The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, "I am the
bread that came down from heaven," and they said, "Is this not Jesus,
the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say,
´I have come down from heaven´?" Jesus answered and said to them,
"Stop murmuring among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father
who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in
the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to
my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to
you, whoever believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your ancestors
ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down
from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came
down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that
I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." (John 6:41-51)
Introductory Prayer: Father,
I believe in you with all my heart. I trust in your infinite goodness and
mercy. Thank you for so patiently guiding me along the pathway to everlasting
life. I love you and offer you all that I have and all that I do, for your
glory and the salvation of souls.
Petition: Lord, give me
faith to believe that you are the Bread of Life.
1. Faith is Free for the Pure of Heart: Sometimes we think that had we only lived in Jesus’ day it would
have be so much easier to believe. However, this passage makes it clear that
not only is faith a gift, but that to believe we must have certain dispositions
of the heart. Those who murmur against Jesus are closing themselves off to the
gift of faith, since the Father does not force our freedom; those who listen to
the prophets and to the Father with humility and an open hearts will be drawn
to Jesus by the Father’s love. Today we need these same dispositions. Without
them, what God reveals will seem too difficult to accept or to live out – even
appearing absurd to our human way of reasoning. These dispositions of the heart
are so essential. We need to be less sure of ourselves and more dependent on
listening to what God is saying to us in order to receive the gift of faith.
2. Bread That Was Less Filling: The manna which sustained the Israelites in the desert was a
foreshadowing of the Eucharist. God fed his people with manna throughout their
long journey to the Promised Land. Yet that bread did not give eternal life;
indeed, the Israelites rebelled and complained and fell into sin again and
again. They were looking more for material comfort and satisfaction in this
world than for the hope and joy that comes from being led by God to a new life.
In the Eucharist, God feeds us with the Bread of Eternal Life and leads us on
the journey of this life to an entirely new life in him, which gives all our
sufferings and difficulties meaning and hope. Let’s renew our faith in the True
Bread that gives us life.
3. I’m Gonna Live Forever: Eternal
life begins now for those who believe that Jesus is the Bread of Life. Through
faith in the Eucharist, we enter into this new life that is qualitatively
different from a life that is bound up in the world and seeks only pleasure and
comfort within the material confines of our limited existence. Ultimately,
human life – even the richest, the most successful, and most powerful – becomes
a gray monotony unless there is hope in something new and greater than this
existence down below. To live forever is not simply to go on endlessly in time,
it is to enter a new dimension: into a life in God, who is our true fulfillment
and peace.
Conversation with Christ: Lord,
give me always this Bread of Life. Open my heart and my soul to long for this
new life that only you can bring me through the Eucharist. Give me the humility
and simplicity to listen to you and to believe that you have the words of
eternal life.
Resolution: I will spend time before the Blessed Sacrament and read all of
Chapter Six of St. John’s Gospel, in which Jesus gives his discourse on the
Bread of Life. I will ask the Holy Spirit to deepen my faith that the Eucharist
is the center of my life, and I will embrace the teaching that nothing else has
as much importance as true devotion to the Eucharist.
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