3rd Week of Easter 2025 - Wednesday - Hungering for the Bread of Life

 

One of the things that perennially draws people to join the Catholic Church is the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Even amidst scandals and abuses, when the imperfections of the members of the Church are on display, Jesus draws people to the Catholic faith through the Eucharist. 

Why is the Eucharist so powerful in drawing souls to God? St. John Vianney said, “The soul hungers for God, and nothing but God can satiate it.  Therefore He came to dwell on earth and assumed a Body in order that this Body might become the Food of our souls" 

God has placed a deep hunger within our souls, a hunger for himself. And our good God has provided the food to satisfy that hunger. The world offers many artificial alternatives to God, but the Eucharist is the food that truly satisfies.

Isaiah the prophet asked, “Why spend money on that which is not bread, and wages on that which does not satisfy? Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good, and your soul will delight in the richest of foods” Little did Isaiah know of the bread which God would give in the Eucharist, the supersubstantial bread that truly satisfies and delights our souls. 

A few years ago, on the feast of Corpus Christi, the late Holy Father Pope Francis said, “Let us choose this food of life! Let us make Mass our priority! Let us rediscover Eucharistic adoration in our communities! Let us implore the grace to hunger for God, with an insatiable desire to receive what he has prepared for us”

In the Gospel today, the Lord makes the invitation to all people: "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst”. Again, during the Easter Season, we consider how we are called to extend that invitation to the spiritually starving. If we don’t extend the invitation, they will go from one unsatisfying pursuit to the other until they starve to death.

May we respond generously to the Easter summons to go out to the world, to teach and make disciples, to help souls longing, searching, and hungering for God to find Him here, and to share communion with Him for the glory of God and the salvation of souls.

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Trusting in Christ’s true presence among us in the Eucharist, we present our prayers and petitions to our Heavenly Father.

That the Church around the world may be a visible sign of the light of the Risen Lord calling all people to new life and communion with Him, and for the Holy Spirit’s guidance for the college of Cardinals in the conclave for the papal election.

For leaders of nations, that they may be guided by the wisdom and love revealed in Christ’s Eucharistic sacrifice, promoting justice, peace, and dignity for all people.

For priests and those preparing for priestly ministry, that their hearts may be strengthened and their lives continually transformed by the Eucharist, the source of their joy and priestly identity, and for an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated life.

For married couples and families, that the self-giving love of Christ made present in the Eucharist may inspire and sustain their love and fidelity to one another.

For those experiencing spiritual hunger, loneliness, or despair, that they may encounter Christ, finding in him nourishment, peace, and fulfillment for their souls.

For those who suffer in body, mind, or spirit, that they may draw comfort and strength from Christ’s presence in the Eucharist and from the charitable giving of the Body of Christ.

For our beloved dead, especially Pope Francis, that they may share in that eternal life promised to those who ate and drank the body and blood of Christ. 

Gracious Father, hear our prayers. Nourish us continually with your Son’s presence in the Eucharist, and grant us the grace to lead others to this divine source of eternal life. We ask this through Christ our Lord. Amen.

Friday after Ash Wednesday 2021 - Fasting and Spiritual Hunger

 This morning I happened upon Bishop Malesic’s reflection for this first Lenten Friday. Apparently, his excellency wakes up and posts composes his daily homily earlier than I do! I will now shamelessly share with you some of his thoughts, as they are so very clear and poignant. 

Our shepherd writes: “There are only two days that most Catholics are required to fast: Ash Wednesday and Good Friday.  But we are not confined by the minimum requirements.  We can fast on more than just two days a year. 

So, why fast at all?

Fasting reminds us that we hunger for something more.  We hunger for justice for the poor.  We hunger for the presence of God.  We hunger for salvation.   When our stomachs grumble, let it remind ourselves that we are empty and needy.  Only God can fulfill our greatest expectations. Our fast, then, is a sign of our longing for God.

Fasting also reminds us that “not by bread alone do we live.”  There is something more essential than material things.  We live by every word that comes from the mouth of God.  

Fasting allows us to give up some of our excesses so that something is left for those more in need than we are.  What we don’t use, or what we save by our fasting, we can give away. This is how food pantries are filled up.

But ultimately, our fast from food is meant to help us fast from sin.  If all we do is give up food for the sake of dietary religious norms, without allowing God to change our hearts, then our fast is empty and meaningless. “

Simple and clear. Thank you Bishop Malesic! 

“The days will come…when my disciples will fast” says the Lord in the Gospel today. Well, those days are here. We will not regret taking seriously the Lenten call to fast. May our Lenten fasting deepen our hunger for the grace and the food and the life that only God can provide and strengthen us in our struggle against sin, for the Glory of God and salvation of souls.

