Daily Gospel Reflection
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May 7, 2019
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.”
I am thirty-seven weeks pregnant. My husband and I are elated to welcome our first child into our family in the coming weeks! But I also find myself overcome with anxious anticipation as I try to envision and prepare for all the unknown experiences that we are about to undergo by accepting the responsibility to care for a new and totally dependent human life. As I ponder and pray for the weeks, months, and years ahead in my new role as a mother, I often find myself asking Jesus to fulfill specific requests based on my desires and understandings: I hope that our baby will be healthy; I ask that our newborn will sleep through night; and most importantly, I pray that we are able to give our child the skills to become a loving, respectful, and compassionate adult.
Much like the crowd asking for bread because their ancestors received manna in the desert, I too have found myself requesting that God provide me with exactly what I think I need to live the life I envision. But in this passage of John’s Gospel, Jesus reminds us to open our hearts to receive the gifts that God graciously offers us—not the things that we think we want or need. Rather than the physical nourishment of bread for which the crowd asks, God decided, and Jesus selflessly agreed, to provide the spiritual sustenance of the Bread of Life. While God’s chosen gift is not what the crowd asked for, it is undoubtedly an infinitely superior and much more fulfilling response.
Let us remember to put our faith in God’s divine goodness, to be open to and receptive of his plans and gifts, and let us strive to be as selfless as Jesus in our love for others.
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 Venerini followed God's voice, which was speaking to her in the circumstances of her life, and changed the lives of many people through her gifts as an educator.
She was born in 1656 in Viterbo, Italy. When she came of age, she was engaged to a young man, but he died suddenly. She decided to enter the convent, but only stayed there for a few months—her father had died, and she was needed at home to help her mother.
During this time at home, she gathered women from the neighborhood in her house to pray the rosary. She was struck by how little these women knew of their faith, so she began to instruct them. She still had hopes of entering a convent to spend her life in seclusion and prayer, but her spiritual director, who saw her work with the women in the prayer group, encouraged her to explore a vocation in the world as a teacher.
With two others, Rose opened a free school for girls in 1685, and it was a success. She quickly became known for her insights into education, and was invited by a cardinal in the area to give advice on the administration of schools in the diocese and to help train teachers.
Rose was known for her persuasive ways of speaking, and for her responsiveness to any situation. She went on to found more schools, though sometimes she faced fierce resistance. In one instance, opponents shot arrows at teachers and burned their house down. Still, she persevered with patience and trust. At the time of her death, 40 schools were under her direction.
After her death, many of the lay teachers who worked in her schools gathered into a religious community, called the Venerini sisters, who worked with Italian immigrants in the U.S.
St. Rose mentored another educational matriarch in Italy, St. Lucy Filippini, whose relics rest in the reliquary chapel in the Basilica. St. Rose was canonized in 2006.
St. Rose Venerini, you turned away both the convent and marriage to transform schools—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Rose Venerini is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed March 6, 2025.