GOSPEL, John (6, 30-35)
Gospel of Our Lord Jesus Christ according to Saint John
30 So they said to him, “What sign are you going to give us then, so that we may see it and believe you? What work are you performing? 31 Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’” 32 Then Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” 34 They said to him, “Sir, give us this bread always.”
35 Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.
The Gospel of the Lord
REFLECTION
The Word of God in John (6, 30-35) will introduce us to the mystery of the Eucharist.
The crowd asks for an exceptional miracle like that of Manna (vs. 30-31) But the true bread from Heaven, Jesus answers, is not the manna that was given to the ancestors: “Very truly, I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
Listening to the revelation that Jesus makes, “ 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” the people according to their materialistic understanding of what the bread to which Christ refers to, exclaim: “Sir, give us this bread always.”
This plea from the crowd favours Jesus’s revelation concerning himself, as He identifies himself with the bread in question (vs. 35) “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty”.
You lead us to the mystery of the consecrated Body and Blood through Holy Mass. Invite us to participate in the table of bread and wine. To participate in the mystery of the passion, death, and resurrection that saved us. Redeem us and bring us peace.
In our life, we need to be an expression of that bread and that wine and become aware that when we receive it, we are filled with the presence of God. Let us show people, that Jesus lives in our hearts, not because we are good or better than others are but because Jesus wants to be known through us through our service.
PRAYER
We bless you, God of our fathers, because in crossing the desert of life you offered us, your bread and your Gospel, which is Christ in the sacrament of the Eucharist.