“Why is it so important to honor God in the way we eat? Perhaps because we are so dependent on food, and therefore trusting God in the area of food is a very direct, personal sign of faith.”

“So we need to be alert to the ways in which we allow the ordinary things of life to take over to the extent that we can no longer see God as the goal of our lives, or see the signs that he is at work in our daily lives”

“The only One that will provide what we seek and sustain us in the long term through the peaks and valleys of life is a living relationship with Christ. Pure and simple.”

“what Christ says to us in this Sunday’s Gospel reading is that the deepest cure of all involves not just relationship, but relationship with nothing less than the living God who is revealed in Jesus Christ”

“It can be unnerving to see God’s activity in the everyday, because it reminds us forcefully that our lives are not our own, that they are God’s loving gift to us. Perhaps, though, we can then see them as part of that same story of God’s love shown in Christ.”

“Order your whole life to Christ, he doesn’t fade away...And then in light of that fundamental love, order all the other loves and interests of your life”

“Listen, running after all these good things of the world, fine, fine, but they're not going to satisfy your heart. Christ, ipse Christus alone can do that.”

“Instead of condemnation God shows forgiveness. Instead of coming in force God came in weakness. And instead of a miracle God gives us God's own self”

“Perishable food, what's that?...everything in this world, everything under the sun is perishable. Material things, honor, glory”

“Jesus did not come to make us different but to make us new”

“Jesus offers us the life-giving words of God about the meaning of our lives. His message only gives life when we accept it and when it leads us from selfishness to selfless and sacrificial service for others.”

“Like the crowd in the Gospel, I have looked for Jesus. I find Him in the volunteers who lovingly prepare meals for the homeless, and I find Him in the people who come through the food line.”

“it is not easy to make new choices – the complexity of life requires more than just good will”

“The life that the Apostle speaks about flows from the revelation of Christ: He is sent, given to us, so that we may flourish as one body”

“All is God’s gift. So much so that in the end even the distinction between giver and gift breaks down. God does not merely give us food. He is our food. He does not merely give gifts. He is himself the gift.”

“Our coming to believe and trust in God cannot be based on mere signs. We have to trust in God’s providential care without feeling that he has to do something grand for us to believe. In any case, take a look around and see all that God has already provided for us.”

“Jesus’s care for us routinely exceeds our expectations. When we ask for help, he gives us more. When we ask for bread, he gives us life. When we turn to him in our need, he finds a way of offering us himself.”

“So today as Christians ponder the Bread of Life discourse, may they be aware of just how deep of the depths of the story which shape their Christian lives. May Christians treasure this sacred memory of the manna in the wilderness”

“What's eternal life? That's a symbol for pure liberation, pure spiritual liberation.”