THIRST QUENCHER
INTRODUCTORY RITES
INTRODUCTORY RITES
Gather as a family/ community; create an environment appropriate for prayer (dress appropriately - switch off your phones...).
We cannot gather as usual for the Eucharist. But we are conscious that Christ is present not only in the Blessed Sacrament but also in the Scriptures and in our hearts. Even when we are on our own, we remain part of the Body of Christ.
Place lighted candles, a crucifix, and the Bible on a covered table. These remind us of the sacredness of our time of prayer and could help us feel connected with our local worshipping communities.
You may sing or play an appropriate hymn. For instance:
The Sign of the Cross
Greeting and Introductory Words
L: The Lord invites us to the table of his Word: let us bless him for his goodness.
A: Blessed be God forever.
L: We seek “something new” or “something more”. Today’s readings remind us that there is only one thing that can satisfy our desire for something new or something more: living water, which Jesus gives us. We ask the Lord to keep giving us this living water and to help us share it with others.
Penitential Rite
L: For the times we have not allowed the living water to quench our thirst and have quenched it elsewhere, we ask God’s pardon.
Pause
L: Lord Jesus, you give us living water to quench our thirst: Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you give yourself to heal us and bring us strength: Christ, have mercy.
A: Christ, have mercy.
L: Lord Jesus, you give us the consolation of the truth: Lord, have mercy.
A: Lord, have mercy.
L: May almighty God have mercy on us, forgive us our sins, and bring us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
Gloria
Opening Prayer
L: O God, living and true,
look upon your people,
whose dry and stony hearts are parched with thirst.
Unseal the living water of your Spirit;
let it become within us an ever-flowing spring,
leaping up to eternal life.
Thus may we worship you in spirit and in truth.
Through our Lord Jesus Christ, your Son,
who lives and reigns with you
in the unity of the Holy Spirit,
God for ever and ever.
A: Amen.
THE LITURGY OF THE WORD
Readings
The readings are those assigned for the day in the Lectionary.
Preferably use a Bible/ Lectionary for reading.
Reading 1 Exodus 17:3-7
Psalm Psalm 95:1-2, 6-7, 8-9
Response If today you hear his voice, harden not your hearts.
Reading 2 Romans 5:1-2, 5-8
Acclamation
Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ, King of endless glory.
Lord, you are truly the Saviour of the world;
give me living water, that I may never thirst again.
Gospel John 4:5-42
Reflection on the Readings
Use one of the following ways to reflect on the readings.
Lectio Divina
Imagine you are present during the encounter of the Samaritan woman with Jesus. What are your thoughts and feelings when you hear them dialogue with one another?
Sunday Snippets
Several years ago, I was trekking with my friends. By mid-day, after trekking a few hours, we were half-way to our destination and were out of water! There was no water source/ human habitation in sight. Two hours later, we chanced upon a tiny stagnant pool of water. We were tired and thirsty. And so, though the water was dank, we drank!
Thirst! This was the condition of the wandering Israel.
It was thirst that made them grumble against Moses; lament their liberation from Egypt; question God’s presence among them.
God’s response? He gives them life-giving water: a reminder of his continued and powerful presence among them.
Thirst! This was the condition of the Samaritan woman.
It was physical thirst that made her come to the well in the noon-day sun; emotional thirst which took her through six relationships; spiritual thirst which made her dialogue with a male Jew.
God’s response? Jesus gives her live-giving water. He satisfies her longing for love and understanding; he treats her as a human person with respect and dignity. Through a seven-part catechesis, he guides her from ignorance to faith; she grows progressively in her knowledge of Jesus’ identity: a Jew, sir, prophet, and Messiah.
Her growth in the faith journey culminates in her leaving her water jar behind; she goes from being a social outcast to becoming a disciple and a missionary.
Thirst! This is our condition too.
We, too, have our physical, emotional, spiritual thirst. God’s response to our thirst is like his response to the thirst of Israel and the Samaritan woman. He fills us with living water! We need not go back to the well because the source of living water is within us… from our baptism.
Do I still go to other wells, or do I allow the living water to be my thirst-quencher? In what way can I, like the woman, invite people to “come and see” and encounter Jesus, and drink of the living water that I have drunk?
Questions to Ponder
Reflect on some (or all) of the following questions:
Reading 1: In the desert, filled with thirsty panic, the Israelites grumbled that God was not with them. With the current world situation (violence, war, natural disasters, global warming…) and my troubles, can I relate to this situation in some way? What helps me overcome my thirsty panic?
Reading 2: Paul writes: “The Holy Spirit has been given to us.” What do these words mean to me? Do I call on the Spirit to come to my aid when I need help?
Gospel: The fact that Jews considered Samaritans heretics or that she was a woman did not keep Jesus from breaking through these barriers to talk with the Samaritan woman. What barriers do/ should I ignore when I take God’s gift of the “living water” to people in need?
The Creed
Prayer of the Faithful
L: Sisters and brothers, it is God alone who quenches our thirst and satiates our longings. With trust in his providential care for us, we now pray: Lord, hear our prayer.
R: For the leaders of the Church: that they may be a source of living water for all who thirst for meaning and purpose in life, we pray to the Lord…
R: For leaders of nations, especially our own: that, like the woman at the well, they honestly face their lives, admit their mistakes, and change their lives, we pray to the Lord…
R: For all who face prejudice and discrimination: that God will heal their wounds and help them to continue to share their gifts for the good of others, we pray to the Lord…
R: For those appearing for their board examinations: that their efforts may bear fruit, we pray to the Lord…
R: For all who thirst every day: that God may assist all who have limited access to water, guide all who are searching for new sources of water, and raise our awareness of the importance of protecting clean water, we pray to the Lord…
R: For ourselves: that we make room for God and spend time in prayer during these coming weeks, we pray to the Lord…
L: God our Father, through your life-giving word, you have again quenched our thirst. Strengthen us in the desert moments of our lives. May we share your living water with all to satisfy their thirst for truth, for freedom and justice, and for everlasting joy. Through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
SPIRITUAL COMMUNION
The Lord’s Prayer
Spiritual Communion
A: Jesus, I know and believe in your real presence in the Most Holy Sacrament of the Eucharist. It is you I desire to love and receive above all things. As I am unable to receive your sacramental presence now, come and be with me in heart and soul. Let my entire self be united with you as I welcome you again and know your loving embrace. Amen.
Post Spiritual Communion Reflection
Lord,
they dragged themselves across the desert
dying of thirst.
They questioned whether the Lord was still with them.
Yes, you were there,
but something had drained their souls of sight.
So too with us.
It can be hard to find you
in these arid days of our lives.
Help us, please.
Be fresh water to our dry days.
Lord,
when you declared to a woman at the well
everything about her life,
we think of our own lives as well.
You know each of our ins and outs too,
when we sit and when we stand;
when we yearn for light, love, beauty, and peace.
Still, often we remain dry!
Come, Lord Jesus,
quench our thirst for life with your living water.
CONCLUDING RITE
Concluding Prayer
L: Lord our God,
you have quenched our thirst
by giving us your Son.
Be with us
as we go our difficult way in the desert,
a way of renewal and conversion
to you and to others.
Let our thirst never be satisfied
unless we become to one another
a drink of refreshing water.
Through Christ our Lord.
A: Amen.
Blessing
L: The Lord bless us, protect us from all evil, and lead us to everlasting life.
A: Amen.
L: Go in the peace of Christ.
A: Thanks be to God.
Conclude with a hymn. For instance:
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