(podcast) I Thirst

Near the crucifix in the chapel of each of the convents of the Missionaries of Charity is a framed parchment bearing the words, “I Thirst.” Blessed Teresa of Calcutta had a great devotion to this phrase, one of the last words of Our Lord upon the cross.

In this podcast O’Meara Ferguson president and founder Patrick O’Meara offers a reflection upon this phrase especially as it relates to the building up of the Church through the participation of the laity. Our Lord thirsts for each of us to draw close to Him and to express our devotion to Him through our participation in the life and mission of His Bride, His Holy Church.

Father Joseph Neuner, Mother Teresa’s spiritual director for many years writes this:

It was the redeeming experience of her life when she realized that the night of her heart was the special share she had in Jesus’ passion… thus we see that the darkness was actually the mysterious link that united her to Jesus. It is the contact of intimate longing for God. Nothing else can fill her mind. Such longing is possible only through God’s own hidden presence. We cannon long for something that is not intimately close to us. Thirst is more than absence of water. It is not experienced by stones, but only by living beings that depend on water. Who knows more about living water, the person who opens the water tap daily without much thinking, or the thirst tortured traveler in the desert in search for a spring?

Quoted in Come Be My Light: the Private Writings of the ‘Saint of Calcutta’, Brian Kolodiejchuk, M.C., editor. Page 216

For additional informaiton related to this podcast, please see:

• The Role of the Laity in Ecclesial Forgiveness – by His Eminence James Francis Cardinal Stafford
• Catholic Education: Sustaining the Mission – O’Meara Ferguson Symposium (February 8-10, 2012 – San Antonio, Texas)

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