Memory of the Saints and the Prophets

Reading of the Word of God

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

You are a chosen race,
a royal priesthood, a holy nation,
a people acquired by God
to proclaim his marvellous works.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

John 6,35-40

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. But, as I have told you, you can see me and still you do not believe. Everyone whom the Father gives me will come to me; I will certainly not reject anyone who comes to me, because I have come from heaven, not to do my own will, but to do the will of him who sent me. Now the will of him who sent me is that I should lose nothing of all that he has given to me, but that I should raise it up on the last day. It is my Father's will that whoever sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life, and that I should raise that person up on the last day.

 

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

You will be holy,
because I am holy, thus says the Lord.

Alleluia, alleluia, alleluia

'I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty." Jesus responds to the hunger for salvation hidden in the hearts of people: hunger for meaning, for a life that does not end with death but rather leads to complete happiness. However, Jesus notes with bitterness that many, although having seen the signs he performed, did not open their hearts to accept his word. And yet, "he drove no one away," "anyone who comes to me I will never drive away." Even a little bit of availability on our part is sufficient for the miracle to happen. Had he not said to the crowds that were following him: "Come to me, all you that are weary and are carrying heavy burdens and I will give you rest"? This was Jesus' constant worry. And he wants his concern to be repeated through the centuries in the Church. Yes, the Church, every Christian community must first of all feel the passion to save all men and women. Pope Francis reminds us of this passion. It is urgent that we get passionate in the same missionary passion that urged Jesus to go into the streets and squares of his time. Jesus' words that we heard in this Gospel passage show us clearly what God's will is and how to realize it on earth: "All who see the Son and believe in him may have eternal life; and I will raise them up on the last day." This promise comes true in us while we spend our life for the Lord and for others, precisely as Jesus had done.