The Spring of Water Inside

The Spring of Water Inside

“Whoever drinks this water will get thirsty again; but anyone who drinks of the water that I shall give will never be thirsty again:  the water I shall give will turn into a spring inside him, welling up to eternal life.”  (John 4: 14)

What is this water that Jesus promises to give?  We know that water is very essential for life.  No life can exist without water.  Water quenches agonizing thirst and supports life.  Jesus Christ is speaking obviously of spiritual water.  But what is it?  What is it in spiritual life that is analogous to water?  What is it that without which spiritual life will be dead and impossible?  What is it that we should thirst for so much as we thirst for water?  What is it that refreshes and satisfies as water?  Jesus promises that the water he gives will quench thirst permanently.  The source of this water is inside, supplying as and when need.

This water is the Holy Spirit which Christ promised.  The promise was fulfilled on the day of Pentecost.  The first disciples of Jesus drank of this water and they remained refreshed and spiritually vital all their life.

“By this power of the Spirit, God’s children can bear much fruit.  He who has grafted us onto the true vine will make us bear ‘the fruit of the Spirit:  …. Love, joy peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control.’  ‘We live by the Spirit’; the more we renounce ourselves, the more we ‘walk by the Spirit.”  (Catechism of the Catholic Church # 736)

Jesus - the Perfecter of our faith

Jesus – the Perfecter of our faith

“God gives him the Spirit without reserve.  The Father loves the Son and has entrusted everything to him.  Anyone who believes in the Son has eternal life, but anyone who refuses to believe in the Son will never see life: the anger of God stays on him.”  (John 3: 34 – 36)

Everything has been entrusted to Jesus by the Father:  our destiny, spiritual life, family, job, money, health, food and tools.  And key to appropriate these blessings is belief in Jesus.

What does belief in Jesus mean?  It means:

• To know the heart of Jesus intimately.


• To know his word and dwell on it since ignorance of Scripture is ignorance of Christ.  Ignorance of Christ is unbelief.


• To love Jesus passionately, that is to love his person, his life style, his qualities and his Church.


• To follow Jesus everywhere, that is, profound, total and massive commitment to serve him with all our soul, heart, mind and strength.

Belief in Jesus is demanding.  Full belief in Jesus is a journey and not a destination or series of events.  We come to it one step at a time.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches that God gives us “the grace of believing in his Son Jesus, ‘the pioneer and perfecter of our faith.”  (CCC #147)

Believing in the Son

Believing in the Son

“Yes, God loved the world so much that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him may not be lost but may have eternal life.”  (John 3: 16)

Jesus is the expression of God’s love for the world.  To the question, how do you know that God loves the world?  The simple answer is:  Jesus.  The presence of Jesus in our life is the conclusive evidence of God’s love for us.  That is, “for everyone who believes in him.”  

What does believe in Jesus mean?  It means we accept Jesus as the light of our life, the center and the explanation of our life.  To believe in Jesus also means that I agree freely to walk in this light.  The light is provided by the Gospel.  

To believe in Jesus progresses in time to knowing him intimately, loving him passionately and making the commitment to follow him everywhere.

The Empowering Holy Spirit

The Empowering Holy Spirit

“I tell you most solemnly, unless a man is born through water and the Spirit, he cannot enter the kingdom of God:  what is born of the flesh is flesh; what is born of the Spirit is spirit.”  (John 3: 5-6)

Without the presence and power of the Holy Spirit, we cannot enter the kingdom of God.  The world and Satan would be too strong for us to overcome by our own means.  How do we get this presence and power?  In Baptism, we receive the Holy Spirit.  In the sacrament of Confirmation, “we receive the full outpouring of the Holy Spirit as once granted to the apostles on the day of Pentecost.”  (CCC #1302)

The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches further that “Confirmation brings an increase and deepening of baptismal grace:

• it roots us more deeply in the divine filiation which makes us cry, ‘Abba! Father!’


• it unites us more firmly to Christ;


• it increases the gifts of the Holy Spirit in us;


• it renders our bond with the Church more perfect;


• it gives us a special strength of the Holy Spirit to spread and defend the faith by world and action as true witnesses of Christ, to confess the name of Christ boldly, and never to be ashamed of the Cross.”  (CCC #1303)

We need the Holy Spirit to succeed.

