The Gospel in today’s Mass is a continuation of yesterday’s Gospel. Jesus’ first disciples ask Jesus to teach them what they should believe in order to be disciples. That’s great! But believing is not just rattling off a list of abstract truths we learned in the catechism.
Believing is to see God acting in history, my own, and in the history of the world, as he did, leading the Jews from Egypt through the desert to the Promised Land and converting non-believers to believers today.
God repeats Exodus: He brings water through the rock, Baptism, feeds the people with manna, “the bread from heaven” the Eucharist, and by other symbolic actions. In today’s Gospel the people say, ”Sir, give us this bread always,” and Jesus answered: “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
And today? Even though we do not realize it, all of our human desires crumble before our hidden desire for the Eucharist.
Resolve: Is it time for me to examine myself on my attitude toward the Eucharist? Is receiving it just a run-of-the-mill occurrence I do at mass? Do I ever stop and make a special prayer before the Eucharistic Christ in the tabernacle? I shall ask the Lord today to strengthen my faith in the Eucharist.