Bread for the Journey: Sustaining Intimacy in a Hungry World
“For the Souls in Purgatory – Eternal rest grant unto them O Lord”
John 6:28-40
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. But I told you that although you have seen me, you are not believing. Everything that the Father gives me will come to me, and I will not reject anyone who comes to me, because I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me. And this is the will of the one who sent me, that I should not lose anything of what he gave me, but that I should raise it on the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.”
Grace Prayed For
I pray for the grace of total abandonment to the Divine Will. Ask the Lord for the strength to stop striving for “signs” and instead to rest in the quiet certainty that He is the Bread that satisfies every hunger, trusting that He will hold you fast until the last day.
Reflection
To grow in intimacy with the Trinitarian God is to move from the “doing” of the world to the “believing” of the Kingdom. When the crowds ask what they must do to accomplish the works of God, Jesus gently redirects their gaze. The work is not a checklist; it is a relationship. It is the act of surrender—trusting in the One whom the Father has sent.
The Heart of Intimacy
Deep intimacy with Jesus begins when you realize that He is the “True Bread” provided by the Father. Just as bread is consumed and becomes part of your physical body, Jesus desires to be so integrated into your soul that His thoughts become your thoughts. In this passage, Jesus reveals His own perfect intimacy with the Father: “I came down from heaven not to do my own will but the will of the one who sent me.” Your surrender is an imitation of His. When you say, “I trust You,” you are entering into the very life of the Trinity—the flow of love between the Father who gives, the Son who receives and returns, and the Spirit who binds them. You are safe in this love; He promises that He will not reject you and will not lose you.
Shining Forth in Every Encounter
As you allow this “Bread of Life” to satisfy your inner hunger, you no longer enter encounters with others seeking to “get” something—approval, status, or comfort. Instead, you enter them “full.” Because you are satisfied in Christ, you become a vessel of His grace.
To bring His love into every encounter means seeing each person as someone “given by the Father.” If Jesus refuses to reject anyone who comes to Him, we are called to do the same. In the grocery store, the office, or the home, your presence becomes an extension of the Father’s will. You move from a place of scarcity to a place of abundance, offering the same patience and life-giving love that you have received at the Table of the Lord.
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Sharing
Jesus last words on Earth were to his disciples, can be found in Matthew Chap 28 when Jesus told his disciples, “Then Jesus approached and said to them, “All power in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go, therefore, and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age.”
Jesus calls all of us to share in his redemptive mission here on Earth. I would ask you to share this Scripture reflection with your family, your friends and your acquaintances, and then share it with a couple of individuals that you may may not be comfortable sharing with, keeping in mind always the words of Jesus, And behold, I am with you always, until the end of the age
Author was assisted by AI in the drafting of this Post