Filial Trust

Filial Trust

“Destroy this sanctuary, and in 3 days I will raise it up….  But he was speaking of the sanctuary that was his body, and when Jesus rose from the dead, his disciples remembered that he had said this, and they believed the scripture and the words he had said.”  (John 2: 19 – 22)

Jesus knew his future intimately.  He predicted what was going to happen to him.  Jesus was in control of his destiny.  He was providence himself.  Here he said that he would allow his body to be destroyed but in three days time, he would raise it up again.  It was after his resurrection that his disciples remembered this prediction and believed the scripture and the words of Jesus.  

In the Book of Isaiah, God challenged the false prophets thus:  Can they prove that they are gods by predicting the future and explaining the past?  Of course they could not.  They were objects made by human hands.  They have mouth but speak not.

Jesus knows us intimately.  He knows our past and our future.  He is our providence and our destiny is in his hands.  “Christ invites us to filial trust in the providence of our heavenly Father (Matthew 6: 26 – 34), and St. Peter the apostle repeats: ‘Cast all your anxieties on him, for he cares about “(1 Peter 5:7; cf. Ps 55:23) – CCC #322.

A Powerful Intercessor!

A Powerful Intercessor

“The mother of Jesus said to him, ‘They have no wine.’  Jesus said, ‘Woman, why turn to me?  My hour has not come yet.’  His mother said to the servants, ‘Do whatever he tells you.”  (John 2: 4)

How much I love this scripture!  Son and mother found themselves together in the same wedding party.  And we see Mary display here all the graces that made her so beloved of people through out the centuries.  She was watchful and observant of what was happening around her.  She watched as the servants drew the wine to serve.  She observed the guests enjoy the food and the wine.  Then the wine ran out.  The servants looked at one another with embarrassment and looked for the master of ceremony.  At this point, Mary quietly intervened.  She approached Jesus who was surrounded by his friends.

How did Mary know what to do?  Had she observed Jesus perform a miracle in their home?  How did she come by this extraordinary confidence to believe that her Son will do her bidding?  Mary was inspired by the Holy Spirit to provoke the first miracle of Jesus.

There are many lessons here for us.  The most important is that this miracle at Cana was not only another epiphany for Jesus but also a revelation of God’s plan for Mary in the history of salvation.  A powerful intercessor!  More powerful than Moses because she enjoys the prerogatives of a mother.

The Lamb of God

The Lamb of God

“Look, there is the lamb of God.”  (John 1: 36)

Jesus is the Lamb of God.  What are the attributes of a lamb?  Meekness, gentleness and tenderness.  Jesus is the image of God the Father.  One of the purposes of his incarnation is to reveal to us the nature of God.  In John 1: 36, we see Jesus that is meek, gentle and tender.  A God that is very lovable.

Jesus as the Lamb of God is a concept we should reflect on always.  Lamb of God is one of the tenderest descriptions of Jesus.  It shows the power that created the universe as powerless.

Jesus is the Lamb of God that takes away the sins of the world.  The Catechism of the Catholic Church comments thus, “After agreeing to baptize him along with the sinners, John the Baptist looked at Jesus and pointed him out as the ‘Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.’  By doing so, he reveals that Jesus is at the same time the suffering Servant who silently allows himself to be led to the slaughter and who bears the sin of the multitudes, and also the Paschal Lamb, the symbol of Israel’s redemption at the first Passover.  Christ’s whole life expresses his mission:  ‘to serve and to give his life as a ransom for many.”  9CCC # 608)

Jesus is the Lamb that defeated the ferocious enemy, the ruler of the powers and the principalities.  Is it not amazing that in describing the power that defeated Satan, the image of a gentle, meek and tender lamb is used?  God displays his mighty power not through brute force but through meekness, gentleness and tenderness.  

What is the lesson for us?  Lord Jesus, make us meek, gentle and tender like you.

Practice What You Teach

“The man on whom you see the Spirit come down and rest is the one who is going to baptize with the Holy Spirit. ‘Yes, I have seen and I am the witness that he is the chosen One of God.” (John 1: 34)

John the Baptist came to prepare the way of the Lord. He did this work by word, action and the example of his life. When Christ Jesus appeared, he had a ready audience. “When the student is ready, the teacher appears,” says the Chinese proverb.

Like John, we too have seen Jesus at work in his Church. We can bear witness that he is the Son of God. Our work is to prepare students to meet the teacher. Like John the Baptist, we do this by our word, our action and the example of our life.

• Believe what you read.


• Teach what you believe.


