April 20, 2026 // Monday of the Third Week of Easter
Read the Word // Open your Bible to today’s Gospel: John 6:22-29
Reflect on the Word //
“Lord, I cannot do this. Please do this for me.” Standing in the dimly lit little hotel room, I brushed my teeth as quietly as I could and hoped I wouldn’t wake the rest of the family. We had been traveling all day, and even with the time change to my advantage, my body ached for the bed. If I was lucky, I would get a decent six hours. Hopefully that would be enough to keep me alert for the long drive home the next day.
“Lord, I need you.” So often I have uttered, pleaded, cried out those words. I am weary, worn down, depleted.
Sometimes I reach this state of distress because I have failed to take care of myself physically, but more often I cry out in desperation because I have been subsisting on the bread of this world. I have been carefully managing my exercise, sleep, and nutrition, but not nourishing my spiritual life.
We are both flesh and spirit. Our bodies need to be treated gently sometimes and pushed at other times, but always our spirit needs the substance of eternal life.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus commands the crowd not to work for food that perishes, but rather for the food of eternal life, which is a food only Jesus can give. And this bread is not something that we earn with our hard work. It was already given to us.
We need not travel to far-off lands or seek some mystical experience at the end of a long pilgrimage. We need not earn it through countless Rosaries or hours reading Scripture, although those are wonderful practices. We simply need to seek Him with all our hearts. He is there for us in the Sacraments. Jesus is hidden in His Precious Body and Blood offered daily for us. Jesus is there at your parish church, patiently waiting for you to seek Him out, and He not only offers you the food—He is the food, giving you His very life.
Relate to the Lord // Make a visit to Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament. Ask Him if He’s calling you to commit to a weekly holy hour.
Dr. Mary Ruth Hackett is a writer, national speaker, and podcast host covering topics in psychology and faith. She holds a PhD in Educational Psychology and works at the important intersection of faith and developmental science, blending them in the original harmony God intended. Dr. Mary Ruth is the author of Daughter by Design: Discovering Your Identity as God's Beloved Daughter, and co-coauthor of Spiritual Discernment for Beginners: Learning to Hear God and Defeat the Lies of the Enemy. She is a contributing author to All She Had and our children’s devotional prayer book called Rise Up. Find out more about her here.
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