Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God
requires?” Jesus answered, “The work of
God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.” So they asked him, “What sign then will you
give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? Our ancestors ate
the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven
to eat.’ Jesus said to them, “Very truly
I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is
my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is the
bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.” “Sir,” they
said, “always give us this bread.” Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of
life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will
never be thirsty.
Reflection
Never has the Eucharist meant more to me than on the first
time I received communion after churches reopened from the pandemic. Tears
rolled down my face as I received, so very conscious of the fact that Jesus had
once again, in a very tangible way, entered into me.
I was always of the belief that Jesus was a part of me and
came into my life through relationships with other people and with the
environment. I still believe that but because of the lack of receiving Jesus
into me through partaking of the Eucharist, I felt lost somehow in my
relationship. Something was missing and I couldn’t put my finger on it. I
wondered what it was about until receiving that first post pandemic Eucharist.