• Practice what you teach.

The Fullness of Jesus

“Indeed, from his fullness we have, all of us, received – yes, grace in return for grace, since, though the Law was given through Moses, grace and truth have come through Jesus Christ.” (John 1: 16)

Christ is full of grace. Jesus is full of all goodness. Christ is full of all resources. Jesus is full of power, honor and glory. Christ is full of mercy and compassion. Jesus is full of patience and love. Jesus Christ is full of kindness and generosity.

Jesus desires to fill us with his fullness. How much do we desire to be filled? How eagerly do we pray to be filled? All the good things we have come from Jesus: family, health, job, money, tools and toys, and food. How about the delays, disappointments, obstacles and trials of life? All these also pass through the most loving and most powerful providence of Jesus. His loving providence guiding us every step and protecting us every moment of the today is far more powerful than our impotent providence.

The Law came through Moses. The law represents work, human effort, will power and positive thinking. From Jesus Christ comes the opposite: grace and truth. Jesus brings us the truth about God, the world and man.

Let us praise and thank Jesus and say: “God indeed is my savior; I am confident and unafraid. My strength and my courage is the Lord, and he has been my savior. With joy I will draw water at the fountain of salvation.” (Isaiah 12: 2 – 3)

Where is Jesus?

“He came to his own domain and his own people did not accept him. But to all who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name.” (John 1: 11-12)

For many centuries, God prepared the chosen people through the prophets for the coming of the Messiah. Yet we read that when the Messiah came, his people did not accept him. They failed to recognize him.

When we fail to recognize Christ today in his various manifestations, acceptance becomes almost impossible. Just as the prophets and rabbis prepared the chosen people for the coming of the Christ through prophecies and teachings, so Jesus Christ himself through his teachings prepare us for the various ways he will continue to manifest himself to us day by day. How does Christ manifest himself to us today? Where is Jesus?

Christ acts principally today “through the sacraments he instituted to communicate his grace.” (CCC #1084)

“Christ is always present in his Church, especially in her liturgical celebrations. He is present in the Sacrifice of the Mass not only in the person of his minister, ‘the same now offering, through the ministry of priests, who formerly offered himself on the cross,’ but especially in the Eucharistic species.” (CCC # 1088)

“He is present in his word since it is he himself who speaks when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church. Lastly, he is present when the Church prays and sings, for he has promised ‘where two or three are gathered together in my name there am I in the midst of them.” (CCC #1088)


“He came to his own domain and his own people did not accept him. But to all who did accept him he gave power to become children of God, to those who believe in his name.” (John 1: 11-12)

The Word is the Light

“The word was the true light that enlightens all men.” (John 1:9)

The word is the Word of God. This Word created all men and all things. The Word is also the light that gives meaning to man and the world. Without the word, man’s life will be meaningless and just material. The word gives meaning to the spiritual nature of man.

There are two lights in the world: the light of the word and the light of Satan, which in reality is darkness. This light is error or a lie. It distorts the image of man by trying to portray man as material. But Christ is the true light of the world. Where is this light? Where is Christ? Christ is alive. He is found in the Church. He is in the word of God. He is in the sacraments. He is where two or three are gathered in his name. It is clear that visible eyes cannot perceive Christ today. We need the eyes of faith to do so.

The word of God is the true light that enlightens us on all the aspects of our life: family, health, job, money, tools and food. Any other light will lead us into error. To appropriate the full meaning of the light of the word for our life, we ask: What does the word of God say to me on: health, family, money, job, food and tool. The answer we get is the light to follow.

Who is Jesus?

“In the beginning was the Word; the Word was with God and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning. Through him all things came to be, not one thing had its being but through him. All that came to be had life in him and that life was the light of men, a light that shines in the dark, a light that darkness could not overpower.” (John 1: 1 – 5)

St. John the Evangelist is speaking about Jesus. He wrote his gospel after more than half a century reflecting on the earthly life of Jesus, on his passion, death and resurrection. Out of the four Gospels, that of St. John is the most spiritual.

St. John answers the question “Who is Jesus” by saying that Jesus is the Word of God. He was with God from the very beginning. All things came to be through him. He is the light that scatters darkness.

