I am the living bread that came down from heaven: Commentary by Fr. Jorge Miró

Fr. Jorge Miró shares with the readers of Exaudi his commentary on the Gospel of this Sunday, August 11, 2024, entitled “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.”

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The Word of God that we proclaim today presents to us the prophet Elijah, alone in the desert, exhausted by fatigue and discouragement. Elijah shows his weakness and wishes for death. But God does not abandon his faithful friend in the trial: through his angel, he prepares a mysterious food for him. We have sung it in the Psalm: If the afflicted calls upon the Lord, he hears him and saves him from his anguish.

Strengthened by the strength of God, Elijah can reach the mountain of God after forty days. The bread prepared by the angel is a reminder of the manna and a figure of the true bread of life, which comes from heaven: the Eucharist.

We, disciples of Christ, who wander through the desert of life, can also feel and experience the weariness of discipleship. We can be tempted to give up everything: faced with the difficulties of Christian life and the rejection of the world… the devil tempts us with discouragement.

For this reason, we too must, like Elijah, wake up from sleep and listen to the angel of the Lord: Get up, eat! The journey is beyond your strength. Eat the Bread of Life that the Lord offers and, comforted, set out on the journey that leads to the holy mountain, to eternal Life.

The Word of God invites us to rely on God, not on our own strength, and, consequently, to seek strength for the journey where it is: in prayer, in listening to the Word, in the Eucharist and in Penance, in works of mercy, living in his body, which is the Church. You do not give life to yourself. Everything is a gift. Everything is grace.

In the Gospel, Jesus is presented to us as bread come down from heaven. Whoever eats this bread will not die, but will live forever. Only those who feed on the bread of heaven can walk without fainting. Jesus is the bread that gives eternal life.

Saint Paul encourages us to live the new life proper to Christians, which is distinguished by limitless love. A love that is born from having Jesus Christ in our hearts and accepting the gift of his Spirit, with which God has marked us for the Day of Final Liberation.

This Spirit makes it possible for us to banish from ourselves bitterness, anger, rage, insults and all evil…, fruits of the old man; and grow in acts proper to the new man: Be good, understanding, forgiving one another as God forgave you in Christ. And loving with a new love: live in love as Christ loved you and gave himself for us to God as an offering and a sweet-smelling sacrifice.

Come Holy Spirit!