The Real Need

Listening to the Spirit

Come, Holy Spirit, fill the hearts of your faithful.
And kindle in them the fire of your love.
send forth your Spirit and they shall be created.
And you will renew the face of the earth.

Lord,
by the light of the Holy Spirit
you have taught the hearts of your faithful.
In the same Spirit
help us to relish what is right
and always rejoice in your consolation.

We ask this through Christ our Lord.
Amen.

Listening to the Word

Jn 6:24-35

When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats 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

You have just received a telephone call from the agency that provides to you a job abroad. They have told you to prepare your luggage because your flight is scheduled in 24 hours. What will you do in your “last” 24 hours? The answer is important because you will really realize what are the important things in your life. Most probably you will go to greet your parents, your siblings, your relatives, your friends… maybe your parish priest, if he was good with you! I would like to think that you will go to your parish Church to greet the Lord, in that place where your faith grew up, where you could experience His presence in your life. The reason is that is has a very important part in your life.

In today’s gospel the people go to Jesus because he satisfied their basic needs. They were hungry, they were looking for food and he satisfied their necessities. But Jesus, who knows what is the REAL NEED, written in our hearts, put in our hearts by God, is telling us that the first thing to look for is really HIM. There are moments in life when we feel uneasy to our commitments, to the people around us; it seems that inside us there is something which would turn upside down everything. Is it negative? I do not think so. If we listen to our inner self (honestly speaking it is not easy, it is always better to have somebody accompanying us), we discover that within our hearts there is a deep desire to meet Him. Is my heart telling me that I have to spend some time with Jesus? I think so! Jesus tells us: look for me, look for my Words and my Flesh, look for the Holy Spirit. I left to you my Words, my Body and a companion who knows exactly who I am: the Holy Spirit. With these three things, your heart will be fulfilled, your mind will be in peace, your soul will rejoice.

Sufferings will be always there, trials will come to you but you will not give up, will not be afflicted, will not be desperate, will not feel abandoned because Jesus is with you: the deepest desire of your heart.

“I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”