“Because God has made us for Himself, our hearts are restless until they rest in Him.”

“And out of that hopeless attempt has come nearly all that we call human history—money, poverty, ambition, war, prostitution, classes, empires, slavery—the long terrible story of man trying to find something other than God which will make him happy.” ― C.S. Lewis (1898 – 1963 Novelist & Lay Theologian)

Gospel Text: (JN 6:44-51)
Jesus said to the crowds:
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:

They shall all be taught by God.

Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world.”

Vacations, travel and journeys of all kinds can provide the opportunity for a new perspective and time to pay attention to the deeper desires for our life. In the busyness of our usual work or routines, it is easy to discount nudges and “divine elbowing” as distractions from our responsibilities. We are all “hungry” for “something” and underneath all those desires for that “something”, whether we realize it or not is our hunger for God. Why, because God made us all and loves us all! Even though each person is different, our origin is the same and our longing to return to our origin is also the same. The key is to realize it.

How often do we “make a trip to Jerusalem” to search for the food, the Bread of Life, the “living bread” who is Jesus, the Christ? How often do we “make do” with fast food, which only serves to dampen the hunger, but doesn’t really satisfy?

Like signs along the highway announcing restaurants up ahead, God is always trying to get our attention! Do we notice? The signs are endless, coming in the form of a supportive friend, a challenging co-worker, a sun filled day or a stranger on the road who instructs us, inviting us to a deeper understanding of our soul’s true calling and purpose.

Am I hungry enough to stop?