# Mother Teresa’s Secret Letter and the Thirst of Jesus
*2018-04-24*

> Bill reflects on Mother Teresa’s late‑life revelation of a private letter about Jesus’ “I thirst” prayer, urging listeners to seek a personal encounter with the living Christ.

## A Turning Point in Mother Teresa’s Life

Yesterday we looked at Mother Teresa’s life and highlighted a pivotal moment: the “call within a call” she experienced on September 10 — the day she first felt the deep thirst of Jesus for souls. For many years she kept this experience to herself and her spiritual director. Four years before her death, after reading Pope John Paul II’s Latin message on the “I thirst” prayer (March 25 1993), she felt compelled to share the secret in a letter to the Missionaries of Charity.

## The Letter’s Core Message

In the letter Mother Teresa writes that the Holy Father’s message made her realize how beautiful our vocation is when we remind the world of Jesus’ thirst, which is often forgotten. She urges us to go deeper into that great thirst, to speak openly about the gift God gave her: the intimate knowledge of Jesus’ love. She asks us to ask ourselves whether we have truly met Jesus one‑on‑one, not merely in a chapel or from books, but in the silence of our own hearts.

## Listening to Jesus in the Silence of Our Hearts

Mother Teresa warns that the devil can use our hurts and mistakes to make us doubt Jesus’ love. Yet Christ continually longs for us, even when we feel unworthy. She reminds us that we do not need to be “different” for Jesus to love us; we simply need to recognize that we are precious to Him and bring our suffering to His feet. She encourages us to read her letter before the Blessed Sacrament so that Jesus may speak directly to each of us.

## Understanding the “I Thirst” Prayer

The phrase “I thirst” goes beyond a simple declaration of love; it expresses a profound, deep longing that Jesus has for each soul. Mother Teresa points out that Mary was the first to hear this cry, alongside St. John and Mary Magdalene, and that we are called to follow their example—bringing the face‑to‑face encounter with Christ into our own lives. Repentance, she says, means turning away from indifference and hardness of heart, and believing that Jesus’ thirst is present now in us and in the poor.

## Today's Prayer

“Come, Holy Spirit, living in Mary, help me to listen to Jesus.”

*When we open our hearts to hear Jesus’ “I thirst,” we encounter the living Christ who loves us beyond measure.*