Day 5

B [ I 7 ] drinks of this water ’ — that is, of earthly pleasures — ‘ shall thirst again ; but he who drinks the water that I will give him shall never thirst ; for the water that I will give him shall become in him a fountain of water springing up into everlasting life.’ 1 He is, then, never to thirst again ? In one sense, certainly, never : — for he will never again wish for any pleasure, any joy, any good, except what he possesses in Jesus Christ. Yet in another sense he will always thirst \ for he will never cease to desire this supreme good itself, and will long to possess it more and more completely. Thus, then, his thirst will be everlasting : — but so also will be the quenching of his thirst, as he will have that ever-springing fountain within him. He will not suffer the painful and exhausting thirst of those who seek the pleasures of the senses. He will continually thirst for justice ; but with his lips always held to the source of life that he owns, this thirst can never weary or weaken him. ‘If any man thirst,’ cries the Son of God, ‘let him come to me and drink. He that believeth in me . . . out of his belly shall flow rivers of living water.’ 2 Come, then, ye holy souls — come to Jesus ! Desire — drink 1 John iv. 13, 14. 2 Ibid. vii. 37, 38.

— be satisfied ! Fear not that this heavenly stream will ever fail you ; the fountain is greater than your thirst ; its abundance far beyond your need. < Fons vincit sitientem says St Augustine.

Siytb Das FIFTH BEATITUDE To be merciful. — Matt. v. 7.

[LESSED are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy/ The most beautiful fruit of love is to be touched by the ills of others. ‘ It is more blessed to give than to receive/ said Jesus Christ. This saying had not been recorded by the Evangelists, but God chose St Paul to have the honour of handing it down to us. ‘ Remember/ said that Apostle, 1 ‘the word of the Lord Jesus, how he said, u It is a more blessed thing to give rather than to receive.” * Blessed, then, are those who both give and really like giving better than receiving. Blessed, furthermore, is he who invites to his feast, not the rich who can return his hospitality, but the poor, the maimed, the halt and the blind. ‘Then/ said our Saviour, 2 c thou shalt be blessed, because they x Acts xx. 35. 2 Luke xiv. 12-14.