Hunger and Thirst After Justice
Presence of God – Give me, O God, a strong efficacious desire for justice, that I may draw near You, O infinite Justice.
MEDITATION
“Blessed are they who hunger and thirst after justice” (Matthew 5:6), Jesus said, speaking of justice in general, which inclines man to live in perfect harmony with God’s will, to the extent of desiring that sacred will as the one indispensable food of his spiritual life. However, these words may also be applied to the 
special virtue of justice, without which there will never be any harmony with God’s will, and therefore, no sanctity. If we wish to live in union with God, who is infinite Justice, we must hunger and thirst for justice in all our actions and in all our relations with others. Hunger and thirst indicate imperious needs which cannot be suppressed; it is a question of life or death. As food and drink are absolutely essential to the life of the body, so justice is absolutely necessary for a life of virtue, and its duties are so compelling that no motive can exempt us from fulfilling them. If an act of charity for the neighbor should impose on us great inconvenience or cause us serious harm, we would not be obliged to do it, but the same inconvenience or harm could not excuse us from fulfilling a duty of justice. Serious motives can sometimes authorize us to postpone the fulfillment of such a duty, but the obligation always remains; although we might be prevented from acquitting it ourselves in a material way, we must supply for it, at least morally. It is thus appropriate to speak of hunger and thirst for justice, not in the sense of vindicating rights, but in the sense of cultivating in ourselves such a lively desire and imperious need for justice in all our relations with others, that we do not feel satisfied until we have completely fulfilled all the duties stemming from this virtue.
COLLOQUY
“O Lord, increase my hunger and thirst for justice, so that I may lovingly fulfill all the duties of justice, every obligation to You and to others, neglecting none, but doing them all willingly, even if they are unpleasant to nature. This hunger presses me to always make more progress in the virtues, considering as very little what I have already obtained, and as very much, what I still lack. May this hunger and thirst give me a most ardent desire for Your grace and a fervent love for the holy Sacraments especially the Sacrament of the Altar, so that I may nourish myself with You, O Jesus, who are my Justice.
“O Jesus, Your hunger after justice was so great that You no longer felt bodily hunger, and one day when You were very tired and in need of refreshment, You said to Your disciples: ‘My meat is to do the will of Him who sent Me.’ You had such an ardent thirst for justice that You burned with desire to taste the bitter chalice of Your Passion, even to the point of saying: ‘I have a baptism wherewith I am to be baptized, and how am I straightened until it be accomplished!’
“O my beloved Redeemer, inflame me with the fire of Your love, the source of this hunger and thirst; may I continually use this hunger and thirst to serve You, as You did to redeem me” (cf. Ven. L. Du Pont).
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Note from Dan: This post on hungering and thirsting after justice is provided courtesy of Baronius Press and contains one of two meditations for the day. If you would like to get the full meditation from one of the best daily meditation works ever compiled, you can learn more here: Divine Intimacy. Please honor those who support us by purchasing and promoting their products.
Art for this post on hungering and thirsting after justice: Balanced scale of justice, Perhelion, 15 July 2011, CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain, Wikimedia Commons. Father Gabriel of St. Mary Magdalen, mirror from open source material.