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For the whole Christian people, that in this sacred Lenten season, they may be more abundantly nourished by every word that comes from the mouth of God.

For sinners and those who neglect right religion, that in this time of reconciliation they may respond generously to Our Lord’s call to conversion. 

For ourselves, that God may at last stir up in our hearts aversion for our sins and conviction for the Gospel.

For the sick and suffering and all those affected by severe weather, and the safety of all travelers. 

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Grant, we pray, O Lord, that your people may turn to you with all their heart, so that whatever they dare to ask in fitting prayer they may receive by your mercy. Through Christ Our Lord.

1st Week of Advent 2020 - Wednesday - The ultimate promise

 

To understand the impact of Isaiah’s words during advent, again, it is good for us to consider the context of the people of Israel at the time. Remember, it is the darkest point in Israel’s history. Most of the Jews had been banished from the land of milk and honey, the promised land. They were in exile. Family members had been separated as a way to break their spirits. The Temple of God, where they went to worship and bask in the presence of God had been destroyed.

So, imagine the impact of Isaiah’s message from God, this promise of a holy mountain on which the peoples would be gathered back together again, where they would feast, where tears would be wiped away. Ok. Maybe we can endure our sufferings a little longer, if this is what we have to look forward to. Maybe we will get our spiritual lives in order, so that we can become heirs of this promise.

This is certainly one of my favorite passages from the prophet Isaiah. And it’s no wonder why many family members request this passage to be read at funerals for their deceased loved ones. For it contains a powerful message of hope and peace and comfort at a time when it is desperately needed—a time of loss, separation, grief. The family dinner table will never be the same. 

This promise is so powerful because it speaks not just to the situation of Israel at a particularly dark moment in its history, but to the situation of every human person in relation to God. 

It’s the promise that through the Messiah, all that was lost through sin will be restored. The exile from paradise. The hostility between nations, and families, and individuals. The sorrow and grief. Hunger and disease. Death itself will be destroyed. And the encounter with God which was experienced in the Garden of Paradise will be made possible once again. 

Through the Messiah, as Isaiah promises here, we will behold God, we will see God who is hidden through life, who seems especially hidden in the dark times of our life. Here is the fulfillment of our hearts deepest longing--this really is the ultimate promise.

Advent helps us to mold our souls to receive this promise, helping us get our souls into shape through prayer and penance. So what needs to change in me, what attitudes need to change, what habits need to change in order for God to bring his promises to fulfillment in my life? 

The Lord is moved with pity, as we heard in the Gospel, over our sad, sorry state. He sees that we are spiritually famished for his presence. And we see him in the Gospel, on the mountain, feeding the hungry souls. May we respond generously to Him as he is so generous to us, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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We raise up our prayers of petitions, as we await with longing the Advent of Christ the Lord.

That through the courageous witness of the Christian Church, Our Lord will bring hope to the hopeless and joy to the joyless.

That world leaders may look upon the Son of God, believe in him, and seek the peace and justice that only he can bring.

That Christ may heal every disease, drive out hunger, ward off every affliction, and bring peace to the suffering.

For the deceased of our parish, family and friends, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Almighty ever-living God, you bring salvation to all and desire that no one should perish, hear the prayers of your people and grant that the course of our world may be directed by your peaceful rule and your Church may rejoice in tranquility and devotion. Through Christ our Lord.

Tuesday after Epiphany 2019 - Feeding the spiritually malnourished

This week we are between two feasts: the Epiphany of the Lord and the Baptism of the Lord.  At the Epiphany Jesus as revealed as a light to all nations.  At the Baptism of the Lord in the Jordan River, Jesus will be revealed as the Only-begotten son of the Father.  When he is baptized, the heavens open, the Holy Spirit descends upon him, and the voice of the Father says, “This is my beloved Son”.
These two feasts are linked in the mind of the Church by that theme of revelation—the revelation of Jesus’s true identity—his identity as Savior and Son and God.

This theme of revelation permeates the readings this week.  Yesterday we heard Matthew’s account of the beginning of Jesus’ preaching and teaching throughout Galilee.  The paralyzed, the possessed, the lame were brought to him for healing.  Jesus is revealed as the one who brings healing.

Today we proclaim one of Jesus’ most famous miracles: the multiplication of the loaves and fishes.  Jesus reveals God’s great love for us, that he desires to feed the hungry.  He is moved with pity by our hunger.  And he doesn’t just feed us from afar, but has entered into our world of hunger, he has become one of the hungry, but is also revealed as the one capable of feeding.  For if he can feed five thousand from five loaves and two fish, he has the power to feed all those who come to him, in abundance. 

