Prayer of the Day

Eighteenth Sunday of the Year

August 2nd, 2015

In today’s Gospel,  Jesus entreats us not to work for bread that perishes,  but rather to work for the bread that endures to eternal life.   Physical hunger or thirst is easy to detect;  spiritual hunger or thirst is harder,  but when we do detect it,  we become open and receptive to the promptings of the Holy Spirit.  The Church,  from the beginning, has always taught that the human person is composed of both a body and a soul  For sure,  we need food and water for the body,  but how is the soul nourished?  The soul is fed supremely in the Eucharist.  The Eucharist increases and renews the life of grace we received at our baptism.  We cannot grow and mature in the Christian life unless we receive this bread of life.   Of course,  it is necessary and important for us to work well here on earth for our human needs;  however,  all our material goods are means to serve the higher food of our union with God.  Today,  Jesus teaches us that he is the Bread of Life,  truly present in the Eucharist,  whom we encounter at every Mass.