September 23, 2021, THURSDAY 25TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Luke 9:7-9

Who then is this about whom I hear such things? And he kept trying to see him.

Appetite plays a big part in our daily life. It played a big role in King Herod’s life as well. He had so many vices. He spared no expense. He spent his day fulfilling every whim and desire. It didn’t matter who he stepped on or who suffered. “I have got to have “it” and have “it” right now. However, there was one desire his wealth and position in life he couldn’t buy – the Heart of Jesus. “Who is this Jesus? I have to see Him.”

Herod is no different from Matthew and any other sinner who Jesus calls. “I have come to call sinners to repentance” (Luke 5:22). It wasn’t Herod’s appetite that caused him to seek out Jesus. That “spark” in Herod was Jesus’ thirst for him from the Cross, “I thirst. (John 19:28).”

We don’t have to trample over someone’s life to get to Jesus.
“‘I thirst’ is something much deeper than Jesus just saying, ‘I love you.’ Until you know deep inside that Jesus thirsts for you—you can’t begin to know who He wants to be for you. Or who He wants you to be for Him.”
(St. Theresa of Calcutta, March 1993, Letter to the Missionaries of Charity)

The gospel challenge: Write down His Words, “I thirst (for you). Carry them with you all day. Recall them often. “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and let the one who believes in me drink.” John 7:37. “Who is this Jesus. I have to see Him today.”

Ignite the fire. God bless you, my friends.

Fr. Rick Pilger, I.C.
Pastor
www.blessedsacramentonline.org