Jesus calls us to similar concern for the hungry, both the physically and spiritually malnourished.  So many people have lost their appetite for the spiritual nourishment of God’s Word and Sacraments because they have so deeply indulged in the food of worldliness.  Our job, perhaps, is to help wean them off the world by instilling a hunger for the truth of Christ, by presenting the truth, good, and beauty that only comes from him.

Also, notice that the Lord performs this great miracle of the feeding of the multitude by taking the little that is possessed by the people and transforms it into food for the multitudes.  What is not brought to him is not transformed.  But what is brought to him is blessed and multiplied and shared.
The Lord has real concern for our hunger, real concern for those who continue to turn away from his banquet.  And he will use us, if we bring him our time, talent, and treasure, for the feeding of hungry souls, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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For a deeper devotion to the Eucharist among all Catholics, that our Eucharistic worship might inspire non-believers to seek and find the Lord.

For those spiritually malnourished souls who do not look to God to satisfy the longing in their hearts.
That our Catholic schools and PSR programs may be places where the Lord Jesus is sought out and discovered, where faith is instilled and charity is inspired.

For an increase in vocations to the priesthood and consecrated religious life, that many young people may respond generously to the Lord’s call to ordained and consecrated service.

For all the needs of the sick and the suffering, the homebound, those in nursing homes and hospitals, the underemployed and unemployed, immigrants and refugees, victims of natural disaster, war, and terrorism, for all those who grieve the loss of a loved one, and those who will die today, for their comfort, and the consolation of their families.

For all who have died, and for all the poor souls in purgatory, and for X. for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord

3rd Week of Easter 2018 - Monday - Working for Spiritual Food

Last week we read the portion of John chapter 6 in which Jesus feeds five thousand through a miracle of multiplying the loaves and fishes. Today, the Gospel sets the stage for Jesus’ great Bread of Life discourse.

Those that had been fed by Jesus cross the sea are looking for him. Why? They are hungry again and they want more bread and fish! Jesus, the great teacher is going to use their physical hunger to talk about a deeper hunger, a spiritual hunger.

They are coming to Jesus because he gave them bread and fish. Jesus will reveal that He is the source of this spiritual bread that only God can satisfy, and that bread is his flesh: the Eucharist. We’ll hear about that later this week.

But in this little prologue, Jesus talks about work: we spend a lot of time working for the physical food our bodies need, and little time working for the spiritual food our souls need. We feed the body, while neglecting the spirit.

The crowd, like many people today, believe the most important thing in life is to keep alive, to be healthy, strong and economically sufficient. Jesus is speaking of a deeper purpose here.

The purpose of life isn’t simply to satisfy our physical desires. There is a human hunger, a restlessness, for more, a spiritual hunger for doing the will of God. Man does not live on bread alone, but by following the divine vocation, the call to holiness.

In his new, apostolic exhortation, Pope Francis speaks of these dual hungers:  “Hunger and thirst are intense experiences, since they involve basic needs and our instinct for survival.” But there is a deeper hunger, the Holy Father, says, one, which Jesus praises in his beatitudes when he says, “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled”…the deeper hunger, is for true justice and holiness.

This includes seeking to be faithful to God’s will in every aspect of our life and also seeking justice for those who are most vulnerable, as Isaiah teaches: “Seek justice, correct oppression; defend the fatherless, plead for the widow.”

Jesus feeds us with his body and blood, that we, like Him, might become abandoned to the will of the Father, to work for justice, for the glory of God, and the salvation of souls.

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That the Church will deepen in her devotion to the Eucharistic sacrifice which is the source and summit of our Christian life.  We pray to the Lord.

That the redemptive power of Christ’s Eucharistic sacrifice will extend to the hearts and minds of all those who govern peoples and nations.  We pray to the Lord.

That the Eucharist will be for priests the source of their joy and their deeper configuration to Jesus Christ.  We pray to the Lord.

That the Real Presence of Jesus will be experienced in all marriages, in all business relations, in all daily encounters, and in our friendships.  We pray to the Lord.

For those who live in want: that Jesus the Bread of Life will be their sustenance, and that Christians may bring the justice and mercy of Christ to all those in need.  We pray to the Lord.

For all those who have died, for all of the poor souls in purgatory, for all who have fought and died for our country’s freedom, and for [intention below], for whom this Mass is offered.

Incline your merciful ear to our prayers, we ask, O Lord, and listen in kindness to the supplications of those who call on you. Through Christ our Lord.

2nd Week of Easter 2018 - Friday - Hungry for God

Having read through the entirety of Jesus' discourse with Nicodemus from chapter 3 of St. John's Gospel over the past four days, we now begin a week long reading of John Chapter 6.  St. John's sixth chapter is comprised of two miracle stories—the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and Jesus walking on the water—and the great Bread of Life discourse.  I encourage you to read and reflect upon the entire chapter to get a sense of what's coming over the next 8 days.

