It’s hard for me to imagine how many times growing up on the farm I must have complained about not having enough to drink. As I recall all the times, whether it was picking rock or walking the beans or, worst of all, those seemingly hottest, most humid days that we’d have to bale hay or straw and then be in the barn with all the dust.
What I do recall was that the water from our well on the farm was the best water. That cold, pure well water from the farm well. But the lesson for me was that thirsting for something that is created is always transitory, because I could only drink so much at a time, and it wouldn’t be long and I’d be thirsty again.
It is so easy to mumble and grumble about the things that are difficult in life. That’s why it’s good for us to really reflect upon the things that are difficult in our lives and our spirit of accepting them, surrendering to them, making the best of them.
The tendency for many of us, certainly speaking for myself, might be to mumble or grumble to others or to God, like the Israelites of the Old Testament. And yet, what did Moses do when he had this pressure coming from the Israelites? He went right to the Lord and asked the Lord what to do.
Teaching the Samaritan woman at the well (see John, Chapter 4), Jesus told her to ask for that which will satisfy the thirst of the soul—the deepest core part of our being that we longed to be fulfilled. It’s important to remember the relationship of the Jews to the Samaritans. The Samaritans were the lowly class, if you will, at least in regards to how many people treated them.
What we discover in this encounter with Jesus and the Samaritan woman is Jesus’ desire to save souls. She longed to fill the thirst of her body, and yet, Jesus, in this encounter over this very ordinary thing, brings her to something much deeper. From the encounter, she would discover within herself that she’s actually thirsting for intimacy—friendship with God.
Unfortunately in her life, this woman was likely rejected by her townsfolk because they knew of her immoral acts. Hence Jesus’ words, “The one you’re with now is not even your husband.” But notice that Jesus didn’t despise her. He was thirsting for her to actually discover within herself what she was really longing for. The only thing that rightly orders us in our life is going to the well of God himself to receive that which we most long for.
I find what’s so beautiful about silent retreats and days of recollection is that it’s the time when what’s going on inside comes to the surface of our inner thoughts. When we’re in times of silence and solitude, thinking and pondering deeply, we can more easily go to the wellspring of goodness in the Lord. When I enter into his Real Presence in the Blessed Sacrament in the bishop’s house chapel, churches or adoration chapels, I encounter the love of God in my own humanity, weaknesses, sins and limitations.
He draws me out of those places of difficulty into his merciful loving grace. He satisfies my deepest longing to receive his love and let go of the things I was worried about. He invites me to just receive his intimate loving friendship so his superabundant goodness can reside in me and flow through me in my ministry as bishop. The same is true for all of us, regardless of our vocation.
God’s grace rightly orders all things, heals wounds of the past, and fills the well of our souls with his goodness. In times of our greatest trials and sufferings, we might ask, “Lord, where were you?” He reminds us: “I was there all the time, you just didn’t recognize my presence. I was with you in your suffering. I am near and desire to fill the well of your soul with my loving presence, even in your most difficult times of life.”
What is God inviting us to? To go to the well of all goodness—him—so we can flourish by receiving his grace and his presence in our lives. I encourage all Catholics to take time to regularly go to an adoration chapel or a church. If you’re not able to do that, choose a room within your house or wherever is most conducive so you can let the Lord fill you with his love. Allow whatever’s coming up, the hardships of life for example, to just be brought to him. Let him just be with you in whatever situation you find yourself at the moment of encounter with him.
When we allow God to be in and with us, whether in good times or bad, we find he is the only one who fills the well of our soul, which we thirst to have filled. When we discover his presence, we recognize the depths of his love. We were never alone; he was there all the while loving us, sustaining us and ever present to us. He then provides what is needed to quench our thirst for interior flourishing by giving us the wellspring of his own life and love through grace.
