June 17: Day by Day with Father Bill
THURSDAY OF THE ELEVENTH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME
-from Pope Francis’ homily for the Solemn Feast of the Body and Blood of Christ, Sunday, June 6, 2021
Jesus tells the disciples that the Passover meal can be eaten wherever a man carrying a pitcher of water leads them. To celebrate the Eucharist, we need first to recognize our thirst for God, to sense our need for [God], to long for his presence and love, to realize that we cannot go it alone, but need the Food and Drink of eternal life to sustain us on our journey. The tragedy of the present time – we can say – is that this thirst is felt less and less. Questions about God are no longer asked, desire for God has faded, seekers of God have become increasingly rare. God no longer attracts us because we no longer acknowledge our deep thirst for God. Yet wherever there is a man or woman with a pitcher for water – like the Samaritan woman – there the Lord can reveal himself as the One who bestows life, nurtures our dreams and aspirations with sure hope, a loving presence to give meaning and direction to our earthly pilgrimage.