Hunger Pains

Feeling hunger that only the Eucharist can satisfy

04/24/2023

Jn 6:22-29 [After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.] The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea saw that there had been only one boat there, and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat, but only his disciples had left. Other boats came from Tiberias near the place where they had eaten the bread when the Lord gave thanks. When the crowd saw that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they themselves got into boats and came to Capernaum looking for Jesus. And when they found him across the sea they said to him, "Rabbi, when did you get here?" Jesus answered them and said, "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 not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal." So they said to him, "What can we do to accomplish the works of God?" Jesus answered and said to them, "This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent."

Did you know that the Catholic Church in the United States is right in the middle of a three-year long Eucharistic Revival? What does that mean? Well, the U.S. bishops are seeing a lot of apathy and even some anger from Catholics in our country caused by the sexual abuse crisis, the COVID pandemic, and the general cultural malaise about organized religion. Are you familiar with the “nones”? They are those who answer “none” when asked about their religious affiliation, and that group is growing exponentially.

In response, the bishops believe the antidote to our spiritual ailments is a healthy dose of the Eucharist. That is why St. Ignatius of Antioch in the second century called the Eucharist, “the medicine of immortality.” In other words, Jesus’ Body and Blood not only saves us from eternal death but also restores us to eternal life. That is ultimately what Jesus meant when he said in Jn 10:10, “I came so that they may have life and have it more abundantly.” And Jesus gives us that abundant life every time we put Holy Communion into our mouth at Mass.

And if there is one book and one chapter of the Bible that should be the scriptural heartbeat of this Eucharistic Revival, it should be John 6 which recounts the magnificent miracle of the multiplication of the loaves and fish, and the Bread of Life Discourse. That is, John does in chapter 6 what Matthew, Mark, and Luke do in their Last Supper narratives, namely, show Jesus’ desire for his followers to eat his Body and drink his Blood.

St. John, weaving together his own theological insights and literary artistry, presents Jesus as the “medicine of immortality”, that is, the cure for what ultimately ails the human race. In other words, the U.S. bishops are spot on in calling for a Eucharistic Revival: our Lord in Holy Communion is exactly what this world needs in the 21st century, and in every century.

Let me be a little more concrete and specific about this 3-year Eucharistic Revival. What will happen in those three years? The years are 2022, 2023, and 2024. The first year, June 2022-23, was supposed to focus on the whole diocese. The Church in Arkansas has planned events and speakers this summer – June 3 and June 10 – to talk about the inestimable value of the Eucharist, and I am one of those speakers! Pray for me, or better, pray for those poor people who have to listen to me!

And the diocese, the bishop to be more exact, will dedicate a new Shrine of Divine Mercy in Little Rock, at St. Edward’s Church this summer, on the feast of Corpus Christi. And in July 2024 there will be a National Eucharistic Congress in Indianapolis, Indiana where 80,000 Catholics will celebrate the heart of our faith in the Mass, and taste the healing effects of the medicine of immortality.

But the middle year – 2023- is intended to focus on parish renewal of our faith in the Eucharist. That is, what are we doing here at Immaculate Conception to grow in our devotion and love for the Eucharist and live it in our daily lives? Well, one thing we already do is celebrate Mass everyday, at 7 a.m., Monday through Saturday. And at 7:30 a.m. on Sundays. You can sleep in on Sundays!

And we have a Holy Hour of Adoration in Spanish on Thursdays evening from 6:30 to 7:30 p.m. But I would like to add an hour of Eucharistic Adoration in English on Wednesday morning from 7:30 to 8:30 a.m. We used to think of Wednesdays as “Church day” because many churches have bible studies and worship services on Wednesdays. Perhaps right in the middle of the week we could use another shot of Jesus in Adoration to get us to the weekend.

My friends, something beautiful and transformative happens when we stare at that little while Host. Venerable Fulton Sheen described it memorably when he said, “Staring at Our Lord in Adoration is like staring at the sunset. The longer we sit there and look, the more we begin to glow like the sun.” We begin to experience how Jesus heals us because he is the medicine of immortality, and we are spiritually sick.

We begin to hunger for him more than anything else. We start to understand what Jesus meant in the gospel today when he said: “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.” And that is the goal of this 3-year Eucharistic Revival, to give us hunger pains that only Jesus can fully satisfy with the banquet of the Eucharist.

Praised be Jesus Christ!