Water in the Desert

The psalm from Mass today exhorts us to be like trees “planted near running water” (Ps 1:3). Trees rely on water in order to stay alive, to grow, and to bear fruit. In the same way, our souls rely on spiritual water in order to live, flourish, and do good works. What is this spiritual water? It is the life of the Trinity within our souls. The Indwelling of the Trinity is the fount of our spiritual life.

Christ came in the flesh in order to grant us this spiritual water, this spiritual life. When God became incarnate, it was like water being poured out upon the dry desert. As God had previously declared through the prophet Isaiah:

The afflicted and the needy seek water in vain,

their tongues are parched with thirst.

I, the LORD, will answer them;

I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

I will open up rivers on the bare heights,

and fountains in the broad valleys;

I will turn the wilderness into a marshland,

and the dry ground into springs of water (Isa 41:17-18).

Think of Isaiah’s context. The Israelites would have been very familiar with desert wilderness. Water was a precious resource for them, not to be taken for granted. The promise that the land would receive an outpouring of water—indeed, a superabundance of water—would have been a vivid image for them. It was certainly a sign of God’s blessing.

Jesus fulfilled this promise to God’s people. He did so, not by offering the water that softens dirt and makes plants grow, but by bringing the water that softens hearts and causes charity to take root in the soul. In his words to the Samaritan woman in the Gospel of John, Jesus offers himself as the source of living water. He promises that whoever drinks the water that he gives will receive a spring that wells up to eternal life (John 4:14). Later in the gospel, we learn that this water is the Holy Spirit (John 7:39). God’s promise to Israel—that he would make rivers to flow in the land and plants to grow in the desert—is the same promise he makes to each one of us. God offers us the living water that will enliven our souls. He offers us a share in his own divine life through pouring the Holy Spirit into our hearts (2 Pet 1:4; Rom 5:5).

We can be receptive to this living, spiritual water in a variety of ways. When we pray, we open up our souls to receive the outpouring of God’s grace. When we read and meditate on the Scriptures, we drink of the waters of wisdom that God has placed there. Above all, it is by receiving the sacraments that God’s life is poured into our hearts abundantly and superabundantly. Let us become like trees planted near running water. Let us sink our roots deep into the living water that Christ offers us. Let us live, grow, and bear fruit that will last.

This Advent, let each of us adopt the words of the psalmist: