Daily Gospel Reflection for August 4, 2024

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Reflection by Fr. Edward Looney

Today's Gospel: John 6:24-35

Today’s Gospel follows on the heels of Jesus feeding thousands of people with the multiplication of loaves and fishes. It is unfathomable for us to think of having eaten some of that miracle. But then again, we have something similar yet greater at every Mass, when ordinary bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ through transubstantiation.

The people in the crowd that day who were fed by Jesus had a hunger for something more afterward. Jesus had addressed the crowds. They heard His words of teaching. And then they ate what He offered. Again, so many similarities to the Holy Mass, where we hear the scriptures and receive the Eucharist.

The people began looking for Jesus. They wanted to follow Him. They wanted to hear more of His teachings. They wanted to eat whatever He offered them. As they searched for Jesus and found Him, He said to them,

“Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.”

Do we have a response like the hungry crowd had? We have consumed the Holy Eucharist. What more do we seek or ask of Jesus as a result?

My reception of Holy Communion Sunday after Sunday, while sufficient, compels me to want more. Perhaps it leads me to desire to spend more time with Jesus through Eucharistic adoration and a holy hour. My longing for Jesus might compel me to stop by a church when I pass by to spend a few minutes with the Lord. Maybe my hearing of the scriptures at Mass calls me to further study of the sacred Word. We are hungry people. Let the Lord feed you.

Ponder:

What more am I hungering for in my relationship with Jesus?

Pray:

Thank You, Lord, for allowing me to receive the Bread of Life. Fill me with a deeper longing and desire to know You, love You, and serve You.

Copyright 2024 Fr. Edward Looney

Fr. Edward Looney is a priest of the Diocese of Green Bay, a Marian theologian, author, and podcaster. His book How They Love Mary is available from Sophia Institute Press, and the podcast of the same name can be found wherever you listen to podcasts.