Dear Friends,
Hunger comes in many
forms and we deal with it in many ways. We talk about the world’s hungers,
dieting to control rampant hunger urges. At the end of their tether, people
embark on hunger strikes to draw attention to a cause. Jesus surfaced in people
the many hungers of the heart and found them to be of two kinds: the hunger for
truth, love and clarity, justice and peace or the hunger for gain, the desire
to be top banana. The greatest gift that Jesus offers is union with Him, His
Father and their Spirit. Each week, when we participate in the Eucharist, we
come to the one who “satisfies the hungry heart”, as the old hymn goes.
Fr. Dan O’Leary has an article in the 24 August 2013 issue
of THE TABLET in which he speaks the far reaching embrace of Jesus in the
Eucharist through us:
“The utter humanizing of God in
flesh, bread and wine sounds shocking. No other religion talks about its God in
this incarnational and eucharistic way. We are not saved by doctrines,
Scriptures religions, pilgrimages and rituals. God comes to feed us- people of
the flesh- in the earthy and unique intimacy of food. And we do not just look
at it and adore it. We touch, taste, eat and drink it…. When we sit at the
table of truth, immediately after receiving Holy Communion, we hear the vital
assurance: “I am the living food of your flesh. I am the vibrant wine of your
energy, the power within you. In me you are made complete, and you are
invincible even in your darkest winter. And when your heart is full, it will
overflow into other hungry hearts.”
For now, welcome the hunger for God developing in fresh ways within
you. Treasure the hunger and learn to recognize the ways that hunger is
assuaged in our daily life as we serve the hungers of the world.
Jesus, Bread of Life and Cup of our Salvation,
may our hunger for You mirror,
in our own searching way,
Your holy hunger for us.
Amen.
~Joan Sobala, SSJ
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