I am hungry!

Listening to the Spirit

Lord, thank you for the gift of Your Word so that all your people may know and love You more and understand You better.

As I go about my day may I not forget the scriptures you have opened up for me.

Help me to recognize how You want for me to apply Your Word to my daily life.

Holy Spirit, guided by Your Word, may You enlighten my mind and enkindle in my heart a greater love for You and for others in my family and in the world.

Amen.

Listening to the Word

John 6:24-35

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were they themselves got into boat and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him, “Rabbi, when did you get here?” Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled. Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”

So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?” Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.” So they said to him, “What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Reflection

“Palagi gutom”, he is always hungry!

There is a stage in life, during adolescence when the youth are always hungry, especially boys. If it is true about food, as human beings we remain “hungry” for meaning, fulfillment, and happiness for all life. “Hindi ako masaya, palagi may pagkukulan.” I get bored with my life, with my cellphone, with my stuff, with my friends, with my job, and maybe also with my family and friends. Once a bishop was told by some sisters of the congregation founded by Mother Teresa, that the Founder was encountering too often Princess Diana and that could be dangerous because the queen could take advantage of her. So, the bishop asked Mother Teresa about it, and she answered: “I am not encountering Princess Diana, but I am encountering the unhappy Diana.” You can have everything, but you can be unhappy!

We are made hungry for one thing; it is better to say, one Person: Jesus!

He is the kind of “food” that can satisfy our hunger for meaning, sense, and deep joy. For us Christian Catholics that food is not only a metaphor or a symbol. Jesus gives Himself to us, to be eaten in the Eucharist, in the host that we receive at mass. We find meaning in life when we look at this extreme sign of love. He gives, he offers, he lays down His life for us. I cannot think of a better and complete way of giving ourselves. God, Jesus does not keep anything for Himself. He gives all so that we can eat of Him, participate in Him, and become like Him. Saint Ignatius of Loyola, towards the end of his life, during the eucharist, at the moment of the consecration, had tears running down his face. He was asked: “Why do you cry?” He answered: “The love of Jesus for me and each one of us is so big that I can't help but cry.” A man of war, a courageous one able to find a religious congregation, deeply touched by the love of the Lord. When we communicate with Him, receiving the host, we fulfill an act of trust that that small piece of bread is the real presence of our Lord. We believe in Him and therefore we fulfill what Jesus asks us: “…that you believe in the one He [the Father] sent."

Lord, I am hungry for You!! Fill my hunger with Your presence.