The readings and the solemnity itself speak of the living bread, the Body of Christ; the bread of eternal life and the church in which the many baptized come together as one to share that bread.

Hungry hearts are all around us. Those mourning the loss of a loved one, in need of a job, desperate for wise counsel, unable to curb an addiction, angry and bitter, unforgiven or unforgiving, in poor health, worried about finances, unhappy in a relationship, unsure of their commitments, hard on themselves, afraid of the world around them, and the list goes on and on.

IN 1993 MCDONALD’S sold its 100 billionth hamburger. Because only two digits fit on their existing signs, it was decided to permanently install the count at McDonald’s as “Over 99 Billion Served.” It may no longer be an accurate amount, but that’s still a lot of happy meals

Christ offers us his body and blood, and when we eat and drink, we, in turn, become part of the Body of Christ. That is what we believe about the Eucharist. But that is not the end of the story; it is only the beginning.

When I was 15, my mother would go crazy if she found me staring for long stretches into an open refrigerator. I knew I was hungry, but I wasn't sure for what. I'm sure that the disquieting changes going on in my adolescent self prompted a hunger I couldn't quite satisfy.

Every year at the First Communion liturgy, I bring out the old studio portrait of my First Communion. I am seated on a stool in my new suit holding a rosary and my prayer book. My eyes are downcast as though I were in deep prayer.

In today's first reading, Moses tells the people that their hunger was a gift from God so they can come to know their deeper hunger and dependence on God.

It is in remembering our relationship to God that we keep our faith alive. We look to the renewal of that relationship.

This is the bread that came down from heaven. While the Gospel of John lacks reference to the Eucharist at the Last Supper, passages such as today's gospel show how deeply John was concerned with the Eucharist. Jesus' words make him the bread of life.

As this broken bread, scattered on the   mountains, was gathered to be one, may your church be assembled in the same way from the ends of the earth into your kingdom.  --The Didache (first century)