Thirty-fifth Day
“I thirst.” The greatest affliction Our Lord had to endure on the cross was the thirst. The fever after loss of blood and the severe and cruel sufferings, the torments of a whole night, had dried up the moisture of His body. “My strength is dried up like a potsherd,” was said of Him by the Prophet: “and My tongue hath cleaved to My jaws.”—Ps. xxi. 16. We honor this holy thirst by abstaining during Lent from all intoxicating drink, and many souls have received great blessings from God for this veneration. It is the intention that ennobles the act, and the smallest offering accompanied by a good will pleases God. Our Lord suffered this thirst to atone for our sins, that we might not go to hell, where we would thirst for all eternity. Remember Dives in the Gospel, who begged for one drop of water to be placed on his tongue. Our Lord, dying with thirst, yearned for the salvation of your soul. This was the thirst symbolized by His bodily thirst.
Prayer.
Look down upon me, good and gentle Jesus, etc., etc.