DAILY DEVOTIONAL

Friday, May 4, 2018

How does the Spirit of Christ become more and more of our own spirit?

Jesus said to a woman who was drawing water from a well, “Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them will become in them a spring of water welling up to eternal life.” – John 4:13,14

In the Christian life, in the spiritual life, in the contemplative life, a subtle yet significant transition takes place as one matures in prayer and service. This transition has to do water and wells, flowing rivers and streams, fresh water springs and the renewal of soul.

I have observed this transition over and over again through my years of ministry. I watch people come searching for the water that will quench their unnamed thirst. I watch them then to sip from the still waters of the Spirit. I watch them bathe then splash in their baptismal waters. I then watch them draw water from the deeper realm of the well. And eventually I watch a spring of cool waters, heavenly waters, gracious waters, begin to flow forth from within them. It is the contemplative journey from the sensing of one’s thirst to the finding of the water that quenches that thirst. It is the contemplative journey that becomes intentional with one’s baptism, one’s commitment to the journey. It is the contemplative journey to desire learning of the deeper understanding of the ways of Christ and the Spirit. It is the contemplative journey into creative spirituality that allows the fresh, living water from heaven to flow through one’s own creativity of life.

To live the Christian life, the spiritual life, the contemplative is the process by which a desperate thirst transforms into creative expression. I call it … becoming one with the river that flows from the heart of God.

Always in His Service,
Fr. Charitas de la Cruz