The Bread of Life

08-04-2024Weekly ReflectionFr. Bing Colasito

Many of the Jews of the Exodus were stubborn, grumbling, and complaining people. They grumbled and complained to Moses, and God performed several miracles to show His providential care for the people of Israel in their wilderness journey. He sent them manna, a word derived from the Hebrew expression: What is it? (manhu) (Ex. 16:15).There were attempts to reduce the symbolism of the manna as a congealed sap of a desert shrub. But the Scriptures clearly say that the manna was a supernatural phenomenon. Its appearance is limited to the forty years when Israel was in the wilderness (Ex. 16:35). Thus, there is only one possible explanation: God performs the miracle (Hebrew niphloth) in the deliverance of the people of Israel.

The center of Jesus’ Galilean ministry is Capernaum. The synagogue of Capernaum is the scene of the famous Discourse on the Bread of Life in the Gospel of John. Chapter six (6) of John is the most Eucharistic text in all the Gospels and reveals who Jesus is, where He comes from, and the grace He will grant us. I am the Bread of Life (Eucharist). He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood will have life eternal. When Jesus feeds the five (5) thousand, He brings the Messianic gifts, but they see them only as manna (the bread they received as they journeyed through the wilderness) to satisfy their physical hunger. They have no idea that the manna prefigures the wonderful Messianic gift of God to us, His Son, Jesus Christ, present in the mystery of the Eucharist.

Every day, miracles happen. The sunrise signals a new day; the sunset signals the end of the day. Each day, new life comes into existence or comes to an end. With every life comes hundreds and even thousands of relationships, which are all miracles of life. But because of the ordinariness of life’s coming and going, we tend not to see God’s handprint on them. Take the sustenance of the plant and animal kingdom; how God takes care of the whole creation: Look at the birds of the sky, that they do not sow, nor reap, nor gather crops into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them (Mt. 6:26). If man is God’s highest creation; and He provides for other creatures, how much more for us? God provides for our physical needs, but certainly not enough to satisfy our inner hunger and quench our real thirst. Jesus questions the intention of the crowds looking for Him; they seek Him not because they see a sign but for egoistic reasons, a steady source of food. He takes this opportunity to teach them and to elevate their longings, “you should not be working for perishable food but for food that remains unto eternal life.”

The Eucharist is a sacrifice where we gather, celebrate, and sacrifice, and in return, Jesus multiplies them, giving us the Bread of Life. The Eucharistic sacrifice is the food that He gives us in the form of bread to sustain our spiritual life. The Bread of Life that comes from heaven and gives life to the world. In the Eucharist, we are united to Christ, who transforms us into His Own mystical body. Offered and sacrificed as the food of the soul for the unity of believers living their newfound life in Christ. I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. Pray that our desires and passions will lead us to hunger not only for provisions of the body but for the food of the soul. As St. John Paul II says: From the Eucharist comes the strength to live the Christian life and the zeal to share that life with others.

Do you have food supplements to maintain a healthy body? How about soul supplements? A priest acquaintance recommends a B-E-E-R daily: Bible, Eucharist, Empathy (Compassion), and Rosary.