Today, we can appreciate different mental attitudes in the people looking for Jesus: some have eaten of the material bread while others are requesting a miraculous sign when the Lord has just made a huge one; still, others, have eagerly run to meet him to make in good faith —we could say— a spiritual communion: «Give us this bread always» (Jn 6:34).
Jesus must have been very pleased with their efforts to seek and follow him. He was indoctrinating them all while speaking to them in different ways. He would tell some of them: «Work then, not for perishable food, but for the lasting food which gives eternal life» (Jn 6:27). And those who ask: «What shall we do? What are the works that God wants us to do?» (Jn 6:28) will receive in that Capernaum synagogue, a concrete counsel where the Lord promises them the Holy Communion: «Believe».
You and I, who are trying to immerse ourselves in the pages of this Gospel, do we see our attitude reflected therein? Which are the most piercing expressions for us, who are trying to revive this scene? Are we persistent enough in our efforts to find Jesus after the many gifts, doctrine, examples and lessons we have received from Him? Do we know how to make a good spiritual communion? ‘Lord, gives us always this bread, that satiates our hunger’?
The best shortcut to find Jesus is through Mary. She is the Mother of the Family that dispenses the white bread for the children in the warmth of the paternal home. The Mother of the Church that wants to feed her children so that they may grow strong, be happy, may carry out a blessed task and be communicative. St. Ambrose, in his work “On the mysteries”, writes: «And the Sacrament we carry out is the body born of the Virgin Mary. Can you perhaps request here the nature's order in the body of Christ, when Jesus was conceived by Mary over and above every natural law?».
The Church, mother and teacher, teaches us that the Holy Eucharist is a «sacrament of love, a sign of unity, a bond of charity, a paschal banquet in which Christ is eaten, the mind is filled with grace, and a pledge of future glory is given to us» (II Vatican Council).