After many years of reflecting on the life, passion, death and resurrection of Jesus, we too must be able to write our own gospel about Jesus? Who do you perceive Jesus to be? Even if you cannot yet write your own gospel about Jesus, you can make an act of faith that Jesus Christ is:

• The light of the world


• The truth


• The way


• The life

Make Disciples

“All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, make disciples of all the nations; baptize them in the name of the Father and the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teach them to observe all the commandments I gave you. And know that I am with you always’ yes, to the end of time.” (Matthew 28: 19-20)

This is the final scene in the Gospel of Matthew where Jesus gave the great commission to his disciples. Christ was also speaking to us when he said: “Go, therefore, make disciples of all nations….” For three years Jesus trained his disciples. They were ready. Only one thing was lacking. The presence of the Holy Spirit.

Have you heard the call of Christ to evangelize in your work place? In your family? How does Christ prepare us for this work? He prepares us through Scripture, through prayer and through the Eucharist. Through these means, he increases his life in us.

Jesus promised to be with his disciples always – now and to the end of time. We too enjoy this same promise.

Trust the Scriptures

“There is no need for you to be afraid, I know you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. He is not here, for he has risen, as he said he would. Come and see the place where he lay, then go quickly and tell his disciples, ‘He has risen from the dead and now he is going before you to Galilee; it is there you will see him.” (Matthew 27: 5 – 7)

The chief priests and the Pharisees secured the tomb, putting seals on the stone and mounting a guard. What for? Ostensibly to prevent anybody from stealing the body of Jesus. Or could it be to prevent Jesus from rising from the dead? The Bible says that “Fools say in there heart that there is no God.” When men choose to fight against God or kick against the goad, they behave like fools. “For they do not know the scripture or the power of God.” According to the scriptures, Jesus would rise on the third day. Could this be prevented by man?

Lord, grant us a deepened faith and awe in the Scripture and the power of God.

Seekfirst

“But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be given you besides. Do not worry about tomorrow; tomorrow will take care of itself. Sufficient for a day is its own evil” (Matthew 6: 33-34)

What are you worried about?

• Money


• Health


• Job


• The future


• Family relationships


• Salvation


• Food

Listen to Jesus the faithful witness.

“Have no anxiety at all, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, make your requests known to God. Then the peace of God that surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4: 6 -7)

Be Bold!

"The Spirit God has given us is no cowardly spirit, but rather one that makes us strong, loving and wise."
(1 Timothy 1:7)

Goethe, the eminent German philosopher once said, "Be bold and mighty forces will come to your aid." Norman Vincent Peale agreed: "Boldness is the activator of power from the mind."

Can we display true boldness without the power of the Holy Spirit?Because we face so many trials when we commit ourselves to the Lord, we sooner or later realize that courage is central to the Christian life. Without courage, how can we stand up for Christ in our homes? Even our spouses and kids may challenge our committment to the Lord. Our workplaces are full of temptations to our Christian values. How do we cope with these traps? How do we react to the many snares of the enemy in the workplace? And the Church?As we grow daily in the knowledge and love of Jesus, our model and example, we learn to apply the truths of the Bible to our daily lives.

We learn that the Holy Spirit within us is our ever-present resource. In crisis, He is there to give us strength. In situation where love is demanded, He makes us loving. When we face challenges to our faith and need to bear witness, He gives us wisdom.Many experienced Christians avow that the greatest trials to our faith and courage come from within the Body of Christ. Can Satan enter the temple of God? Remember these words: "Get behind me Satan." To fight the good fight of faith, we need the courage that comes from the Holy Spirit as St. Paul tells Timothy:
"The Spirit God has given us is no cowardly spirit, but rather one that makes us strong, loving and wise." (1 Timothy 1:7)

Do you feel deserted?

“And about the ninth hour, Jesus cried out in a loud voice, ‘Eli, Eli lama sabachthani?’ that is, ‘My God, my God why have you deserted me?” (Matthew 27: 46)

Delays, disappointments, obstacles, suffering and persecutions can cause extreme discouragement. We take comfort in the cry and prayer of Christ, ‘My God, my God why have you deserted me?” Even Jesus felt deserted under intense suffering. But we also must learn by his grim determination not to be discouraged, to drink the cup of suffering to the last drop. This attitude of firmness and steadfastness in face of overwhelming odds is itself victory. We learn this in the school of prayer, the school of Gethsemane. In Gethsemane, Christ prepared for what was to come in the following 24 hours. The time we spent in prayer in the morning prepares us for what is to come in the next 12 hours.

