THURSDAY, THIRD WEEK OF EASTER
Acts 8:26-40 Ps 66:8-9,16-17,20 Jn 6: 44-51
SOLELY IN HIM DO WE FIND LIFE!
We are familiar with the story of the two disciples journeying to Emmaus from Jerusalem. They were disheartened by the events leading to Jesus’ crucifixion and death. However, as they travelled, they found themselves talking to Jesus in person. Like these disciples, we are all on our own Emmaus journey. We may find ourselves similarly puzzled by events in our lives – disappointments, job loss, financial difficulties, broken relationships, shattered dreams, illnesses or betrayal by friends. When everything seems dark, we may feel helpless and hopeless. Our natural tendency, like that of the disappointed disciples who left Jerusalem, is to run away from faith in the promises of the Lord. Our hope for eternal life comes when we recognize Christ’s presence in the Holy Scriptures and the Eucharist.
Jesus reaffirms that He is the Bread of Life, using the formal declaration “I AM” that signifies His divine origin. Unlike the manna that the ancestors of the Jews ate in the desert, this Bread comes directly from God. When Jesus’ challengers demanded a sign like the manna, He responded that it had not given true life. The Bread He would give brings eternal life to those who partake of it. Jesus is the Living Bread because He is the very Word of God and because He offers His Body and Blood in a loving sacrifice that brings life to the entire world. This Bread is His flesh – life-giving flesh!
A faith-filled participation in the Eucharist fills us with this divine life. Along with it, the life of prayer connects us to God, the source of our life, energy, and strength. Prayer and Christian life are inseparable. As the Catechism teaches: “We pray as we live, because we live as we pray” (CCC, 2725). Too often, we take the privilege of prayer for granted. The psalmist understood the wonder of God receiving his prayers and how this made God even more worthy of praise.
Response: Cry out with joy to God, all the earth.
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