Third Sunday of Lent: I Thirst
THE GRACE I SEEK: to believe that Jesus will quench my thirst for eternal life.
In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
Jesus, the Lord of Life, has given himself to you in the Eucharist. He is gazing upon you, his beloved child, with great love at this very moment. Pause for a few moments and wonder at his gift for you. Allow yourself to rest in his loving gaze.
Thank Jesus for the gift of himself in the Eucharist.
ASK FOR THE GRACE: Jesus, help me to trust you to envelop me daily with your light and grace.
SCRIPTURE MEDITATION — Read slowly, 3-4 times. Allow the words of Scripture to wash over your mind and heart. Allow the Holy Spirit to speak to you through this passage.
“In those days, in their thirst for water, the people grumbled against Moses, saying, ‘Why did you ever make us leave Egypt? Was it just to have us die here of thirst with our children and our livestock?’”
REFLECTION QUESTION — Allow yourself to sit with these questions for a while, being attentive to how the Lord is speaking in your heart.
Are there any ways you find yourself thirsting for healing, conversion, or belonging, and doubting the Lord wants to satisfy your thirst? Do you feel like God has let you down when you sought his help? Honestly share that experience of unmet desire or disappointment with the Lord.
SCRIPTURE MEDITATION — Read slowly, 3-4 times. Again, allow the words of Scripture to wash over your mind and heart. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you through this passage.
“‘Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again; but whoever drinks the water I shall give will never thirst; the water I shall give will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life.’ The woman said to him, ‘Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water.’”
REFLECTION QUESTION
Jesus has a gift like none other: he offers living water. This is the water that washes our wounds, cleanses our sins, and draws us into new life as a beloved child of God. It was first offered to us through the waters of Baptism, welling up from Jesus and flowing from his side on the cross. Gazing upon Jesus in the Eucharist, ask him to help you open your heart to this life-giving water.
Remain in silence with the Lord. Allow him to speak in the silence, in your heart.
Receive his presence. If it helps, write down what you sense the Lord communicating to you during this time of prayer.
CLOSING PRAYER
O God, author of every mercy and of all goodness, who in fasting, prayer and almsgiving have shown us a remedy for sin, look graciously on this confession of our lowliness, that we, who are bowed down by our conscience, may always be lifted up by your mercy. Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son, who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. (Collect, Third Sunday of Lent)
SUNDAY MASS CONNECTION
At every Mass, Jesus offers himself to the Father for us. We can always join our own offerings with Jesus at Mass. This Sunday, offer your spiritual thirst and desire for the life-giving water of Jesus, that you may be satisfied and allow this living water to well up in you and be a source of life for others.
Feel free to download and print out the complete Eucharistic Prayer Companion for Lent and Triduum.
