In John 6:35, Jesus says that he is the bread of life and that whoever comes to him will never be hungry again. Jesus made this statement shortly after he had miraculously fed a crowd of more than 5,000 people with five loaves of bread and two fish, and after he had walked on water to the western side of the Sea of Galilee, and the crowd had followed by boat in search of him.

Jesus also told them that it was not Moses who gave them the bread from heaven, but God the Father who gives the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world. The people then responded that Jesus should give them this bread always. Jesus then said to them that he is the bread of life and whoever comes to him will never be hungry, and whoever believes in him will never be thirsty.

Jesus is the Bread of Life, and he offers himself to us as a source of nourishment for our souls. Just as physical bread sustains and nourishes the body so also does the Bread of Life sustains and nourishes the soul. He is the one who satisfies our deepest longings and desires. Although the people came to him so that he may give them physical bread to eat, nonetheless, Jesus used the opportunity to invite them to come to him so that he may give them spiritual bread, the bread of life.

Thus, Jesus offers himself to us in the holy Eucharist. He also invites us to visit him in the Blessed Sacrament. There are two modes of devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, namely: the Holy Mass and visits to the Blessed Sacrament. Devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, in these two modes of Sacrifice and Sacrament, is an act of praise, thanksgiving, atonement, and petition to God. It also serves to glorify God as our Heavenly Father and greatest Benefactor. It is also a means of receiving the grace of sanctification, the grace of final perseverance, and the grace of the eternal redemption of our souls.

The origin of devotion to the Mass dates back to the Last Supper of the Lord, from whence the Mass grew to become more than just the fulfillment of one’s Sunday obligation to many Catholics to a personal devotion for them. Devotion to visits to the Blessed Sacrament began in its seed forms when the shepherds and the magi visited the infant Jesus. The visits to the grotto of the nativity by the shepherds and by the magi prefigured visits to the Blessed Sacrament. Thus, devotion to the Blessed Sacrament, either as the Sacrifice or the Sacrament, is a renewal of the fruit of the incarnation and redemption in one’s life.

Eucharistic devotion, however, should not be limited just to the Mass and visits to the Blessed Sacrament, it should embrace the whole of life. According to Pope Benedict: “The Christian faithful need a fuller understanding of the relationship between the Eucharist and their daily lives. Eucharistic spirituality is not just participation in Mass and devotion to the Blessed Sacrament. It embraces the whole of life.” (Sacramentum Caritatis, no. 77).

Let us pray. I adore you, Eternal Father, and I give you thanks for the love with which you deigned to send your only-begotten Son to redeem me and to become the food of my soul. I offer you all the acts of adoration and thanksgiving that are offered to you by the angels and saints in heaven and by the just on earth. I praise, love, and thank you with all the praise, love, and thanksgiving that are offered to you by your own Son in the Blessed Sacrament. I implore you to grant that he may be known, loved, honored, praised, and worthily received by all in the most divine Sacrament. Amen.