Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 6, 2025
The crowd said to Jesus:
“What sign can you do, that we may see and believe in you?
What can you do?
Our ancestors ate manna in the desert, as it is written:
He gave them bread from heaven to eat.”
So Jesus said to them,
“Amen, amen, I say to you,
it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven;
my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.
For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven
and gives life to the world.”
So they said to Jesus,
“Sir, give us this bread always.”
Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life;
whoever comes to me will never hunger,
and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”
Recently, I’ve been feeling distant from my faith. I go to a vibrant church, but I don’t really expect God to speak to me. I do a morning devotion, but it feels like going through the motions. I attend a wonderful weekly small group, but I’m there more for the social aspect than the Bible reading, discussion, and prayer.
As much as I want to ignite my faith, I feel weary and uninspired. Like the crowd in today’s gospel reading, I want a clear sign from Jesus. I want to see his power in my life, in my community, and in this broken world.
Jesus responds that God gives us “true bread from heaven.” Of course, I am grateful for the Eucharist, tangible unity with Jesus and his sacrifice for us, much more than even the daily miracle of manna in the desert. But as I’ve been reflecting on the manna, the true bread, and the first Easter, I’ve realized something even more simple that Jesus is telling the crowd, and telling me:
“I am enough.”
Jesus is enough for us. In my time of distant and lackluster faith, it is not my complicated feelings or my dogged stacking of faith activities that matter. What matters is that Jesus has already shown up for me and for all people. I don’t have to ask all the right questions or get all the right answers—Jesus is the answer. He is enough.
In this Easter season, we remember and live the beautiful mystery that Jesus’ sacrifice is enough for us. He died for our sins and conquered death. This is all we ever need. He will provide for us—body and soul—in ways unimaginable, even when our lives seem bleak and the world is unpredictable. Today, let us simply rest in the reminder that Jesus is enough for us.
Prayer
We give you thanks, Jesus, for your bountiful generosity. You fill us, the starving, with good things, and you know the hunger we have to know you more deeply. When our faith is weak, or when we demand a sign, send your Spirit to break through our daily routines in the form of bread and wine to remind us of the sacrifice and love we re-present and share in every time we are at Mass. Amen.
Saint of the Day
Rose Maria Benedetta experienced all the sorrow life could bring a wife and mother, and she responded by growing in compassion for others who were suffering.
She was born in 1831 in Genoa, Italy, one of six children in a well-to-do family. She married in 1852 and the couple had three children. The family moved to Marseilles, France, but had to return to Genoa because of financial trouble. During this time, their oldest child got sick and was left mute and deaf. Then, Rose's husband died in 1858, and a few months later, her youngest child died of an illness.
It seems that her suffering led her to greater compassion for those who also suffer. She continued to care for her two remaining children, but she began to develop a fervent spiritual life, and actively reached out to others who were poor or experiencing pain in some way.
She preferred to remain private with her devotion, but she became known for her insight and holiness, and people started to seek her out. She discerned a call to form her own religious community. Even though everyone around her encouraged her to follow this call, she was afraid that her children would not receive enough attention from her. She spoke to the pope about it in 1866, with the hope that he would affirm her fears, but he told her to begin working on the new community right away. She was allowed to continue raising and caring for her children as she began this important work.
Later that year, she founded an order of sisters under the name of St. Anne, the mother of Mary. Its mission was to care for the poor and sick. She and 12 other sisters professed their vows and she took the name Anna Rosa. By the time she died in 1900, 3,500 sisters had joined the order, living in 368 community houses around the world. They built hostels and schools, and took on a special ministry to the deaf and mute. Today, the order is associated with the Movement of Hope, the Contemplative Order of the Daughters of St. Anne, and the Sons of St. Anne.
Blessed Anna Rosa Gattorno, you transformed your sorrow into hope for the poor and sick—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of Bl. Anna Rosa Gattorno is used with permission from Catholic Online.