"Our hearts are restless until they rest in thee."

John 6: 24-35  

When the people saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into those boats and crossed to Capernaum to look for Jesus.

When they found him on the other side, they said to him, 'Rabbi, when did you come here?'

Jesus answered: In all truth I tell you, you are looking for me not because you have seen the signs but because you had all the bread you wanted to eat.

Do not work for food that goes bad, but work for food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of man will give you, for on him the Father, God himself, has set his seal.

Then they said to him, 'What must we do if we are to carry out God's work?'

Jesus gave them this answer, 'This is carrying out God's work: you must believe in the one he has sent.'

So they said, 'What sign will you yourself do, the sight of which will make us believe in you? What work will you do?

Our fathers ate manna in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.'

Jesus answered them: In all truth I tell you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven, it is my Father who gives you the bread from heaven, the true bread;

for the bread of God is the bread which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.

'Sir,' they said, 'give us that bread always.'

Jesus answered them: I am the bread of life. No one who comes to me will ever hunger; no one who believes in me will ever thirst.

In the Liturgy of the word for today’s Mass, we see human hunger for food and then the human hunger for something deeper. We need nourishing food and the strength that it gives for our lives. We’re being asked more and more are we getting our ‘five-a-day’? and there is concern out there that as a society we are getting more over weight because of the higher calorie content food and lack of exercise.  I remember Morgan Spurlock’s 2004 movie ‘Supersize Me’ where he did an experiment for 30 days eating only McDonald’s food. Needless to say, he put on weight, and dangerously increased his cholesterol and blood pressure. He also found he was tired and listless as the month went on and unhappy on the inside.  The idea here is that fast food is okay in moderation and as a treat once in a while.

We eat and this satisfies our hunger. A balanced diet and exercise keeps us healthy. But we need to keep it up. The people in the first reading cried out for God to satisfy their hunger. He gave them Manna in the desert and yes, it satisfied their hunger. But they cried out for something deeper. In the Gospel, Jesus feeds the people with loaves of bread and fish. He shows leadership and generosity and the people share their resources too. He now calls on the people to work for food that endures to eternal life; food that will satisfy the hungry heart. How do they do that? They must believe in the one God has sent. They must believe in Jesus Christ as their Lord and Saviour. The crowds at Capernaum were challenged to move beyond the physical hungers of everyday to the deeper desires of the human spirit. “Sir, give us that bread always...” Jesus replied; “I am the Bread of Life....those who come to me will never be hungry again.” I am; God’s self-revelation to Moses.

Today, there is so much hunger inside people. And this hunger is filled with not just junk food at times but with dangerous behaviour. I was at the Gaelic Football match yesterday between Dublin and Laois. I went with my brother, brother-in-law, and nephew. After the game we went for a beer in a place not too far from the stadium. I went to the rest room at one stage and when I had finished and washed my hands, I saw two men leave the one cubicle. My jaw dropped! I looked at the wash room attendant as if to shrug my shoulders, what’s going on? He pointed to his nose. I got the picture. They had been taking cocaine. This is a symptom of our world today and sadly it's a world can never satisfy a yearning for happiness. All this will do is make people sick or kill. I’ve seen the tragic results of cocaine misuse up close when I worked as a hospital chaplain from 2007-2010. 

“We are made for you O Lord, and our hearts are restless until they rest in you. “

St. Augustine.