In mere days, we will commemorate the greatest act of love ever to be made: Christ willingly dying on the cross to save both you and me.
This Holy Week, as we meditate on the Passion, Death and Resurrection of Jesus Christ, just two short words strike my heart more than any: “I thirst.” (John 19:28).
When we read over this utterance of Christ in the Gospel, it is so easy to pass over these words thinking little of them. It sounds like he is simply expressing a human need for a drink. But in actuality, He is expressing a thirst for so much more.
He thirsts for your unique and unrelenting love. He thirsts for a deep relationship with you, in which you walk through life with Him, day in and day out. He thirsts for a union of your suffering with His own. He thirsts for you.
Nearly 30 years ago now, St. Mother Teresa of Calcutta wrote a moving meditation on these same two words from John’s Gospel. Knowing of the endless and personal love Christ has for each one of us, St. Mother Teresa also knew that so many people walk through this life, never aware of the depth of Christ’s love. Yet, it is the depth of Christ's love for us that changes everything about our experience as human beings coasting through the chaos of life.
This portion of her meditation shows but a small fraction of his immense love for us:
“I thirst for you. Yes, that is the only way to even begin to describe My love for you.
I thirst for you. I thirst to love you and to be loved by you. So precious are you to Me that I thirst for you. Come to Me, and I will fill your heart and heal your wounds. I will make you a new creation and give you peace even in your trials.
I thirst for you. You must never doubt My mercy, My desire to forgive, My longing to bless you and live My life in you, and that I accept you no matter what you have done.
I thirst for you. If you feel of little value before the eyes of the world, it doesn’t matter. There is no one that interests me in the whole world than you.
I thirst for you. Open up to Me, come to Me, thirst for Me, give me your life. I will prove to you how important you are for My Heart.”
In praying with this meditation, we can begin to understand why exactly Christ willingly suffered the most painful death for the sake of you and me. We can begin to understand His boundless and immeasurable love and we can learn to choose to love Him in return, just as He has always hoped.
Meditation Source: https://catholic-link.org/quotes/i-thirst-letter-written-mother-teresa-quote/