FROM THE PASTOR’S DESK - MARCH 10, 2023

Dear St. Martin’s Parishioners,

As he’s standing by the well, Jesus says to the Samaritan woman in this Sunday’s gospel, “Give me a drink.” We see echoes of this when on the cross, Jesus cries out, “I thirst.” In both instances the response isn’t ideal. The Samaritan woman responds incredulously, “How can you, a Jew, ask me, a Samaritan woman, for a drink?” On the cross, Jesus is offered vinegar to drink. Often our response to Jesus’ simple requests don’t measure up. Jesus’ thirst refers to his desire for our love. During Lent we should especially focus on the quality of our response to Jesus’ request for our love and to console his anguished heart.

Above the tabernacle in every chapel of St. Teresa of Calcutta’s congregation, the Missionaries of Charity, are the words, “I thirst.” This has a double meaning. Jesus thirsts for souls. He desires to pour out the fruit of his sacrificial love in abundance upon mankind, which is lonely and forsaken. Jesus thirsts for us to receive his love in ever greater measure. On the other side of the equation, St. Teresa saw it as her mission to respond to Jesus’ thirst by loving him in like measure. We must see it as our vocation, too, to slake Christ’s thirst for love. We first open ourselves to the indescribable reality of his love for us, and then return it to him by every action of our lives. The love of Christ on the cross is so very little understood or experienced. Do we know that love in the depths of our heart? If so, do we long to draw others into the mystery of that love?

Speaking of divine love, join us this Monday and Tuesday evenings, March 13 and 14, as Fr. Joseph Mary Rogers leads us to discover its reality present for us in the Eucharist. Our love for God and others tends to grow cold, and this mission is sure to enflame our hearts again. This is the sine qua non of the spiritual life. We must fan the flame of love within our hearts frequently, lest we become lukewarm. See the full schedule for the mission on the posters by the church entrance, but know that on Tuesday evening we will have many confessors present to hear confessions.

United in the Eucharist,

F. Dave