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!