Spiritual Food: "The way to a person’s heart is through the stomach"

I

would like to take the theme of food. St Augustine of Hippo writes in a Christmas sermon: “God became man so that man might become God. The Lord of angels became man so that man could eat the bread of angels.” These words lead us directly to today’s Gospel, where Jesus says, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven” (Jn 6:51).

We often hear the saying, “The way to a person’s heart is through the stomach.” In a deeper spiritual sense, God reaches the human heart by feeding us with himself. Jesus does not only speak to us or teach us. He gives himself as bread for the life of the world. Food is one of the greatest symbols of the Christian life.

But none of these will truly work unless we first learn to hunger, thirst, long, and desire—in other words, unless we recover the capacity to have a heart with the right appetence. That is why longing for spiritual food is a grace as much as it is a grace to have appetite for food. In Confessions, St Augustine writes, “You have made us for Yourself, O Lord, and our heart is restless until it rests in You” (Confessions, Book 1, Chapter 1). Our deep longing to know serves as a “target,"  albeit a restless one, for God’s divine action.

Second: Only God can awaken in us the desire for heavenly food. This is what the Gospel means when Jesus says, “No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him” (Jn 6:44).

The hunger that is awakened is called desire. Holy desire leads to God and disordered desire gets in the way. Let us use our innate ability to breathe: our lungs instinctively take in oxygen and release carbon dioxide. This organic rhythm is built into our lungs that sifts the air, yet it becomes ineffective when the lungs are impaired or closed. In the same way, without a formed, open and receptive heart, we lose the capacity for discernment—sifting of desires. Discernment, like breathing, teaches us what to take in and what to let go of. And this capacity is essential, because we are not living in a static world, but in one that is constantly moving, growing, and evolving. During his life on earth, Jesus taught us how to discern—how to recognize what leads to life and what leads us astray—so that we may walk faithfully without losing our way.

Third: Jesus knows about our need for food most especially the spiritual one. How did he know? By becoming hungry himself. But how did Jesus feed himself with spiritual nourishment? He went to pray always to his Father. Most of Jesus’s parables were inspired by His deep and open relationship with His Father. Just like home-cooked food, parables are the language of relationship—spoken by a Son who trusts, listens to, and reflects the open heart of the One who sent Him. Jesus didn’t speak in parables simply to teach moral lessons. His stories arose from a profound, living communion with the heart of the Father. Jesus was continually fed by the Father. The parables are not just creative tools—they are sacraments of divine love that are meant to be experienced. Jesus was the first to experience the invisible reality contained in the sacraments. When He speaks of a shepherd who leaves the ninety-nine to find the one, or a father who runs to embrace his prodigal son, He is not just illustrating what mercy is. He is revealing the face of the Father’s mercy (Misericordiae Vultus) by his drawing close to those in need of mercy. The Shepherd’s merciful heart is restless until every lost one is found. “Jesus Christ is the face of the Father’s mercy” (Misericordiae Vultus 1). He was revealing with great “transparence” the very nature of His Father, whom He knew intimately. Jesus says, “I do nothing on my own, but only what I see the Father doing” (Jn 5:19).

So when He tells a story about seeds sown on different kinds of soil, or a treasure hidden in a field, He is sharing the vision of the Father transparently—a God who sows generously, who gives of Himself without measure, who seeks, who waits (but not sitting idly by), who loves patiently and impetuously.

Therefore, let us ask for the grace to hunger for him, to be drawn by the Father, and to receive the living bread with faith and love. Amen, Fr JM Manzano SJ