Human desire is one of the most important parts of our lives. “Desire” is a topic that comes up a lot in people’s minds. I am sure that everyone has at one time or another in their lives heard the question, “What would you do if you could do anything you wanted to do?” Another way to say it: “What leads you to sacrifice and wholesomeness?” There was once a jazz saxophonist who put it this way: “Music pulls me deeper into being.” I think that’s a beautiful way to put it. Isn’t it true that at times we all ask ourselves that question: what would I really do if I could? When I was a teenager, I loved playing basketball. I loved the Boston Celtics. I dreamed of playing on that team. As time went on, I realized that I would never fulfill that desire, because I stopped growing at 5 foot 8 inches. But the desire to be part of a special team never left me. Low and behold, at age 27 I made my final vows on the Franciscan team, certainly a group of friars who love St. Francis and want to imitate his life of serving people. So, you see, God does fulfill our desires; I even believe that He places those desires into our hearts. We realize later that this inner desire fulfills our vocation, whatever that may be. When we look at today’s Gospel, it is the story of Jesus speaking with the Woman at The Well. She is sitting at the well looking to find not only water to quench her thirst, but also the living water to fill her deep inner desire for love and connection. After all, she tried to find that in a man, but five husbands later she still was searching. Low and behold she found the living water in Jesus. Jesus looked into her soul and saw a very lonely and abused woman. She was depressed and just about ready to give up on her search for love and connection. Jesus brought that to her. He simply spoke gently with her, listened to her sad story, and offered her healing for her spiritual pain. Her desire was finally met! She finally met a person who took her seriously. Little did she realize that this Jesus was God Himself in the flesh. During the Lenten season, we are all called to go deeper into our hearts and listen to our human desires. In prayer and silence, God speaks to us through Jesus. May we quench or thirst and discover in our desire the living water of Jesus in our souls.

                                                         ~Fr. John