Unsatisfied Hunger

It was Tuesday, April 29, 1975… my parents with their brothers and sisters quickly got into a boat and set off on the waters without knowing where they were headed. They had gotten news that soon Saigon, Vietnam would fall. The Communist Party forces had successfully overrun the South Vietnam Army and soon would take over Saigon. And so entire families began to flee. It was an estimate of two million Vietnamese fled by sea in overcrowded boats.

My mom shared with me that they were lucky because they were out on the sea for a few days before being picked up. But she also shared that it wasn’t easy. Floating on the waters in the middle of the sea, not enough food and water, with the danger of storms and pirate attacks, they left everything. Many of the boats just drifted lost in the China Sea. After a few days they were so hungry that some of the people would eat whatever bugs, or rodents they could find.

I don’t think my parents ever forgot those days. The uncertainty they faced and the hunger they felt.

And yet we live in a time, brothers and sisters, where there is such an abundance of food. Where parents have to remind their children not to waste food. Where influencers online have to try to convince people not to eat too much. Why is it that even though we have so much food available to us that we are still not satisfied?

The author C.S. Lewis wrote, “If I find in myself desires which nothing in this world can satisfy, the only logical explanation is that I was made for another world.”

The reason why we are still so very hungry is because we are not just bodily creatures. We are creatures with a mind and a soul…

We depend on more than physical food and drink for life, but our minds and hearts are hungry as well, our spirit and soul is hungry. We are hungry for truth, we are hungry for justice and peace, we are hungry for love.

In the Gospel today, the disciples and Jesus are out in the middle of nowhere with no food nearby. It’s late in the evening, it’s starting to get dark outside. Their hunger is increasing more and more. And the disciples say to the Jesus, “Lord, send them off to be fed somewhere else”.

And Christ’s response is “Feed them yourself.” Which forces the disciples have to admit, “Lord, we can’t”… “we can’t feed the people with what we have.” “We’re incapable of satisfying their hunger.” On their own, the disciples are limited. They only have five loaves and two fish.

It is beyond their capacity to feed the people. How true this is for us… The truth is, that no human being on earth can completely satisfy their needs. There’s no human being that can satisfy my needs and your needs.

We may be able to fill our stomachs, for a time, with food, and maybe get some shelter and safety. But deep down within each one of us, there is still another hunger, an ache, that no human being can fulfill.

The disciples, they want to send the people back into the darkness, to look for food somewhere out there, and Our Lord tells them, to let them stay in his presence, let them stay in His light and be nourished and fed by Him. Because nothing out there in the darkness will be able to do so.

But out there, there’s an enemy. Someone who wants you to distract you, who seeks your ruin. He’ll lie to you, like he lied to our first parents. God doesn’t love you. God doesn’t really want to fulfill your hunger. Look how plump and satisfying that fruit is, look how exciting and fun those other people are having. Go get that thing yourself, go out there and fill that hunger yourself.

Brothers and sisters, there’s an ache that is within you, a longing for more, that hunger that is not satisfied, even after hours online with media and technology, even after all the success in your career, even after achieving that dream you worked so hard for… even after you’ve have had the best French fries in the world and your stomach is full… (now I’m just talking about myself)… I’m not satisfied… I want more…

And Jesus comes to us and says to all who are hungry: “I am the bread of life… my Flesh is true food and my Blood true drink…” Jesus knows the hunger of our lives… and he wants to satisfy that hunger forever.

In my heart, as a priest, my one desire for you is that you discover this truth: The truth that no human, not your significant other, not your children, not even your priest, no achievement, riches or pleasures nor the most delicious meals you can eat… can satisfy that ache, that hunger in your heart. It is only God, only Our Lord Jesus Christ. And that is what I have to offer you here today.

This Mass and every Mass is about our hunger for God. And I pray that the reason you are here today, is because you’re hungry. I pray that you always come to Mass hungry… hungry for more than this world can give you. I pray that in every moment of the Mass, in every moment of silence, that you allow yourself to cry out to God from the deep ache within your being: “Feed me, Lord, satisfy the deepest longing of my heart, help me to see the truth and the freedom that you desire for me, and never let me turn back to sin. The sin that destroys the life you want to give me.”

Brothers and sisters, “I’m just a beggar showing other beggars where the food is.” And I beg you, stop looking in the dumpsters of this world for nourishment and instead come to the feast that our Lord has prepared for you here in this place.

Today we celebrate the Most Holy Body and Blood of Our Lord Jesus Christ. And so I want to talk about some more practical things… As you may have noticed recently, I had the tabernacle moved out of area in the corner.

The Catholic Code of Canon Law explains that “The tabernacle in which the Blessed Eucharist is reserved should be placed in a distinguished location in a church, a place which is conspicuous, suitably adorned and conducive to prayer.”

The three key criteria of: 1) conspicuous – standing out so as to be noticed, 2) suitably adorned – beautifully decorated, and 3) conducive to prayer – reserved in a location, that is suitable for prayer.

And so by moving the tabernacle just a little bit, Jesus is more conspicuous and stands out, we are able to beautifully decorate the tabernacle with flowers and angels and it is more conducive to prayer for everyone in the pews.

As you come into the Church, don’t forget to genuflect before you enter the pews. When you genuflect, keep in mind what or who you are genuflecting to. You are genuflecting to Jesus in the tabernacle. So it’s helpful to turn your body and your heart to Him there.

Now there’s one little note though, when we begin Mass, what you notice is that I will not genuflect to the tabernacle but rather bow to the Altar. In the Mass, the most important place in the Church is actually the Altar because from the Altar we receive the Eucharist.

I have noticed that sometimes people will kneel when Jesus is taken out of the tabernacle during Mass. This is a beautiful thing to do but it’s not quite congruent with what is happening in the Mass. Because we can forget that in the Mass, Jesus is already on the altar! Thus when you kneel when the ciborium is taken out of the tabernacle, it can seem like it is only at this point that Jesus is present, when in reality, Jesus is already present in the Eucharist on the altar.

The reason we kneel the first time, is because through the Holy Spirit and the words of Consecration said by the priest ordinary bread and wine is transformed into the actual Body and Blood of Jesus… the reason we kneel the second time is because in humility we say, “Lord I am not worthy…” before we come up to receive Jesus into our hearts.

God is so good to us, and even though we are not worthy, he wants to feed us with his life and love…

Let God be the source of sustenance that you live on. Let his life in the Eucharist be the joy that gives you strength to go and serve others.

Don’t just live for God… live from God. Make the Eucharist the source and summit of your life.