Daily Gospel Reflection
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April 19, 2021
[After Jesus had fed the five thousand men, his disciples saw him walking on the sea.]
The next day, the crowd that remained across the sea
saw that there had been only one boat there,
and that Jesus had not gone along with his disciples in the boat,
but only his disciples had left.
Other boats came from Tiberias
near the place where they had eaten the bread
when the Lord gave thanks.
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.”
We humans have a hierarchy of needs, and our physiological needs are the foundation of that hierarchy. We need food, water, shelter and rest. Jesus seems to be very aware of this in his rebuke to the disciples who follow him to Capernaum in this gospel reading. He says, “ you are looking for me
not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.” We’ve all been hungry, so we can all relate.
A parish near my home hosts a perpetual Eucharistic adoration chapel and I am on a list of volunteers who fill in for scheduled adorers who cannot attend their time slots. One time I was in the chapel very late at night and I suddenly became very hungry. I started to wonder if there might be any 24 hour drive-throughs or diners in the area for my drive home! As I finished the hour, I reflected on what that hunger meant. What did it mean to be praying before the Lord, present in the Eucharist as the Bread of Life, and to be so distracted by my hunger for physical food? For me, the feeling in my stomach made me think about the hunger in my heart and the hunger in my soul for the Lord. I did stop to get a bite to eat in the middle of the night, but I also used that occasion to really reflect on what it means to “work for the food that endures to eternal life.” And the next time that I was able to receive the Eucharist at Mass as both physical and spiritual food, it was all the more meaningful.
We humans will alway hunger. Jesus shows us that our hunger is not just for food, but for God. When he feeds us with the bread and wine of the Eucharist, he feeds our bodies with his Body and nourishes our souls with his soul and divinity.
Prayer
Help us to realize, Lord, that the work we do today is also work that in some way gives life to others. Our work brings your kingdom closer to fulfillment and is vital to your hopes and dreams for all of us. Amen.
Saint of the Day
James Duckett is patron saint of booksellers and publishers because he was martyred in 1601 for spreading Catholic books throughout England while the monarchy was suppressing the faith.
He was a devout Protestant apprenticed to a book printer in London, where he found a book about the foundations of the Catholic tradition. The book convinced him to become Catholic and he was thrown into prison, but released when his book printing master paid his bond. When he persisted in his Catholic faith, he kept landing in jail. Finally, his master finally broke ties with him. In one of his stays in prison, he was formally instructed in the Catholic faith by an old priest who was also incarcerated.
When James was released from prison, he married a Catholic widow and they had a son together, who went on to lead an important monastery. As a bookseller, he continued to offer books on the Catholic faith to anyone he could find, and continued to be arrested. In fact, of the 12 years he was married, he spent nine in prison.
Peter Bullocks, a former fellow employee of James’, had landed on death row. Hoping to save his own life, Peter betrayed James by accusing him of publishing a treasonous text. James denied the charge, but acknowledged that he had many other Catholic books. When a jury condemned James to death, he said, “I take it for a great favor from Almighty God that I am placed among the thieves, as he himself, my Lord and master, was.”
James bore no ill-will towards Peter, who was not granted a stay of execution for his betrayal. In fact, the two were to be executed together—they were carried in the same cart to the place of their hanging. James assured Peter of his forgiveness and kissed him as they both stood on the platform awaiting their death.
Blessed James Duckett, you were the convert who was martyred for your faith, and patron saint of publishers—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Blessed James Duckett is available for use under a Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International. Last accessed February 21, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
