Gospel Meditations

Living in the Living Waters

In the Gospel today we reflect on the episode of Jesus’ meeting with the Samaritan woman at the well. The passage recounts that Jesus was “tired” yet he still went out of His way to minister to the woman. Jesus tells her that “the water that I will give will become a spring of water gushing up to eternal life.” Through this image of water Jesus is alluding to the gift of the Holy Spirit that the Lord wishes to lavish upon His children (CCC 728).

As stewards of Christ we are called to generously share our time and talents with our parish community. However, a mere sharing of our gifts without the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit can easily lead us to becoming burnt out, discouraged or resentful. It is important to have all of our charitable acts infused with the Spirit. This way it is not our own merits but the Lord’s grace bringing about conversion in our parishes.

How often do we invoke the Holy Spirit before we serve the Lord as stewards? It is in this invocation that we humbly recognize that it is the Lord, through us, accomplishing great deeds. Let us begin each day with the traditional prayer to the Holy Spirit. “Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful and enkindle in them the fire of your love.” Let us bring about a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit into the hearts of our parish community by constantly turning to Him to strengthen us.

Summary

As stewards of Christ we are called to generously share our time and talents with our parish community. However, a mere sharing of our gifts without the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit can easily lead us to becoming burnt out, discouraged or resentful. Let us bring about a new outpouring of the Holy Spirit into the hearts of our parish community by constantly turning to Him to strengthen us.