"I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." John 6:51

Hunger, as defined by “The Free Dictionary”, is:

a.)   A strong desire or need for food

b.)  The discomfort, weakness, or pain caused by a prolonged lack of food.

And lastly,

c.)  A strong desire or craving

We eat for numerous reasons: – either we’re bored, we’re stressed, feeling sad, or simply because it’s part of our daily routine as human beings. But does food alone satisfies our hunger? How about in terms of spiritual emptiness? Can it nourish our weakened spirit?

a.)  A strong desire or need for food

What is this desire that we need?

When we hunger physically, we crave for food, feel empty in the stomach, and we feel weak. But when the spirit is malnourished, we become unenthusiastic to the things that were once our hobby and we are more vulnerable to temptations that lead us to sin. We become easily irritated and tend to shut away those people that care for us.

"Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph?  Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?" 

The problem is that we lack of faith. We tend to disregard the symptoms that we are indeed spiritually challenged and that we forget the vital necessity to satisfy our spiritual needs that would lead to:

b.)  The discomfort, weakness, or pain caused by a prolonged lack of food.

We arrive at the stage where we feel the world is going against us. We feel the burden weighing us down, and we become lonely and in dire need of a helping hand to save us from this heavy heart that we have. We crave for comfort but we don’t know where to seek it from.

c.)  A strong desire or craving

At this point, we have this intense desire, an inward longing for something we do not have but feel we need. But what really is this desire?

The Bread of Life

God gave us a craving to make us aware of our spiritual needs. But instead of longing for the bread of life, we crave more material things than the bread who gives us eternal life where those material things are simply worthless. It is not by participating in the Holy Eucharist we receive the bread of life, but it is by faith where we partake of Christ and open our hearts to him Jesus Christ is the true bread of life that can fulfill that desire in our hearts. Just as the body needs nutrition in order to exist, our spirit must be fed by the Word of God. The verse “I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." Is almost the same as saying that Jesus is the word of God; whoever believes in him shall have an everlasting life. The Word of God is the bread of life that sustains, feeds, nourishes and strengthens our spiritual life but hearing the word and not understanding it is not enough for we must also walk with the Word. With the guidance and strength of the Holy Spirit, It helps us to understand more of the word of God, our daily source of bread and give us the gift to understand it. The word of God is the lamp that lights our path for it is the way of life and all who walk in its lives.

-Mariz Cenojas