Life Giving - Living Water

Beads of Joy 03-27-11

Life Giving - Living Water
©2011 James Dacey, Jr. SFO

Hello Everyone,

Living water? What does that mean? Does this water have a life of its own? Does this water do whatever it wants? Living water did anyone ever think to reflect on what those two words together really mean? Since Jesus is the only one who can bring us this water, this water has a very special quality; is it eternal, and it's the only water that fully quenches our thirst, where you will never be thirsty again. Just like the woman at the well asked, "where do you get that living water?" And Jesus spoke with this woman, an adulteress, a public sinner; no matter, Jesus came to heal those in need of a physician. He come not to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance. I can only imagine this scene, Jesus has this way of just capturing our hearts, and soul, literally captivating us. There was and still is, no greater speaker in this world than Jesus. Being Jesus is God's Son and the Holy Trinity is the Father, Son and Holy Spirit and the three are one; His voice only speaks with such extraordinary influence and love, straight from the heart of God.

The fountain of life promises us eternal life. And it is through Jesus, that we have the chance to drink this living water. Never pass up a chance to be with Jesus, or to receive something from Jesus. Our Lord only seeks to save us, everything and anything He gives to us helps us grow closer to Him. It has been said by St. Hippolytus, priest and martyr ,“This is the water of the Spirit: It refreshes paradise, enriches the earth, gives life to living things. It is the water of Christ’s baptism; it is our life. If you go with faith to this renewing fountain, you renounce Satan your enemy and confess Christ your God. You cease to be a slave and become an adopted son; you come forth radiant as the sun and brilliant with justice; you come forth a son of God and fellow-heir with Christ.” Wow, now that is really a wonderful summary of the water of the Spirit.

What is it that is so special about water? Why would Jesus place so much emphasis on water? In our world water plays a significant role in sustaining life, for without water, life wouldn't exist. This is why in planetary space exploration, the first order of business is always; finding water either on the planet surface or within the ground. Because chances are, if you find water, you will find life. In the bible, scripture, speaking of water represents many things; baptism, cleansing of sin in many ways, and so much more. When I did my research, I found water to be mentioned 527 times in the old testament and 90 times in the new testament; know that those figures all depend on the translation you use. It's still interesting to see that 617 times water was mentioned.

"All streams flow into the sea, yet the sea is never full. To the place the streams come from, there they return again." Ecclesiastes 1:7

"LORD, you are the hope of Israel; all who forsake you will be put to shame. Those who turn away from you will be written in the dust because they have forsaken the LORD, the spring of living water." Jeremiah 17:13

"Jesus stood and said in a loud voice, “Let anyone who is thirsty come to me and drink. Whoever believes in me, as Scripture has said, rivers of living water will flow from within them." John 7:37-38

Other Insightful Quotes:
"Water is also one of the four elements, the most beautiful of God's creations. It is both wet and cold, heavy, and with a tendency to descend, and flows with great readiness. It is this the Holy Scripture has in view when it says, "And the darkness was upon the face of the deep. And the Spirit of God moved upon the face of the waters." Water, then, is the most beautiful element and rich in usefulness, and purifies from all filth, and not only from the filth of the body but from that of the soul, if it should have received the grace of the Spirit." John of Damascus 679-749AD

"Water, like religion and ideology, has the power to move millions of people. Since the very birth of human civilization, people have moved to settle close to it. People move when there is too little of it. People move when there is too much of it. People journey down it. People write, sing and dance about it. People fight over it. And all people, everywhere and every day, need it." Mikhail Gorbachev 2001

Today's Gospel: John 4:5-42
(Jesus and The Woman of Samaria)
"So he came to a city of Samaria, called Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph. Jacob's well was there, and so Jesus, wearied as he was with his journey, sat down beside the well. It was about the sixth hour. There came a woman of Samaria to draw water. Jesus said to her, "Give me a drink." For his disciples had gone away into the city to buy food. The Samaritan woman said to him, "How is it that you, a Jew, ask a drink of me, a woman of Samaria?" For Jews have no dealings with Samaritans. Jesus answered her, "If you knew the gift of God, and who it is that is saying to you, `Give me a drink,' you would have asked him, and he would have given you living water." The woman said to him, "Sir, you have nothing to draw with, and the well is deep; where do you get that living water? Are you greater than our father Jacob, who gave us the well, and drank from it himself, and his sons, and his cattle?" Jesus said to her, "Every one who drinks of this water will thirst again, but whoever drinks of the water that I shall give him will never thirst; the water that I shall give him will become in him a spring of water welling up to eternal life." The woman said to him, "Sir, give me this water, that I may not thirst, nor come here to draw." Jesus said to her, "Go, call your husband, and come here." The woman answered him, "I have no husband." Jesus said to her, "You are right in saying, `I have no husband'; for you have had five husbands, and he whom you now have is not your husband; this you said truly." The woman said to him, "Sir, I perceive that you are a prophet. Our fathers worshiped on this mountain; and you say that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship." Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe me, the hour is coming when neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem will you worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we worship what we know, for salvation is from the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth, for such the Father seeks to worship him. God is spirit, and those who worship him must worship in spirit and truth." The woman said to him, "I know that Messiah is coming (he who is called Christ); when he comes, he will show us all things." Jesus said to her, "I who speak to you am he." Just then his disciples came. They marveled that he was talking with a woman, but none said, "What do you wish?" or, "Why are you talking with her?" So the woman left her water jar, and went away into the city, and said to the people,"Come, see a man who told me all that I ever did. Can this be the Christ?"They went out of the city and were coming to him. Meanwhile the disciples besought him, saying, "Rabbi, eat." But he said to them, "I have food to eat of which you do not know." So the disciples said to one another, "Has any one brought him food?" Jesus said to them, "My food is to do the will of him who sent me, and to accomplish his work. Do you not say,`There are yet four months, then comes the harvest'? I tell you, lift up your eyes, and see how the fields are already white for harvest. He who reaps receives wages, and gathers fruit for eternal life, so that sower and reaper may rejoice together. For here the saying holds true,`One sows and another reaps.' I sent you to reap that for which you did not labor; others have labored, and you have entered into their labor." Many Samaritans from that city believed in him because of the woman's testimony, "He told me all that I ever did." So when the Samaritans came to him, they asked him to stay with them; and he stayed there two days. And many more believed because of his word."

Questions To Ponder Today:
-Would you still give to someone who was mean to you?
-Is the Holy Spirit inside of us thirsting more for Jesus?
-Does your life truly revolve around thoughts of the Savior?
-Why was Jesus even speaking to this woman at the well?
-Why would pride and selfishness keep us from receiving Jesus?
(Let's share Jesus with someone..
anyone even those who know Him.)
The key is, keeping Jesus as the center topic to all
your conversations. He alone dominates your thoughts.


Your brother in Christ Jesus & His Most Blessed Mother,
Jim (The Rosary Man) Dacey Jr SFO

Today we pray the Glorious Mysteries

1. The Resurrection
2. The Ascension
3. The Descent of The Holy Spirit
4. The Assumption
5. The Coronation