From the Gospel according to John 6:30–35

The crowd said to Jesus:
“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:

He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”

So Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”

So they said to Jesus,
“Sir, give us this bread always.”
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.”

Hunger and Thirst for You

It is deeply moving to contemplate how, in the face of man’s disordered desire, You do not turn away or reject him, but draw near, understanding our blindness. With infinite goodness, You embrace our disorder in order to purify and elevate it, and with gentleness You reveal to us the true longing of our hearts.

Man, created for communion, hungers for love. Yet, through concupiscence, he seeks to satisfy that hunger in the wrong places: he asks for signs, for reassurance, to be filled from without. Like that crowd, he looks for bread that satisfies the body, while his heart, in truth, longs for something far greater.

And so it is also in marriage. That desire for communion, when it is not purified, becomes a demand: expecting from one’s spouse what only You can give; asking for words, gestures, attentions… as though the other could quench the thirst of the heart.

But You, Jesus, when You see us in such poverty, do not rebuke us harshly. You do not point out our misery; rather, You ask for it. And from within it, You lift our gaze so that, looking into Your eyes, we may allow ourselves to be led without fear, ever deeper, until we discover the true longing of our hearts.

You make us realise that we do not hunger merely for human affection, but for You.

And You, Lord, to satisfy this hunger for You, do not simply give us gifts, or solutions, or passing consolations… You give us Yourself, entirely.

“I am the Bread of Life.”

Jesus in the Eucharist is the true school of love for spouses. True love does not consist in demanding that the other satisfy my need, but in allowing You to satisfy it first. For only the one who is nourished by You can truly love — and will never again hunger or thirst.

Brought into Married Life

Peter arrives home after a difficult day at work, and Patricia is with the children, exhausted.

Peter: Hello…

Patricia: Hello… could you take James for a moment?

Peter: Yes, of course… (he does, but somewhat irritated)

(A few minutes pass in tense silence)

Peter: Aren’t you even going to ask me how my day was?

Patricia: I’m sorry, I just haven’t had the head for it… I’m exhausted.

Peter: Right… it seems you don’t really care how I am.

Patricia: Well, it seems you don’t care how I am either!

Peter: Honestly… I come home hoping for a bit of affection… a bit of attention… and nothing!

Patricia: And I hope that one day you’ll help me without my having to ask all the time!

A heavy silence falls. But, thanks be to God, they take time for prayer, and afterwards.

Peter: Forgive me, Patricia… I think I came in keeping track of whether you would ask about me or give me attention. I was only thinking about myself, to be honest.

Patricia: Me too, Peter… I was just waiting for you to come home so you could help me — I wanted your help more than I wanted you. I’m just so tired!

Peter: I know, my love… and I was only thinking that I came home hungry, needing to let things out and find some peace. But I’ve realised that’s not the way.

Patricia: I don’t do it well either, Peter. I still have so much to grow in love.

Peter: That makes two of us. Forgive me, my love. I love you.

Patricia: And I love you too!

Mother,

Lead us to your Heart and hide us within it. Form in us a Eucharistic heart, like that of your Son — capable of welcoming, of giving itself, and of loving to the very end.

May we always find in the Eucharist the source from which our strength is renewed, so that we may learn to become bread that is broken and given out of love.

And thus, united with you, may we be able to say with truth and humility: The Lord has done great things for me.

Glory be to God!

From the Gospel according to John 6:22–29

[After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.]
The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there,
and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat,
but only his disciples had left.
Other boats came from Tiberias
near the place where they had eaten the bread
when the Lord gave thanks.
When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there,
they themselves got into boats
and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus.
And when they found him across the sea they said to him,
“Rabbi, when did you get here?”
Jesus answered them and said,
“Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.
For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”
So they said to him,
“What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.”

What Am I Hungry For?

The human heart has a hunger for the infinite, because we come from God and are called to encounter Him. Man may mistakenly try to satisfy this hunger with the goods of this world — both material and emotional — but this always leaves him unsatisfied and empty.

In my marriage, I too may seek my spouse to be that bread which satisfies me as food that perishes. When my love seeks only personal fulfilment, financial security, an orderly life, something that makes me “happy”, it is reduced to a consumer good and ultimately leaves me empty.

Yet the food that endures is the Grace of God. It is loving my spouse not for what they give me, but because they are a gift from God. Knowing this, and with the desire to discover together each day what His Plan is — even in situations we do not like — we will be able to respond to the God who loved us first.

Brought into Married Life

Beth: We’ve been rushing about all week. We talk about nothing but the children’s schedules, work problems, things around the house…

Andrew: You’re right, Beth. I feel that I often expect you to give me peace of mind, to take care of the children’s logistics… so that I can focus on my work. Deep down, that’s where I place my security, and I’m sorry for that.

Beth: I also often look to you to fill my insecurities, and when you don’t, I get upset… and we drift apart from each other.

Andrew: What do you think if we place this in God’s hands? The Lord has given us to one another so that we may reach Him together, not just to get through day by day.

Beth: That sounds wonderful, my love. We are learning so much from the catecheses of Saint John Paul. Let’s bring them into our daily lives. By making a small effort each day and living in a state of grace, the Lord always gives us a hundredfold. We have our own experience, and that of so many married couples who have achieved it. The goal is Love with a capital “L”. I’m so full of hope.

