From time to time, life presents us with different forms of “deserts”, which can represent difficult
and empty times we find ourselves in. There are deserts we face because life forces us to, and
others we enter by ourselves. These metaphorical deserts symbolize moments when we feel
overwhelmed and wish to disappear, often due to the burdens of life—such as disappointments
and injustices, marriage problems, or losing a very dear person to death. It expresses the feelings
of exhaustion and despair that come when our struggles seem fruitless, and when we are
constantly confronted by wrongdoing and suffering. In these moments, one might feel like giving
up, even expressing frustration to God. Have you had such an experience in your life? I have had
mine, and not once.
Desert Experience
It’s really the experience of the prophet Elijah, as we read in today’s first reading (1 Kings 19:4-8).
After the huge success of the showdown on Mount Carmel, after slaying the prophets of Baal,
Elijah finds himself once again being hunted down by Queen Jezebel. It is like someone who has
run a marathon and is asked to keep running when they thought they had just crossed the finish
line.
When we feel defeated, when it seems like we no longer have the strength to keep fighting, we
risk reinterpreting our whole story in light of that tough present situation. Everything feels like a
failure. Elijah gets the impression that he has not done anything good. He revisits his entire life
through the lens of the crisis he is going through. For this reason, he wanders into the desert,
wishing to be lost forever. He feels alone and isolates himself even more. He feels abandoned and
wants to give himself up to nothingness.
Divine Intervention
Just when we decide to lose ourselves, God reaches out to us. God’s presence translates into a
word or a gesture, not flashy stuff, but simple and familiar, because that is what we need in
moments of loneliness and sadness. An angel tells Elijah to get up and eat. To get back on the path
of life, we need to nourish ourselves; without bread (food), you cannot go anywhere. Many people
are stuck in their deserts of life simply because they do not feed themselves or because they
cannot find someone to give them the needed food, not only physical food, but sometimes words
of encouragement or a support system. But God’s presence is always there to give us reassurance,
just like during the desert experience of the Israelites. God shows up and gives them the manna. In
this case too, food is a gift, a free meal. And it’s food you take based on your daily needs, without
worrying about tomorrow but trusting in God.
The Eucharistic Bread
This is why the Evangelist John includes Jesus’ words about bread in this context, in today’s Gospel
(Jn 6:41-51). It is about understanding where my life comes from every day, about realizing what
nourishes me and allows me to keep going on this journey of life, facing moments of
discouragement and disappointment. It is about figuring out what truly feeds my heart. And this is
the Eucharistic Bread we receive at Mass.
Jesus explicitly states that this bread of life is Him and Him alone. To feed on this bread means to
cultivate and cherish my relationship with Him. It is precisely from His body, from the Eucharistic
Bread, that we can nourish ourselves with our relationship with Jesus each time. The Eucharist is
life, and it is the life of Jesus, given freely every day to the believers so that they can live. When I
do not feed on this Bread, I find myself in the desert, lacking the bread I need to keep going on my
journey.
How often do you receive the Eucharist or spend time before the Eucharistic Jesus in adoration?
What is stopping you from feeding of this Bread of Life that gives strength for life’s journey? Like
Elijah, get up and eat so that you have the strength and energy to continue to confront life.
