Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 5, 2025
[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.”
Reflection
Two years ago, my grandmother Divinagracia passed away—the last of my grandparents and someone I fondly remember in one of my earliest memories: us in the kitchen together. Although she spent more than a decade bedridden, she was always surrounded by an ever-changing circle of family.
Her sudden passing on a December Monday stirred a flurry of emotion and activity, culminating in a funeral farewell on Friday: five days that forever reshaped the holidays with her absence.
My Filipino-American family’s abiding love for one another often finds expression in food. No matter the occasion, we come together for potlucks, sharing cherished recipes in borrowed containers and dishing about the latest family tsismis (Filipino for “gossip”) between bites.
And when grief is the reason for gathering, we continue to show up. My Chicagoland relatives and I crowded together in the quiet church, a hodgepodge assembly of close cousins, estranged kin, and everyone in between—all gathered around the Lord’s table.
After Mass, someone, half-jokingly, suggested we head to my grandmother’s favorite Chinese buffet for lunch, a heartfelt way to remember her through dumplings, orange chicken, and chow mein. And with the check paid and the last of the caravan disappearing down the road, the meal—and the moment—came to an end.
While earthly meals eventually come to a close, often with leftovers packed into mismatched Tupperware, Jesus invites us in today’s gospel to hunger “for the food that endures for eternal life.” True to her name, my grandmother Divinagracia (Spanish for “Divine Grace”) believed in the everlasting grace-filled and grace-filling nourishment of the Eucharist.
May that same divine grace, which defined her name and blessed her life, continue to remind us to trust and believe in the Bread of Life that came down from heaven, the Real Presence that brings us closer to God’s eternal embrace.
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
Judith, also known as Jutta, began her life as a wife and mother, and deepened her pursuit of holiness as a wandering hermit after her husband died and her children had grown.
Born to a German aristocratic family in the 13th century, she was married to a noble. She was inspired by St. Elizabeth of Hungary, a contemporary, and heard the Lord call her to follow him. She not only sought to serve God herself, but also led her household to do the same and was known for her support of the poor, in imitation of Elizabeth.
Early in their marriage, her husband thought Judith dressed too simply, and asked her to take on styles more in keeping with the fashions of the upper class. She gradually helped him see the virtue in detachment from material wealth, and he grew in his own faithfulness. He died while on pilgrimage to the Holy Land, leaving Judith to raise their family alone.
Many of her children entered monasteries as they matured, and after all had left the household, Judith gave her life to prayer and caring for the poor and sick. She gave everything she had to the poor except for one ragged dress, and went into the streets to beg for food for herself and for others.
Many people who had known her mocked and ridiculed her, but others treated her with reverence because they knew what she had given up. She wanted to separate herself from their praise, so she left and wandered the countryside, walking barefoot and helping those she encountered on her way.
She made her way into Prussia in 1260 and took up living as a hermit in a ruined building on the shore of a lake. People sought her out for her wisdom, and she was known for having instinctive insight into Scripture. She once said that three things can bring union with God: illness, exile from home, and voluntary poverty.
People who lived nearby reported seeing Judith raised from the ground in prayer, and she received a number of visions. She died of a fever after living in that place for four years, and miracles were reported to have occurred at her grave.
Judith is patron saint of Catholics in Prussia and Germany. The image seen above was reconstructed from her skull using forensic technology.
St. Judith, you were a faithful wife and mother who gave your life to the poor and sick—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Judith is available for use under the Creative Commons Attribution-Share Alike 4.0 International license. Last accessed March 6, 2025 on Wikimedia Commons.