Mother,

May we seek to satisfy our hunger through faith. May we place all our trust in your Son. Praised be God.

From the Gospel according to Luke 24:13–35

That very day, the first day of the week,
two of Jesus’ disciples were going
to a village seven miles from Jerusalem called Emmaus,
and they were conversing about all the things that had occurred.
And it happened that while they were conversing and debating,
Jesus himself drew near and walked with them,
but their eyes were prevented from recognizing him.
He asked them,
“What are you discussing as you walk along?”
They stopped, looking downcast.
One of them, named Cleopas, said to him in reply,
“Are you the only visitor to Jerusalem
who does not know of the things
that have taken place there in these days?”
And he replied to them, “What sort of things?”
They said to him,
“The things that happened to Jesus the Nazarene,
who was a prophet mighty in deed and word
before God and all the people,
how our chief priests and rulers both handed him over
to a sentence of death and crucified him.
But we were hoping that he would be the one to redeem Israel;
and besides all this,
it is now the third day since this took place.
Some women from our group, however, have astounded us:
they were at the tomb early in the morning
and did not find his body;
they came back and reported
that they had indeed seen a vision of angels
who announced that he was alive.
Then some of those with us went to the tomb
and found things just as the women had described,
but him they did not see.”
And he said to them, “Oh, how foolish you are!
How slow of heart to believe all that the prophets spoke!
Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things
and enter into his glory?”
Then beginning with Moses and all the prophets,
he interpreted to them what referred to him
in all the Scriptures.
As they approached the village to which they were going,
he gave the impression that he was going on farther.
But they urged him, “Stay with us,
for it is nearly evening and the day is almost over.”
So he went in to stay with them.
And it happened that, while he was with them at table,
he took bread, said the blessing,
broke it, and gave it to them.
With that their eyes were opened and they recognized him,
but he vanished from their sight.
Then they said to each other,
“Were not our hearts burning within us
while he spoke to us on the way and opened the Scriptures to us?”
So they set out at once and returned to Jerusalem
where they found gathered together
the eleven and those with them who were saying,
“The Lord has truly been raised and has appeared to Simon!”
Then the two recounted
what had taken place on the way
and how he was made known to them in the breaking of bread.

Entering into His Glory

The two travellers on the road to Emmaus were disheartened. All their hopes of redemption had vanished; they felt defeated. We too, as spouses, often feel defeated and discouraged. We see no way forward, and our understanding becomes clouded.

In this Gospel, one phrase resounds with particular force: “Was it not necessary that the Messiah should suffer these things and so enter into His glory?” It was necessary to fulfil the will of the Father to the very end — to give His life on the Cross for our salvation, and thus to enter into His glory.

You make it so clear: nothing that comes from the world can lead us to the fullness for which we were created. That fullness can only be reached by doing Your will, in the reality of our daily lives — doing what is asked of us, as well as we can, and wrapping everything in love, even when we do not understand, even when it hurts.

Suffering in our marriage can only be understood in the light of the Cross. And we will only be able to live it in this way if we are nourished by His Word — by reading the Gospel each day, so that He may open our minds to God’s plan — and by the Bread of Life, the Eucharist, through which we may recognise Him walking beside us.

Brought into Married Life

Elizabeth: Hello, I’m home… How strange, no one’s here. Charles isn’t home, and it’s very late. He told me he’d be back early today and would sort out dinner.

(Elizabeth sends her husband a message, but he neither reads nor replies. The next day…)

Elizabeth: Well, good morning! I waited up for you last night, and you didn’t even show up or get in touch.

Charles: Well, Elizabeth, I’m sorry, but I ran into Leonard after work. We hadn’t seen each other for years, and we got talking… it ended up getting very late.

Elizabeth: I see, Charles. I thought you had changed, but it was all just an illusion. I’m off to work…

(That afternoon)

Charles: Hello!

Elizabeth: Hello, Charles. Can we talk calmly for a moment?

Charles: Yes, of course.

Elizabeth: Look, this morning I behaved very badly towards you, and I want to ask your forgiveness. After going to Confession and to the Eucharist this afternoon, the Lord opened my eyes. I saw that I hadn’t treated you well; I didn’t even let you explain yourself. I was very hurt because I hadn’t heard from you, and on a day when I needed you, you weren’t there. Please forgive me.

Charles: I forgive you, Elizabeth. But I also want to ask your forgiveness. I didn’t call you, and I wasn’t there for you on a day when you had asked for my help. I too went to the Eucharist, and the Lord showed me that you come first. Forgive me, my love.

Elizabeth: Forgiven. And how is Leonard?

Charles: He’s going through a difficult time in his marriage, which is why we spent so long talking. I shared our experience with him and how our life has changed.

Elizabeth: Oh, poor thing… And did you tell him about the Project?

Charles: Yes, I’ll tell you all about it later. But first, let’s give thanks to God, who never leaves us alone and who speaks to our hearts when we need it most.

Elizabeth: Of course — the most important thing, and I almost forgot. Thank you, my love… and thank You, Lord, for him.

Mother,

Intercede with your Son, that He may always walk with us along the way, teaching us through His Word and nourishing us with His Body.

Blessed and praised be God.

Gospel of the day

Gospel of the Day