How we live our life in each passing day is a testimony of
how we follow the will of God in our lives. There is a need to constantly and
regularly connect to God everything that we do. If we make a conscious effort
to do this everyday then we'll surely find it easier to obey the things that God
wants us to do and be more sensitive in knowing the will of God in our lives.
If we will just honestly and sincerely seek God then we will surely find Him.
As we do this we will eventually discover a lot of things that we need to know
in order to live our faith in accordance to God's will and be able to overcome
all trials and difficulties that come our way.
It is really important that we know and follow the instructions of God.
Amen. Hallelujah.
Exodus 16:2-4. 12-15
...Each day the people are to go out and gather their daily
portion; thus will I test them, to see whether they follow my instructions or
not...“This is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat.”
When the Israelites decided to follow Moses when they were
led out of Egypt
to the Promised Land and traveled a long time through the desert they
discovered that it was not an easy but a wearying and tedious journey. In the
same way when we travel through life we encounter challenges that sometimes
drive us to despair. However, we can draw inspiration from the readings today.
Just like the Israelites we should always have the hope of a new and better
life and be assured of the fact that with God on our side we will never be
defeated in battle, nor will we be allowed to starve and be fed with bread from
heaven. Amen. Hallelujah.
P S A L M
Psalm 78:3-4. 23-24. 25. 54 (24b)
R: The Lord gave them bread from heaven.
...He commanded the skies above and opened the doors of
heaven; 24 he rained manna upon them for food and gave them heavenly bread. (R)
25 Man ate the bread of angels. Food he sent them in abundance...
We have to turn our backs on all our evil ways and follow
what the 2nd reading is telling us. Amen. Hallelujah!
Ephesians 4:17. 20-24
...you should put away the old self of your former way of
life, corrupted through deceitful desires, 23 and be renewed in the spirit of
your minds, 24 and put on the new self, created in God’s way in righteousness
and holiness of truth.
There is a conflict of interest here. The people in today's
gospel are not getting the whole idea of Jesus' miracle. It is such a pity that
we sometimes fall into the same trap of missing the point. We sometimes
overlook and set aside what's really essential. We can't help it at times since
we are still bound to this world. The things that happen to us and all other
events in our own lives should makes us more open to the word of God and enable
us to read the signs of the times that point to the world which endures for
eternal life. Sometimes we find ourselves very tired because we keep on working
to the point of exhaustion just to find out that we only toil in vain. We
should invest all our efforts in working for something that will not perish. And
in so doing we should align our wills to God and set our motives right. We are all
guilty at times of seeking God because we long to fulfill our own selfish
desires without realizing that all we need is Jesus and everything will follow.
It is more important to focus on what is eternal rather on things that perish.
When we ask God for something in prayer we should always question the purity of
our desire. This world that we live in can never give what can truly make us
happy. We always long for something but we will never be satisfied and continue
to grow hungry unless we go to Jesus who alone can satisfy all our needs. What
Jesus said in today's gospel is very true. If we always draw near Him, seek Him
and come to Him then He in turn draws near to us, makes Himself available to us
and stays with us. If this is so then there is nothing more we need for we will
never thirst nor hunger for anything else. It is just like we are sitting at
the right hand of God and someday we will. Only Jesus can satisfy our souls. He
is fortified with all the essential things we ever need in our lives for
everything that we long for can only be fulfilled by Him. He who has God wants
nothing. Every human heart longs and desires for something that can satisfy us.
A sick person follows what the doctor says in order to prolong his or her life.
Fr. Leo Clifford in his reflections in EWTN narrated the story of "My Fair
Lady" or the famous play "Pygmalion". Pygmalion is the legendary
Greek story of a sculptor who fell in love with his sculpture which was turned
into a play and inspired George Bernard Shaw to write a similar story. It was
about a young lady named Eliza who was taken out of the rut and placed in a
pedestal. We should realize that like Eliza we have also been taken out of the
rut and made partakers of the Divine Nature of God in Baptism. God created us
and fell deeply in love with us. If there's one truth that should never leave
our minds then this is it. We are placed in a pedestal and sharing God's own
life. Amen. Hallelujah!
John 6:24- 35
...“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. 27 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.” 28 So they said to him, “What can we do to accomplish the works of God?”
29 Jesus answered and said to them, “This is the work of God, that you believe
in the one he sent.” ...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. 33 For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.” 34 So they said to him, “Sir, give us this bread
always.” 35 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.”
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