Crying out to God who is so near to us in prayer helps us to face all the odds that life throws on us during the day. “My God, my God why have you deserted me?” We can hear from God, “I have not deserted you. Look! I am with you always.”

Set Us Free

“The chief priests with the scribes and elders mocked him in the same way. ‘He saved others; they said ‘he cannot save himself. He is the king of Israel; let him come down from the cross now, and we will believe in him. He puts his trust in God, now let God rescue him if he wants him. For he did say, ‘I am the Son of God.” (Matthew 27: 41 – 44)

Even on the cross, the hatred for Jesus by his enemies was unabated. The enemies of Jesus did not seem to believe that with Christ on the cross, their victory was complete and final. They continued the attack. It is interesting to note that they challenged God to vindicate the trust that Jesus had in him. Scripture is filled with the assertion that those who trust in God can never be put to shame. It is impossible that the chief priests, scribes and elders were unaware of this scripture. For them to say to Jesus, ‘You put your trust in God. God cannot save you in this situation,’ seems to be a contradiction of the truth. The passion of the Christ was the reign of darkness when the father of lies was in control.

The next thing to note in the above incident is that the chief priests, the scribes and the elders did not consider it above their dignity to come to witness the execution of their enemy. It reminds one of the small crowd that witnesses the execution of criminals in death chambers. The crowd is made up of the aggrieved family members, the press, a minister, some family members of the criminal and some representative of the government. Some people in the group may be motivated by revenge. The chief priests, scribes and elders on Calvary were certainly there to gloat over Jesus.

But Christ was not a common criminal. The insults and taunts and the lifting up on the cross had the foreknowledge of God. God permitted this as an essential condition for our salvation. Everything written in the Bible with regard to the suffering Messiah must be fulfilled.

The follower of Christ is called to be a type of Christ. God is training us to be like his Son by presenting us the opportunities to suffer insults, taunts and persecutions for the sake of Christ. The persecutors who provide us the opportunity are unaware of God’s plan. We become empowered to suffer like Christ as we make our home in his word. We perceive this truth and this truth sets us free from the fear of suffering.

Suffering and Humiliation

“The governor’s soldiers took Jesus with them into the Praetorium and collected the whole cohort round him. Then they stripped him and made him wear a scarlet cloak, and having twisted some thorns into a crown, they put this on his head and placed a reed in his right hand. To make fun of him they knelt to him saying, ‘Hail king of the Jews!’ And they spat on him and took the reed and struck him on the head with it. And when they had finished making fun of him, they took off the cloak and dressed him in his own clothes and led him away to crucify him” (Matthew 27: 27 – 31)

This is an incredible narrative packed in only 110 words. We see Jesus surrounded by the whole cohort, representing the full assembly of evil. How is it that some people will read the story of Christ’s passion and death and it will move them to lasting conversion and others will read the same story and remain unmoved? How I pray that when I read the gruesome narrative of the passion of the Christ, I will realize that it is my sin and that of others that lead him to this situation. I am taught that this suffering and humiliation of the God-man was necessary in order to assuage the justice of God and save me. Why does this knowledge not move from the head to the heart where it can produce a permanent fruit of repentance?

The greatest fruit of the contemplation of the passion of the Christ is a realization that it is also necessary for me to accept suffering in my life in order to share in Christ’s suffering and glorification. “Christ invites his disciples to follow him by taking up their cross in their turn. By following him they acquire a new outlook on illness and the sick” teaches the Catechism of the Catholic Church. When I accept and live this truth everyday, then the word of Christ dwells in me more richly. (Colossians 3:16)

Crucify Him!

“Then he released Barabbas for them. He ordered Jesus to be first scourged and then handed over to be crucified.” (Matthew 27: 26)

The chief priests, leaders of the people and the crowd chose Barabbas to be freed and Christ to be crucified. What was Christ’s offence? To the chief priest and the leaders of the people, he represented too much of the truth. He spoke too much of the truth. He made no distinction between man and man. They could not reconcile themselves to his message or his person. They demanded a capital punishment. They wanted a final solution to the Jesus problem. Only his death could restore the peace he had disturbed.

Now why did the crowd want Jesus to die? The crowd benefited immensely from Christ’s ministry. He fed them, healed them and taught them. At the moment they should stand up and be counted, they abdicated their conscience and judgment to the leaders. They sold their voting rights for a few pennies. In the reign of darkness, anything is possible. The bible warns us not to put our trust in man nor in princes. Only in God lies our peace and security.