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August 2, 2009 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time John 6:34-35 "So they said to him, 'Sir, give us this bread always.' Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life: whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.'" Twenty years ago, Marianne Wilson saw a need: thousands of people with critical illnesses were going hungry in her area of Southern California and she just wasn't going to stand for it. She began cooking healthy meals and delivering them to men, women, and children dying from HIV/AIDS cancer and other diseases at no cost to the recipients. Today, the organization is known as Project Angel Food, and every year produces over 400,000 meals and delivers them to more than 1600 people. On its Web site, it says: "We act out of a sense of urgency because hunger and illness do not wait." It had been barely twenty four hours since the miracle of the loaves and fishes, thousands had found nourishment. Jesus and his disciples had crossed the Sea of Galilee to Capernaum, and many in the crowd from the day before found him still wanting another miracle. Jesus offered them and us a greater miracle: if we are only to believe in the Son of God, we will never hunger again. Our faith is our work; this work will be generously rewarded. In the Lord's Prayer we pray, "Give us this day our daily bread." Fully understanding today's Gospel reading from John enables us to comprehend the dual meaning from of this petition: our bodies will hunger, please provide nourishment, and our souls hunger, please provide through our faith the bread of life that is faith in Jesus Christ. The Catechism of the Catholic Church teaches us that "the drama of hunger in the world calls Christians who pray sincerely to exercise responsibility toward their brethren, both in their personal behavior and their solidarity with the human family" (CCC2831).
©2009 St. Mary of Mount Virgin Church.org Prepared by Digital Pro Quo LLC
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