(Eighteenth Sunday of the Year (B): This homily was given on August 3, 1997 at St. Pius X Church, Westerly, R.I. by Fr. Raymond Suriani. Read John 6: 24-35.)

"When we come to Mass, what kind of bread do we want?"

What kind of bread do you want? When you order a sandwich at a restaurant, that’s normally the first question the waitress asks you: "What kind of bread do you want? We have white, wheat, rye, pumpernickel, raisin, French and Italian; or you can have it in a pita pocket--take your choice." Now if you’re like me, this is always a pleasant but agonizing decision--because you want them all!!!

I mention this question this morning, because it’s important not only in a restaurant setting; it’s also an important question to consider when we come to Church: As we enter the Lord’s house for worship, as we come to Mass, what kind of bread do we want? What kind of bread should we want? We should want the Bread of Life--the Bread of Life contained in God’s Word; the Bread of Life which is the Holy Eucharist. And this is precisely the message that Jesus gives to us in today’s gospel text (John 6, verses 24-35). This scene takes place the day after Jesus performed the miracle of the loaves and fishes, which we heard about in last week’s gospel. We’re told that the same crowd that was present for that incredible event followed Jesus and the disciples across the Sea of Galilee and met up with him the following day. Now notice what Jesus tells them here--he says, "You are not looking for me because you have seen signs, but because you have eaten your fill of the loaves. You should not be working for perishable food, but for food that remains unto life eternal, food which the Son of Man will give you." Then, a few lines later, he tells them, "I myself am the bread of life. No one who comes to me shall ever be hungry, no one who believes in me shall thirst again." What is Jesus saying here? Basically he’s telling them, "Look, you’re coming after me because I gave you a good meal! You’re coming after me because I filled your bellies! But you should be seeking me because I can give you spiritual food--spiritual food that will carry you through every difficulty in life and bring you someday to heaven."

What kind of bread do you want? The crowd in John 6 would have answered that question by saying, "Dear Jesus, we want that same bread you gave us yesterday with the fish on the other side of the lake. That was great stuff--just like mother used to make!"

Sadly, I would say that many people come to Mass every week with this very same attitude, although they may not be aware of it. In other words, they come to Church, not seeking to be transformed by God’s Word and the Holy Eucharist, not seeking holiness, not seeking to be filled with faith, hope and love; they come seeking only their earthly needs: "Dear God in heaven, this is what I want; supply my all my material desires; that’s what I’m interested in--as for the rest: the holiness, the transformation--who cares?!!!"

By the way, I believe that this is one reason why some people are bored at Mass, why some people don’t pay attention at Mass, why some people can’t wait to get out of Mass: it’s because once they put in their "bread order" to God in this way, they’re done. There’s no reason to stay.

Please don’t misunderstand--it’s not wrong to ask God to supply our earthly needs; but we need to go beyond that to seek our deeper spiritual needs. As Jesus said, "You should be working for food that remains unto life eternal."

The fruits of seeking this Heavenly Bread were apparent to me the other night when I was called to the emergency room of Westerly Hospital. A 57 year-old lawyer from Providence, who was attending a local town meeting, had suffered a severe heart attack and died. By the time I got there, his family was just arriving on the scene. As you might imagine, it was not a happy or pretty sight. But the interesting fact about this man is that he was a daily communicant; he attended Mass each morning at St. Pius V Church in Providence, which is right across the street from Providence College. The man was nourished each day with the Bread of Life (God’s Word and the Holy Eucharist), and it was clear from what his family told me that he found great strength in this practice--strength which he needed because he had a number of physical problems. But not only that--the fact that he was nourished by the Bread of Life each day actually helped his family cope with his tragic death. As they tried to console one another at the hospital, they were saying things like: "Remember dad’s faith;" "We have to put our trust in God like he did;" "We need to pray like he did." As I listened to all this it became very clear to me: when we seek the Bread of Life, we not only nourish ourselves; we also allow God to nourish others through us. So, what kind of bread do you want?