In today’s Gospel passage, Jesus repeats His claim that He is “the Bread of Life.” It is a claim that the first disciples of Jesus would have connected with through Jesus mentioning an essential part of their diet.
But on another level, Jesus connects to their heritage, for just as God sent manna from heaven to sustain the physical life of His people in the desert, so He has sent His Son Jesus to sustain the spiritual lives of His people from now until He comes again.
Our spiritual life is actually Sanctifying Grace, our living relationship with God the Father, through His Son Jesus and the Holy Spirit. It is a grace from God that allows us to grow in friendship with God and holiness.
Jesus Promises Us
We have heard Jesus makes three claims:
1) He claims to be our spiritual Food and offers Himself as a willing sacrifice in order to produce God’s life within us.
2) He promises to those who believe in Him unbroken friendship with God.
3) Jesus also promises to those who believe in Him a share in His own Resurrection at the end of this world and share of Eternal Life with Him in Heaven.
We need to live dynamic spiritual lives, lives that are intentionally seeking to grow in sharing in God’s life, and to do it we need the Sanctifying Grace, received through the Holy Eucharist.
We can keep the friendship of Jesus only by leading holy lives free from sin. And when we fall, by going to Confession to contritely speak our sins to the priest, receive our penance, and receive the cleansing absolution from Jesus’ priest.
The Joy and Awareness of God's Presence
My brothers and sisters, today, we are reminded that we can enjoy and share the joy of the Resurrection only by realizing and appreciating Jesus’ presence within us and all around us.
And we humbly remember that only God can satisfy our deepest needs.
Let us continue this Mass with joy and awareness of God’s presence in Word and the Eucharist and that Jesus, truly is the Bread of our Lives.
- Father David's inspirational homily was recorded live during Mass at the Father Peyton Center this morning. You can view the Mass (and the Rosary at the 30-minute mark) on the Family Rosary YouTube page.
- To join the Rosary and Mass Livestream, visit the Family Rosary YouTube or Facebook page at 11:30 a.m. Eastern, Monday – Friday. Consider inviting others to join too! (*If you are not a member of Facebook and a signup window appears, simply select the X at the top of the pop-up message and continue to the livestream.)
