Take a Sip

A Reflection on the Psalm for November 8th, 2020:
Thirty-Second Sunday in Ordinary Time

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Psalm 63

R. My soul thirsts for you, O Lord my God.

O God, you are my God, I seek you, my soul thirsts for you; my flesh faints for you, as in a dry and weary land where there is no water. 

R. My soul thirsts for you, O Lord my God.

So I have looked upon you in the sanctuary, beholding your power and glory. Because your steadfast love is better than life, my lips will praise you. 

R. My soul thirsts for you, O Lord my God.

So I will bless you as long as I live; I will lift up my hands and call on your name. My soul is satisfied as with a rich feast, and my mouth praises you with joyful lips. 

R. My soul thirsts for you, O Lord my God.

I think of you on my bed, and meditate on you in the watches of the night; for you have been my help, and in the shadow of your wings I sing for joy. 

R. My soul thirsts for you, O Lord my God.

Pause. Pray.

And then read more...

Thirst. The images given to us in scripture are so relatable. We know what it means to thirst — in both the literal and figurative sense. Today, it is so easy to quench our various thirsts.


When I was a teen, I remember being in awe as I stood at my kitchen sink and turned on the tap for a glass of water. It was a simple action. However, I had just come home from a family trip to the Philippines, a developing country, where getting a glass of clean drinking water was not always so simple. In some instances at that time, I had relatives who were going to a community water pump several times a day to get water for cooking, cleaning, bathing, and drinking. My awe quickly turned to gratitude when I realized how easily and how quickly I could grab a glass of water whenever I wanted or needed. This memory came to me as I reflected on this reading. Just as we thirst for a drink of water, we also can thirst for God, and have that thirst easily quenched because God is so accessible. He is present to us whenever, and wherever we want or need Him.  


Studies say you need eight glasses of water a day — a familiar health tip that we’ve all heard. But do you drink eight glasses of water a day? Some days I do, other days I think I’m lucky if I remember to take eight sips of water a day! On days like that, when I finally remember to take a sip of the water that is inevitably a small reach away, I am refreshed; more focused… and probably less hangry.


Like water, we need the Lord to live. While the Lord is as present to me as that ubiquitous glass of water, I often distract myself from that thirst; that need for Him in my life. I have too many things to do, places to go, people to see. Yet how much more refreshed do I feel when I partake in the water that God has to give me? Elsewhere in scripture, this is brought about again when we hear of the Samaritan woman at the well (John 4.7-30). Jesus offers her “living water”; water that quenches all thirsts.

She wanted this water.

I want and am given this same water.

The psalmist reminds me that God offers water and my response is to receive so that I can be refreshed — so I can be more focused on Him and who He calls me to be. For God provides not only the literal water that I drink but all the graces and gifts I need to satisfy all my thirsts. All I have to do is reach out and take a sip… or in some cases a great big gulp!




Aurea Sadi

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