Holy Gospel of Jesus Christ according to Saint John 6, 24-35
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.”
So they said to him,
“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 him,
“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.”
Your search for God
1) Selfish search. We could thus define the search the crowd made of Jesus. They are not after Him because He is the Messiah, but because He fills their stomachs. We should think about this “existentialism” that damages human dignity. Jesus makes it very clear He doesn’t do that. He gives you the rod so you learn how to fish. He doesn’t always give you the fish, so you don’t become dependent. But there are times when we seek God only when we need Him or when we have economic problems. The crowd represents us when we look for Jesus just for what He gives us and not for who He is.
2) Personalized search. This represents your search and your personal meeting with God, not because you need something material or your money is tight. But it is a serious and existential search. It is seeking God in order to give meaning to your life, to find the “reason” to living. There are people who, at certain stages in their lives, achieve that personal relationship with God that changes their personality and way of seeing life. They don’t fall into religious fanaticism, but they do seek fulfilment of their being in God.
3) Integral search. This refers to when you find God and there is a new outlook in your life that comes together with a change of attitude. You live a spirituality which spreads and inspires. This type of search comes through the sacraments, and it leads you to be a Eucharistic person – you give importance to your Eucharistic life, either to live a daily communion and / or daily adoration.
It is there, in the Eucharist, where we manage to deepen and clarify our search in God. When are you going to look for him in Mass?
God bless you in the name of the Father, of the Son and of the Holy Spirit. Always remember, Heaven is our goal.
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