The Israelites were wandering in the desert without food. They complained to Moses and Aaron, saying it would have been better to eat the food of slavery than to die of famine in the freedom of the desert (Ex 16:2-3). In His mercy, God sent heavenly bread, which the Israelites called manna, to feed His people for forty years until they could eat of the produce of the promised land (Ex 16:13ff).
In today's Gospel reading, Jesus explained that the manna foreshadowed what God the Father was doing through Him. Jesus was sent from heaven to give life to the world (Jn 6:33). Jesus taught the crowd that He was the Bread of Life (Jn 6:35). The Father sent Him to feed His people with His flesh and thereby give them life in this world until they join the eternal banquet in the heavenly promised land.
The Israelites faced the choice of starving to death in the desert or eating the manna that God provided. However, most of us will not starve today if we don't receive the Eucharist — or so we think. Would you prefer to starve spiritually as long as you were living comfortably? Let us place ourselves amongst the Israelites in the desert. Jesus bluntly states that if we don't eat the heavenly manna, the Eucharist, we have no life in us (Jn 6:53). "Open your mouth and eat what" God gives you (Ez 2:8). Be as hungry for the Eucharist as if you were starving in the desert.
| PRAYER: | Father, change my desires so I only want to eat according to Your menu. |
| PROMISE: | "I Myself am the Bread of Life." –Jn 6:35 |
| PRAISE: | The Edgingtons bring their large family to daily Mass. They have prioritized Mass for their children over participation in sports. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College