P. Vojtěch Kodet O.Carm.
Texts of the Holy Scripture:
John 7:37–39: On the last and greatest day of the feast, Jesus stood in the temple and cried out, “If anyone thirsts, let him come to me and drink. He who believes in me, as the Scripture has said, out of his heart will flow rivers of living water.” But this He spoke concerning the Spirit, whom those believing in Him would receive; for the Holy Spirit was not yet given, because Jesus was not yet glorified.
Revelation 21:5–6: Then He who sat on the throne said, “Behold, I make all things new.” And He said to me, “Write: For these words are true and faithful.” And He said to me, “It is done! I am the Alpha and the Omega, the Beginning and the End. I will give of the fountain of the water of life freely to him who thirsts.”
Reflection:
One of the preconditions for receiving the gift of the Holy Spirit is the desire, the thirst for God, for His love, peace, and joy, the longing for divine life in us. This inner thirst has already been awakened in us by the hidden working of the Holy Spirit, who through it invites us to greater openness to God’s action in our hearts. This desire is purely spiritual in nature and can only be satisfied by God Himself. Saint Augustine expressed it in his Confessions: “You have made us for Yourself, and our hearts are restless until they rest in You” (Lib. 1,1: CCL 27,1), and in one of his sermons: “When God will be all in all, all desires will cease” (Tract. 65,1–3: CCL 36,490–492). This thirst in us is intentionally awakened by the Lord through His word, the testimony of others, but also through the unfulfillment from earthly goods with which a person tries to quench this thirst. All spiritual desires – for prayer, for inner peace, for holiness, for the salvation of others – are always a longing for the Holy Spirit. It is a reflection of the desire God has for humanity and its love, even before a person becomes aware of their desire for God. Jesus’ cry on the cross “I thirst” (John 19:28) is an expression of this divine desire for the salvation of each person, for a loving response from our side, for a new person to be born in us through the Holy Spirit.
We need to first perceive these inner desires in us and distinguish them from the superficial desires of our lives. Then we can give thanks for this divine thirst and also allow ourselves to be dedicated to it.
Introduction to prayer:
Praise the Lord for the gift of desire and thank Him for the thirst for life, for love, peace, and happiness, for the thirst for God. Thank the Lord for His desire for you.
Ask for forgiveness for having suppressed or sought to satisfy your desires outside of God, and ask for a true desire for God, for the Holy Spirit.
(The meditation is taken from the Pentecost novena,
which has now been published by the Carmelite Publishing House.)
