Opening Prayer

O God, who, being both good and almighty, give us, we pray, an effective love for our brothers and sisters who suffer thirst, that we might give them their due and they may have strength to serve you. Through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Read John 19:25-28

Responsorial Psalm

Psalm 42:2, 3-4, 6, 8, 12

R. My soul longs for you, O God.

My soul thirsts for God, the living God. When can I enter and see the face of God? My tears have been my bread day and night, as they ask me every day, “Where is your God?” R./

Why are you downcast, my soul; why do you groan within me? Wait for God, for I shall again praise him, my savior and my God. R./

Deep calls to deep in the roar of your torrents, and all your waves and breakers sweep over me. R./

Why are you downcast, my soul, why do you groan within me? Wait for God, for I shall again praise him, my savior and my God.

Intercessions

For all who have vowed themselves to God, in their thirst for holiness, may they faithfully keep to their resolve, let us pray to the Lord. R./ Lord, have mercy.

For the people of the world who thirst for justice, that God will bless us with peace so we may live in true freedom, let us pray to the Lord. R./ Lord, have mercy.

For ourselves gathered here, that God’s flowing waters of life may sustain us and bring us closer to him, let us pray to the Lord. R./Lord, have mercy.

For all who are deprived of clean drinking water because of pollution, that those responsible will amend their practices immediately, let us pray to the Lord. R./Lord, have mercy.

For our beloved dead, that their desire for God will be quenched when they see God face to face, let us pray to the Lord. R/. Lord, have mercy.

Our Father…

Closing Prayer

Pope Francis’ Prayer for the Jubilee Year of Mercy (excerpt)

Lord Jesus Christ, you have taught us to be merciful like the Father, and have told us that whoever sees you sees Him. You are the visible face of the invisible Father, of the God who manifests his power above all by forgiveness and mercy: let the Church be your visible face in the world. Send your Spirit and consecrate every one of us with its anointing, so that the Jubilee of Mercy may be a year of grace from the Lord, and your Church, with renewed enthusiasm, may bring good news to the poor, proclaim liberty to captives and the oppressed, and restore sight to the blind. We ask this of you, Lord Jesus, with the Father and the Holy Spirit, one God for ever and ever. Amen

Reflection

According to the U.S. Geological Survey’s Water Science School, each person in the U.S. uses about 80-100 gallons of water per day. The largest use of household water is to flush the toilet, at about three gallons per flush. (See http://water.usgs.gov/edu/qa-home-percapita.html)

In Korea, Zen Buddhist monks gather for a meal of water, rice and soup. Each monk has four bowls in front of him. He receives water into the largest bowl; divides that water between the next two bowls, and stores the residue in the smallest bowl. When the meal is over, rice water is served, and with it the monk rinses out the rice bowl, and then the soup bowl and side-dish bowl. After these three bowls are rinsed, the monk drinks the rinse water.

He then puts the clean water he had stored in the small water bowl into his rice bowl and cleans it by hand. He follows by cleaning his other two bowls. The wastewater is poured into a bucket. It must be perfectly clear; otherwise the monk will have to drink it too. The wastewater is offered to ghosts whose mouths are so tiny they are hurt by even small particles of food.

(Keenan, James F. The Works of Mercy: The Heart of Catholicism. Lanham MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, Inc., 2008: 37. Used with permission.)

Spiritual Work of Mercy

“Instruct the ignorant,” spiritually speaking, means handing on the truth revealed by God through the person of Christ and transmitted via Scripture and Tradition by the inspiration of the Holy Spirit.

Quote of Mercy

“Our world has a grave social debt towards the poor who lack access to drinking water, because they are denied the right to a life consistent with their inalienable dignity.” Pope Francis (Laudato Si’ 30)