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St. Augustine, commenting on the Gospel of John’s “Bread of Life” passage in the fourth century, questioned the wisdom of living only for this present life when he wrote, “You seek me for the flesh, not for the spirit. How many seek Jesus for no other purpose than that he may do them good in this present life! … Scarcely ever is Jesus sought for Jesus’ sake.” From the time of Moses in the desert, to Jesus in Capernaum, to our own day in a time of pandemic, do we live with our sights set on this world, or upon the Lord who has given us himself as the true Bread that has come down from heaven?
An experience I had with our archdiocesan delegation in our partner Diocese of Kitui, Kenya, in the fall of 2005 reveals what happens when we surrender ourselves into the hands of Divine Providence and exercise faith, when within ourselves we confess our poverty of spirit.
When have you felt overwhelmed by hunger, thirst or disease, like those with Moses in the desert or with Jesus in Capernaum? One of our delegates to Kitui wrote of our shared experience, “No matter what village our delegates visited, we all shared the same experience. Each day in the ‘bush’ drew out a realm of emotions from each of us — feelings from the very depths of our hearts … There was a profound heaviness of heart that we shared. How could these beautiful, faith-filled African people, who have become family to us, live day after day in these devastating conditions … ?
“The problem is as big as the continent and, at the time, we all felt that we who have everything — had nothing with which to help them. We were troubled and compelled to do something, but felt crippled and helpless. Recognizing our littleness, I stood up and said to the group, ‘We have all witnessed the many forms of suffering that is their daily life, and we want to help, but we all feel helpless! There is one thing we can do now. We can pray.’ Fr. Jim Perkl immediately offered to celebrate Mass for us and invited all to come.
“After singing our opening song, ‘Come Lord Jesus,’ … Mass began as usual, but during the first reading we heard some intermittent taps on the tin roof of the Chapel. It had begun to sprinkle! We all looked around with smiles on our faces. … Within a few minutes, the taps on the roof grew in amount and intensity and the beating began to sound like a train coming through! … This was amazing! It hadn’t rained in that area for 5 to 7 years, and drought and famine were a death threat to many, but as soon as we invited Jesus to ‘Come,’ He Came! … We were struck with ‘Awe’ and ‘Wonder’ in His Presence, but He was not done with us, yet!
“As the priest . . . elevated the Host in Consecration, there was dead silence. Nature became so still we could have heard a feather drop! It was as if every raindrop was suspended in mid-air in reverence to the King of love descending to the Altar. The quiet was deafening and God’s Holy Presence brought us to our knees. It remained silent during Communion, but gradually we began, again, to hear the pitter-patter of rain falling on the roof. When Mass was over, we left in peace. . .”
It continued to rain through the night.
Do the experiences of the Israelite community in the desert, those in Capernaum or of others in Kitui lead you to wonder at the beauty of our Catholic faith and the way God chooses to feed his people? St. Teresa of Kolkata expresses such wonder when she prays, “Mary, my dearest mother, give me your heart, so pure, so immaculate, your heart so full of love and humility, that I may be able to receive Jesus in the bread of life, love Him as you loved Him and serve Him in the distressing disguise of the poorest of the poor.”
These readings that belong to Jesus’ Bread of Life discourse provide wonderful preparation for our Archdiocesan Synod and the food we will need to accomplish the new evangelization!
Father Perkl is pastor of Mary, Mother of the Church, in Burnsville. He can be reached at jperkl@mmotc.org.
Sunday, Aug. 1
Eighteenth Sunday of Ordinary Time
Category: Sunday Scriptures
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