“Blessed are those who hunger and thirst.”: Reconciliation
Fr. Jason Lee, Associate Pastor at OLIH
This Lent our theme is: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst.” The phrase should be very familiar to us because it comes from St. Luke’s recording of Jesus’ words on the Beatitudes in Luke 6: 21. St. Matthew records Jesus adding, “for they shall be satisfied.”
What kind of hunger and thirst are Saints Luke and Matthew talking about? Is Jesus talking about a physical thirst or hunger? Or is it spiritual?
When I hear the phrase, “Blessed are those who thirst.” I think St. Teresa of Calcutta’s story of her encounter with Jesus. On a train to Darjeeling on September 10, 1946, Mother Teresa felt Christ’s words from the Cross: “I thirst”. This event in her life she described as her “vocation within a vocation,” calling to serve Christ “among the poorest of the poor.” Thus, her call to establish the Missionaries of Charity.
In a letter to her community written in 1998, Mother Teresa explained the phrase “I thirst”:
"I thirst" is something much deeper than Jesus just saying, "I love you." Until you know deep inside that Jesus thirsts for you - you can't begin to know who He wants to be for you. Or who He wants you to be for Him.”
The phrase “I thirst” is found in every chapel the Missionaries of Charity as a reminder.
You may be asking what does Jesus' thirst for? It's not a question of what but who does he thirst for? St. Faustina has the answer to that question in her Diary on the private revelations she received from Jesus. During Holy Week in March 1937, she writes about a vision of the crucified Jesus hearing the words, “I thirst.” She wrote:
“During Holy Mass, I saw the Lord Jesus nailed upon the cross amidst great torments. A soft moan issued from His Heart. After some time, He said: I thirst. I thirst for the salvation of souls. Help Me, My daughter, to save souls. Join your sufferings to My Passion and offer them to the heavenly Father for sinners (Diary, 1032).”
Jesus thirsts for the salvation souls. He is thirsting for my soul and your soul!
Why does he desire our souls? He desires the salvation of our souls because he desires to bring forgiveness, mercy, and healing to our woundedness due to our sins. That is His mission! Jesus doesn’t want us to be stuck in the grossness of our sins. Jesus is the Divine Physician, a healer of soul and body. He longs to bring us forgiveness, mercy, and healing.
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is where we experience the graces of Jesus, the Divine Physician working in our souls. The Sacrament of Reconciliation is the extension of the graces and merits that Christ’s received for us on the Cross.
There is the story of St. Jerome, one of the early Church Fathers, who was responsible for the translation of the Bible from Hebrew and Greek into Latin. St. Jerome was in Bethlehem Christmas Eve night and Jesus appeared to him asking Jerome what it was that he would give him for his birthday. Jerome offered Jesus the translation of the Bible he had just completed. Jesus said to him, “No, Jerome, that is not what I want.” St. Jerome was hurt by this and began to offer Jesus something different. Jesus again said, “No, Jerome, that is not what I want.” Finally, Jerome asked Jesus what he wanted, and Jesus said, “Give me your sins.”
“Give me your sins.”
The Sacrament of Reconciliation is where we give Jesus our sins. Remember the words of Jesus to St. Faustina, “I thirst for the salvation of souls.” When we give Jesus our sins, we give Him the joy of being our Savior. When we confess our sins and receive forgiveness, we can enter a deeper union with Him in the Eucharist.
Jesus is always waiting to meet us in the Sacrament of Reconciliation. Whether we have a regular practice of going to confession or if we haven’t been in years, Jesus is waiting for you! He is waiting to forgive you of your sins. He is waiting to bring healing in your soul. Will you allow Him to be your Savior? Will you give Him your sins and satiate His thirst for you?
Reconciliation available at Our Lady’s:
Mondays in Lent 12noon - 1pm & 5-6pm
Saturdays in Lent 9am-10am & 4-4:45pm
Communal Service Thursday, March 21 7pm