The Catholic Calendar for Tuesday, May 2, 2006
Tuesday of the Third Week of Easter
St. Athanasius, bishop, doctor of the Church

Scripture from today's Liturgy of the Word:
Acts 7:51--8:1
Psalm 31:3-4, 6-8, 17, 21
John 6:30-35

A reflection on today's Sacred Scripture:

By saying these words Jesus promised us something, which if taken at face value, is difficult to imagine. Taken in a spiritual way, hungering and thirsting for God seems to be part and parcel of the experience of all humankind. By the very fact that we were created by and for God, we have been "hard wired," so to speak, with innate longing for Him.

Thankfully, God doesn't make us wait for a time of eternal reward, to be alleviated of our hunger and quenched of our thirst for Him. In the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist we experience Jesus in the "here and now." The only "hitch," so to speak, is that while we live in our mortal bodies we need continual nourishment. Thankfully too, Jesus provides us the means of such nourishment, the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

Pray that we avail ourselves of that which we need most, the Bread of Life and the Cup of Eternal Salvation.

- Donna Nelson, OCDS
(drn3rd at hotmail dot com)