True Life of Jesus’ Disciples

Weekly Missionary Reflection

18th Ordinary Sunday, 04 August 2024

Exo. 16:2-4,12-15; Ps. 78:3,4bc,23-24,25,54; Eph. 4:17.20-24; John 6:24-35

‘I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” (John 6:35)

From today’s Gospel, we learn that the crowd kept following Jesus after multiplying the loaves and fish. They followed Jesus for more physical food. But, Jesus rebuked them and invited them to work for food that endured eternal life.

Jesus explains that God wants us to trust in Him whom God has sent. Here Jesus invites us to place our faith fully in Him. Believing in Jesus is not only about knowing who He is but also trusting our whole life to Him and obeying His teachings daily.

Jesus identifies Himself as the “Living Bread” from Heaven. This bread is not just a physical bread, but a spiritual bread that grants eternal life. Whoever comes to Jesus and believes in Him will not hunger and thirst in spiritual life. This shows us that only in Jesus we can find the true fulfillment of our spiritual needs.

In our daily lives, we are often tempted to focus on worldly things like wealth, status, or physical pleasure. Such things also happen in our church ministry. We sometimes focus on self-evangelizing and use the ministry title to achieve popularity and success.

From today’s Gospel reading, Jesus reminds us that the true life of Jesus’ disciples can be found in intimate relation with Him. We are invited to focus on eternity and be unbound from impermanence. We can start by participating in the activities at the church full of our hearts and knowing Jesus more in prayer, Scripture, and any teachings from the Church.

We pray that we are always enabled to be closer to Jesus, entrust our lives to Him, and find spiritual fulfillment in Him who is the Living Bread. And we will live a meaningful life full of blessings.

Our mission today: Totally believe in Jesus through Scriptures, spiritual readings, and sincere ministry.

(Ignasius Lede – Commission for Mission of The Bishop’s Conference of Indonesia)

DAILY DEDICATED PRAYER

Lord, our Father, I present my today prayer, thought, word, work, joy, and sorrow in unity with Your Son, Jesus Christ, who always presents Himself in the Eucharist for the salvation of the world. May the Holy Spirit animating Jesus, also be my guidance and strength today so that I am ready to be the witness of Your love.

Together with Mary, Mother of Jesus, and the Church, in particular, I present my prayer for our Pope and apostle prayer of the Indonesian Church this month:

Universal Church Intent: For political leaders
We pray that political leaders be at the service of their people, working for integral human development and the common good, especially caring for the poor and those who have lost their jobs.

Indonesian Church Intent: Empowerment of low-income families
We pray that the parishes are enabled to raise the empowerment of low-income families with concrete steps, like providing cooperative services, imparting financial management, and increasing entrepreneurial spirit.

Amen.