August 2, Eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time

The Lord gave them bread from heaven.--Psalm 78:24

Mass readings: Exodus 16:2-4,12-15 / Ephesians 4:17,20-24 / John 6:24-35

New Life, New Bread

"Bread'' has always meant more than just that loaf you slice for sandwiches. I'm old enough to remember when ''bread'' was slang for ''money.'' A prosperous person earned ''serious bread''; a panhandler might say, ''Hey, man, can you spare some bread?'' Bread is ''what you need to live.'' And ''what you need to live'' says something important about the meaning of your life.

In today's Gospel, Jesus challenges His listeners to a new understanding of life. Real life, He teaches, is eternal. And the ''bread'' that I need to live that life doesn't come from the bakery: ''For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.'' What I need to live truly, eternally, is Jesus himself.

Prayer: Jesus, I am hungry. You alone can feed my soul.