I AM the Bread of life.

"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." (John 6: 35).

Sunday 1st August 2021, in the 18th Week in Ordinary Time.

Jesus claims to be the Bread of life and then adds: If we believe His words and come to Him, hunger and thirst will be things of the past for us. To understand what Jesus means, we shall draw from two Scriptures from today's Liturgy.

#1. "... as truth is in Jesus, that you should put away the old self of your former way of life, corrupted through deceitful desires." (Ephesians  4:17, 20-24).

Bad desires are deceitful. They corrupt the mind. Beware of all the ideas you receive especially through TV advertising. They sow unhealthy desires in your heart.

#2. "One does not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes forth from the mouth of God." (Matthew 4: 4).

Man is made of body, soul and mind. Physical bread alone cannot satisfy man. Man needs relationship, love, music, arts, sports, etc to satisfy his composite personality. God who created man knows exactly what satisfies man.

“I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." Jesus is talking about the Eucharist here. What proof do we have that Jesus can satisfy our human hunger and thirst through the Eucharist. For this, we have to see the teaching and experience of the Church has of the Eucharist.

The Bread of life is the Flesh and Body of our Lord Jesus Christ, given for the salvation of the world. This Sacrament contains the full Body, Soul and Divinity of the Savior. It is the Medicine of life and Food for the Journey to Immortality.

Jesus Christ presents the Eucharist in the Bread of life Discourse as a Sign. For John the Evangelist, a Sign is a Miracle, a Sacrament. The crowd who ate the multiplied loaves wanted more of the same. They misunderstood completely the "Sign" that points to the Sacrament.

The Church has consistently taught and defended the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist as received from Jesus. The Eucharist is a great mystery of faith. "Whoever believes in Me," will know the truth.

"The emptiness of My churches is an affront to My love, to the love that compelled Me to give Myself by the hands of My priests, under the forms of bread and wine, so that no one might perish from hunger or thirst on the road to eternity. I am all love in the Sacrament of My love. My Heart is open to receive all, even those who have in their souls no more than the faintest spark of faith in My real presence. Let them come to Me, and that little spark will become a shining flame, giving joy and hope to all who perceive its light." (IN SINU JESU page 214).

Daily Bible Verse @ Seekfirstcommunity.com