“As the deer longs for springs of water, so my soul longs for you, O God.” It is characteristic of deer that they do not fear the poison of serpents, so much so that, blowing into their lairs through their noses, they force them out so as to kill and eat them. And when the poison they have thus swallowed begins to burn their insides, though it is not fatal, it nevertheless ignites a fire in them that creates a tremendous thirst. They then go in search of springs, and in the pure waters they extinguish the fire of the poison. In the same way, then, that deer desire springs of water, so also our deer—those who, fleeing the Egypt of this world, have killed Pharaoh and have drawn out all of his army with the waters of baptism—after having killed the devil desire nothing but the springs of the church: the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit. That the Father is a spring is written Jeremiah, “They have abandoned me, the spring of living water, to dig for themselves leaky cisterns, unable to hold water.” About the Son, it is written somewhere, “They have abandoned the source of wisdom.” Finally, of the Holy Spirit it is written, “From the one who drinks the water that I will give him, a fountain will spring up, welling up to eternal life,” and the Evangelist immediately provides an explanation, saying that the Savior’s words here referred to the Holy Spirit. This is the clearest proof that the three springs of the church are the mystery of the Trinity. And it is these springs that the soul of the believer longs for. The soul of the believer is interiorly drawn to them, so much so as to say, “My soul thirsts for God, the living spring.” Indeed, it is not merely foolish ambition to want to see God but an intense desire, a thirst that burns all. Before receiving baptism these souls spoke to themselves asking, “When can I come into the presence of God?” Now their desire is fulfilled: they have arrived, they are in God’s presence, they have been presented before the altar, face to face with the sacrament of the Savior.
