In today’s Gospel we read the account of the people looking for food. Again, we will continue to read from St. John, Chapter 6 for the next couple of weeks. If you recall, last week we read about the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes, this week, we join the crowds on the day after this great miracle; and they are still looking for food. It is a very enlightening passage- Jesus tries to teach the people that the miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fishes was really a miracle to help them and lead them to faith in the miracle of the Eucharist, the Food they are really looking for. All of the miracles Jesus performed on earth were to prepare the hearts and minds of the people for His teachings on the Holy Eucharist.
The people in today’s Gospel didn’t understand what Jesus was teaching them. They only saw the signs or the miracles Jesus’ performed in an earthly way. In the multiplication miracle, the people thought they recognized a sign pointing to a commonly held belief in those days, that the new messiah would bring bread, much like Moses had done in the O.T. In other words, they thought the messiah, when he would come would bring them economic prosperity and victory of their enemies. And so they ask themselves, “Could Jesus be the one?” Sadly, they only saw in Jesus the possibility that he was the one to fulfill their earthly bellies, their earthly desires, after all just the day before he filled their bellies with food produced from a miracle. They wanted Jesus to be an earthly king, one that would give them what they wanted instead of what they needed. They wanted Jesus to be the one that would give the economic prosperity, telling them how great and wonderful they were, all the while allowing them to remain in their sins.
Through the miracle of the multiplication of the Loaves and Fishes, the crowds had had their earthly bellies filled with earthly food, but now the next day they are hungry again; they failed to see that the fulfillment of our earthly desires just leaves us starving in the end. And so, Jesus knowing of their true hunger, the hunger of their hearts, tells them to search not for the food of this world, the things of this world that will only leave you wanting for more, but instead no search for the food that would fill their deepest hunger the hunger for God and his love. Jesus was not to fulfill their earthly desire for a political leader, but he would go far beyond their earthly desires to the inner depths of man’s heart-to his deepest desire, which is to be love; to be loved by Jesus, the Love of the Father sent to be with us in the Holy Eucharist. Jesus desired to give them the gift of faith, to take away their sins which prevented them receiving God’s love and so which causes death by starvation.
Faith is the key; faith in Jesus, faith that Jesus is really, truly present in the Holy Eucharist. But, what really is faith? I think, too seldom do we consider our faith in a deep way. We can ask ourselves some questions to help us consider our faith, for instance; why do I come to Church on Sunday? What am I looking for when I come to Mass? Do I just come to feel good, to have my earthly belly filled with good feelings, instead being filled with the bread of Life—Jesus and His Truth. Do I come only to ask Jesus for something or so that he will bless me in an earthly way. Do I come so that nothing bad will happen to me in this life or so that I don’t feel guilty for missing Mass.
Do we come, but in the end do we just tolerate Mass? We look at our watch and think, when will this ever end- I have things to do and places to go. Will this homily ever end; I hope we don’t go a whole hour. I heard this new pastor even goes passed an hour sometimes?
For you young people here, why do you come to Mass. Do you come because your parents make you? I’d rather be home playing video games or watching television, or playing sports, at least I would not be so bored. By the way, boredom only occurs at Mass when you don’t understand the Mass. Was the Blessed Virgin Mary bored at the foot of the cross? Mass makes it possible for us to be at the foot of the cross and so we have no excuse to be bored. Mass is also literally heaven on earth, how can that be boring. We have to have faith to see what I cannot see, hear can’t not hear nor has it even entered into the mind of man what occurs at each and every Holy Mass.
One final question, “do we all truly come to Mass to pray; to spend time with Jesus; to be nourished by him, his whole self in the Holy Eucharist?” Spending time with Jesus truly present in the Holy Eucharist is never a waste of time. If it is, one should want to waste all of our time on Him. The time we spend is really an extremely important element of prayer—Because He loves us, Jesus, our Lord and our God, desires us to spend time with him. Perhaps we are very busy and praying at Mass seems just too hard. If this is the case, then let us simply come to give our burdens to Jesus in the Holy Eucharist in prayer during this Holy Mass and simply rest our tired head on his shoulder.
But there is something even deeper; a deeper reason why we come to Mass. With the multiplication of the Loaves and fishes, Jesus had awaken, in those he fed, their deepest hopes and longings. Thousands of people had followed Jesus and had been fed with the early food. They were so impressed that they wanted to make him their king. And so Jesus says to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves.” The great Saint Augustine said what Jesus is really saying to the people filled with the loaves and fishes and to us is, “You seek me for world motives, not for spiritual ones. How many people there are who seek Jesus solely for worldly ends!... Far too many just Jesus for what he will do for them or for what they can get out of Him. Rarely does someone look for Jesus for the sake of Jesus.
Let us at this Holy Mass ask Jesus to be among the few that really seek Him alone. If we have not all ready done so let us go as soon as we can to confession and ask for His forgiveness for seeking other things before Him. Let us ask Him today, for the grace to help us not just seek something from Jesus but to seek Him alone. For today Jesus desires to give us, not only all his love but his very self for He is Love; He is the God who is Love. But to receive Him fully, we must give ourselves to Him in return and leave sin behind.
Let us pray for a increase of faith to realize that the Holy Eucharist is Jesus and desire this true food from heaven more than any food, anything, this world has to offer us. When we receive Him in the Holy Eucharist let us spend some time kneeling in our pew adoring and loving him, and asking him to help us to adore, love, trust and believe in him more. When we receive Communion , we receive Christ Himself with his Body, his Blood, his Soul, and his Divinity. He gives himself to us in an intimate union which, if we give ourselves to him, binds us to him in a real way. Our life is transformed into his life, if we but offer Him our lives in response to His great love for us. In Holy Communion Christ is not only God with us, but God in us.
(Often throughout our day, all throughout our week we should think about the next time we will be able to receive Jesus again into our souls. Then we should make spiritual communions asking Jesus to come spiritual into our souls by praying often, “I wish my Lord to receive you with purity, the humility and devotion with which your Holy Mother received you, with the spirit and fervor of the saints.” These spiritual communions will increase our longing to receive Jesus sacramentally in Holy Communion during or next Mass, possessing and being possessed by Love incarnate.)
Let us ask the Blessed Virgin to help us. Holy Mary, Mother of the Holy Eucharist, help us to love Jesus in the Holy Eucharist above all things and to offer our love, our hearts and our whole self to him at this Holy Mass. Amen. O Lord I am not worthy to receive you under my roof, but only say the word and my soul shall be healed. Amen.
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