Some of you may have missed out on Pentecost this year because, even after forty days of Lent and fifty days of Easter, you did not thirst that much for the Holy Spirit. Jesus continues to cry out: "If anyone thirsts, let him come to Me; let him drink who believes in Me. Scripture has it: 'From within him rivers of living water shall flow.' (Here He was referring to the Spirit)" (Jn 7:37-39).

To receive the Spirit, we must thirst. Thirst is one of the strongest human desires, and the thirst of a nursing baby is one of the best examples of this. Thus, the Lord commands us: "Be as eager for milk as newborn babies—pure milk of the Spirit to make you grow unto salvation" (1 Pt 2:2).

If we were not thirsty on Pentecost Sunday, why, on the Thursday after Pentecost, should we expect to be as thirsty as newborn babies for their mothers' milk? We can be this thirsty because the Lord is at work. In the last few days, the Lord has repeatedly called you to stifle the desires of the flesh and thirst for the things of the Spirit (see Gal 5:17). Although Pentecost Sunday may not have been the time you received the Spirit, you may have at least started to thirst a little more for the things of God. Just the grace to read the Bible teaching in this book is God's way of increasing your thirst for the "pure milk of the Spirit."

Maybe your thirst isn't that great, but it is greater. Right now, pray for either a greater thirst or a new Pentecost. Receive Pentecost now or very soon. Thirst as an infant thirsts.

Nihil Obstat:  Reverend Edward J. Gratsch, October 10, 1995

Imprimatur:  †Most Reverend Carl K. Moeddel, Vicar General and Auxiliary Bishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, October 13, 1995