“May Jesus, the Bread of Life, always be the source, strength and summit of our Christian living!”

(Based on Acts 8:1b-8 and Jn 6:35-40 – Wednesday of the 3rd Week in Ordinary Time)

A story is told about a pilot who always looked down intently on a certain valley…
… when the plane passed overhead.

One day his co-pilot asked, “What’s so interesting about that spot?”

The pilot replied: “See that stream?
Well, when I was a kid I used to sit down there on a log and fish.

Every time an airplane flew over, I would look up and wish I were flying…
… now I look down and wish I were fishing.”

There is a deep craving for satisfaction and fulfilment, inside every creature,

One is restless till this thirst is fulfilled…
One is impatient till this craving is satisfied…

This ‘longing’ is innate in every human being…
… a thirst for the Divine, for the Transcendental.

This ‘longing’ compels humans…
… to search… to seek…
… for the source of satisfaction
… for the fountain of fulfilment

But how wonderful it would be to be knowing and to be convinced that this “thirst” can find its fulfilment only in God.

The Gospel of the Day presents Jesus promising this fulfilment and contentment to all those who come to Him and believe in Him – the Bread of Life.

Jesus declares, “I am the Bread of Life; He who comes to me shall not hunger and he who believes in me shall never thirst” (Jn 6: 35)

The crowds who had been fed by Jesus, by the miracle of the multiplication of loaves, came in search of Jesus… probably expecting more…

They wanted still more…and they express this to Jesus, “Sir, give us this bread always” (Jn 6:34)

In John Chapter 4, we read the story of the Samaritan woman, by the well of Jacob, who had also expressed a similar desire.

She said to Jesus “Sir, give me this water, so that I may not be thirsty or have to keep coming here to draw water” (Jn 4: 15)

Each of us, deep within, are ‘longing’…
… to drink water and eat food that will quench the longing, forever.

It is this search that makes people to go out and seek the various sources of satisfaction.

Some feel to have found this fulfilment…
… through worldly pleasures and bad habits like smoking, drinking, obsession with sex, drugs etc, which only lead to momentary external satisfaction and short-lived bursts of thrill.

Some feel to have found this fulfilment…
… in the various philosophies, new-age patterns of life and naturalistic means of spirituality etc, which may have traces of truth, but fail to provide authentic and fullness of life.

The Book of the Acts of the Apostles records one such notable example of Saul.

Saul (who is also called Paul) failed to understand and grasp “The Truth” and persecuted all those who followed “The Way!”
“But Saul was ravaging the church by entering house after house; dragging off both men and women, he committed them to prison.” (Acts 8:3)

But Jesus, today, boldly and unambiguously declares that it’s only in HIM that true and complete fulfilment of life can be found: “He who comes to me shall not hunger and he who believes in me shall never thirst” (Jn 6: 35)

Are we convinced of this fact, that it’s only in Jesus, that I can achieve true and complete happiness…?

The Lord, today, calls us back to Him…
… to His Heart
… to His Church
… to His Eucharist
… to experience Him fully.

To those who have strayed…
… the call of the Gospel, is to come back to the paths of truth

To those who are holding on to Him…
… the call of the Gospel, is to deepen the conviction, that in Him alone, can the hunger of my soul and the thirst of my heart be fulfilled.

To those who have strayed…
… the Lord invites to build the virtues of humility, docility and openness to the Spirit.

To those who are holding on to Him…
… the Lord invites to build the virtues of patience, firm trust and a passionate longing.

May Jesus, the Bread of Life, always be the source, strength and summit of our Christian living!

God Bless! Live Jesus!

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Discovering the beauty of the Catholic Church through the Catechism
THE SACRAMENT OF MATRIMONY – Marriage under the regime of sin

Every man experiences evil around him and within himself.
This experience makes itself felt in the relationships between man and woman.
Their union has always been threatened by discord, a spirit of domination, infidelity, jealousy, and conflicts that can escalate into hatred and separation.

This disorder can manifest itself more or less acutely, and can be more or less overcome according to the circumstances of cultures, eras, and individuals, but it does seem to have a universal character. (CCC #1606)