17 confirms, Jesus knows all of our thoughts; he knew how badly this mute person wanted to speak. The Lord searched this man’s heart and found him, as well as those around him who were affected by this miracle, thirsty. This must have occurred in a mysterious way by the lifting of this man’s mind and heart to God in prayer. In some way this man was prepared (or pre-prayered) to receive the gift of God.

Are we? The Catechism of the Catholic Church tells us, “Only when we humbly acknowledge that "we do not know how to pray as we ought," are we ready to receive freely the gift of prayer" (CCC 2559). The Catechism goes on to tell us, "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 (CCC 2560).

Christ thirsts for us to speak to Him. He thirsts for us to see him, hear him, and know him. The case of this mute man being healed should remind all of us that, if only we tell Christ of our thirst for him in prayer, then our spiritual muteness, blindness, deafness or ignorance will give way to an intimacy with the One our heart desires: Jesus.

Jesus, I thirst for you. Please give me an unobstructed and intimate relationship with you. Amen.

Jer 7: 23-28, Ps 95: 1-2,6-7,8-9, Lk 11: 14-23