With Nicodemus, Jesus spoke of the waters of spiritual rebirth. Those who are immersed into the waters of baptism are immersed into the saving death and resurrection of the Lord. St. Paul explains this in his letter to the Colossians:  "You were buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through faith in the power of God, who raised him from the dead"

Well, if the first set of Scripture readings after the Easter Octave point to the importance of the Sacrament of Baptism, this second set of readings, from John 6, is going to point to the Sacrament of Christ’s Body and Blood, the Eucharist.

The Catechism explains: “The miracle of the multiplication of the loaves, when the Lord says the blessing, breaks and distributes the loaves through his disciples to feed the multitude, prefigures the superabundance of [the] unique bread of his Eucharist.” This connection was clear, even to the early Church. In second-century catacombs, we find artistic representations of the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves to symbolize the Eucharist.

Part of our Easter faith and our Easter journey every year is to deepen our appreciation, love, and gratitude for the new life we receive through Christ: new life begun in baptism, new life strengthened in confirmation, and new life sustained in the Eucharist.

Just as the Lord fed the hungry crowd, the Lord feeds man’s deepest hunger with the Eucharist. All of us hunger for truth, justice, love, peace, and beauty. In a word, we are hungry for God. And that hunger is satisfied, here at the table of the altar.

Sadly many Christians, like ill-natured children, refuse to eat what they are served, many refuse to sit at the table and sup. But here at the altar, we are sent out to them, to draw them back here, to Christ.

May the Eucharist, our food, our life, our joy, continue to sustain us for the work of the Church, for the glory of God and salvation of souls.
 
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Filled with Paschal joy, let us turn earnestly to God, to graciously hear our prayers and supplications
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For the shepherds of our souls, that they may have the strength to govern wisely the flock entrusted to them by the Good Shepherd.

For the whole world, that it may truly know the peace of the Risen Christ.

For our own community, that it may bear witness with great confidence to the Resurrection of Christ, and that the newly initiated hold fast to the faith they have received.

For our brothers and sisters who suffer, that their sorrow may be turned to gladness through the Christian faith.

That all of our beloved dead and all the souls in purgatory may come to the glory of the Resurrection.

O God, you know that our life in this present age is subject to suffering and need, hear the desires of those who cry to you and receive the prayers of those who believe in you. Through Christ our lord.

Thursday - 3rd Week of Easter 2017 - Deepening our Spiritual Hunger for God

All of this week, our Gospel readings are taken from the sixth chapter of Saint John’s Gospel.  The sixth chapter of John is usually known as the “Bread of Life Discourse” because in it, Jesus speaks of Himself, as we heard today, as the Bread of Life.  In fact, Jesus refers to himself as the ‘Bread of Life’ 11 times.

St. John Vianney said, “The soul hungers for God, and nothing but God can satiate it.  Therefore He came to dwell on earth and assumed a Body in order that this Body might become the Food of our souls"

Spiritual hunger is different than physical hunger.  With physical food, the more I eat the less hungry I am.  With the spiritual food that God gives, the more I eat, the more I hunger.

This is why the saints seem to crave God more than we do. This is also why 75% of Catholics who do not go to Church are not banging on the doors to receive the Eucharist which they have denied themselves.  With spiritual food, the less you eat, the less you notice the hunger. Plenty of false spiritual food from our culture is available every minute of the day; the false spiritual food leaves us unhappy and exhausted.

Saint John Paul II wrote in one of his last letters to the Church: “God has placed in human hearts a “hunger” which will be satisfied only by full union with him. Eucharistic communion was given so that we might be “sated” with God here on earth, in expectation of our complete fulfillment in heaven.
No philosophy or scientific discovery or piece of technology or earthy pursuit can satisfy our spiritual cravings.  No amount of money, success, fame, or power.  Only Jesus can fully satisfy.

Do you crave Him? If not, eat more! Serve more, love more.

With physical food, the hungrier we are, we start to get grumpy, cranky, weak, “hangry” as they say these day, is when you are so hungry you are angry. This is why there is so much anger in our culture these days, we do not hunger enough for God.

 But with Christ, and this is definitely a paradox of our faith, the more we hunger for Him the happier we are, the more at peace, the stronger we are. What a beautiful paradox! “Blessed are those who hunger for Him, for they will be filled” for the glory of God and salvation of souls.

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That the Church, which draws her life from the Eucharist, may worship this mystery with ever deeper faith and devotion, we pray to the Lord...

That Christians may always approach the Eucharist worthily, in full communion with the teachings and practices of the Church, we pray to the Lord...

That all God's children may have sufficient bread for their physical life and the Bread of Life for their spiritual life, we pray to the Lord...

That those who have died may share the eternal life that Jesus promised to those who feed on the Bread from Heaven, we pray to the Lord...