SUN 18TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
Ex 16:2-4, 12-15/Eph 4:17, 20-24/Jn 6:24-35

Gospel JN 6:24-35
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." So, they said to him,
"What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you? What can you do? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written: He gave them bread from heaven to eat." So, Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world." 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."

Spiritual Reflection: If we spend our lives looking for the approval of others, we will find ourselves sad and defeated because other people’s approval will come and go. God’s love for us is constant. I recently read a meditation on the Eucharist that suggested that this is part of the reason why the Eucharist seems so “boring” because it remains constant like God’s love for us.

Spiritual Questions:
1. Do you believe God loves you?
2. Do you seek how looking for approval of others can be bad?
3. If God’s love is constant, how is this shown to us in the Eucharist?
4. Whose approval do we need in order to enter into eternal life?
5. Do you prepare yourselves to receive God’s love?