# Thirst for Souls on Good Friday
*2016-03-25*

> Bill reflects on the cry “I thirst” from the Cross, drawing on the lives of Mother Teresa and St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, and invites listeners to pray the Stations of the Cross at home.

## A Good Friday Reflection

Good morning, I’m Bill Young. Today is Good Friday, the day we remember Christ’s Passion. Last night I attended a Lenten Mass at St. Maximilian Kolbe, and after the service I found a booklet titled *40 Days to Mercy: A Jubilant Year of Lent Devotion*. It still has a week left, so I thought I’d share what I found.

## The Cry “I Thirst” (John 19:28)

In John 19:28 Jesus says, “I thirst.” The booklet calls the reading “Thirst for Souls.” It points out that both Mother Teresa and St. Frances Xavier Cabrini (often called St. Francesca) heard that same cry and responded by offering their lives to satisfy Christ’s thirst for souls.

## Mother Teresa’s Vocation on a Train

On September 10, 1946, while traveling by train to a mountain town in India for health reasons, Mother Teresa experienced a profound moment of grace. She later described it as hearing the words of a dying Jesus, “I thirst.” That encounter deepened her vocation to serve the poorest of the poor, seeing herself as answering Christ’s thirst for souls.

## St. Frances Xavier Cabrini’s Holy Week Vision

Sister Frances Xavier Cabrini recorded a similar experience during Holy Week in 1937. In her diary she wrote that, while attending Mass, she saw the crucified Lord and heard a soft moan from His heart, followed by the words, “I thirst—for the salvation of souls. Help me, my daughter, to save souls.” She responded by offering her sufferings and prayers for sinners.

## Praying the Stations of the Cross at Home

If you can attend the Stations of the Cross at a parish, that is ideal. For those who are homebound or lack a nearby church, I invite you to listen to the Stations with me and pray the prayers that accompany each station. Let us unite our prayers, work, joy, and suffering with Christ’s passion, offering them to the Heavenly Father for the salvation of souls.

*May we, like Mother Teresa and St. Frances Xavier Cabrini, answer Christ’s cry, “I thirst,” by offering our lives for the salvation of souls.*