So he [Judas] took the morsel and left at once. And it was night. (John 13:30)
May 13, 2025
Hello Everyone –
Having just celebrated Good Shepherd Sunday (4th Sunday of Easter), I was thinking of the ways Jesus comes to us exactly where we are and shepherds us. He does this in so many ways — unique to the person he encounters. Even to Judas Iscariot, Jesus provided a morsel of bread from the table of the Last Supper in an effort to draw him close. But we know how that story ends.
The Gospels reveal to us various kinds of morsels — breads, if you will — that Jesus offered — satisfying in different ways the hungers of the people who came to him — accompanying them on their journey:
To the people who followed him to deserted, out-of-the-way places — and who were starving — he offered ordinary bread — satisfying their basic physical hunger.
To the leper whose body was literally falling apart — he offered the only bread that mattered to him — the bread of physical healing.
To the woman of Samaria who had come to draw water at Jacob’s well he offered the bread of human kindness — and thus satisfied her hunger for acceptance and love.
To sinners he offered the bread of forgiveness — and satisfied their hunger for salvation.
To the rejects and outcasts — by mixing with them and sharing their tables – he offered the bread of companionship — and so satisfied their hunger for self-worth and basic dignity.
To the widow of Nain who was burying her only son — and to Martha and Mary who had just buried their brother Lazarus (his own friends) — he offered the bread of compassion — and showed them that even in death we are not beyond the reach of God’s help.
With Zacchaeus, that rich tax collector who had robbed the bread from the tables of the poor — Jesus began by inviting himself to Zacchaeus’ table. Then, having awakened within Zacchaeus a hunger for a better life — for an honest life — Jesus taught him the joy that comes from giving.
To the thief who died at his side — he offered the bread of reconciliation with God — thus bringing ultimate peace to his troubled soul.
Jesus shared himself with others in many and different ways — under forms to respond to individual needs — before offering himself as food and drink in the upper room on the night before he died — that last meal in which Judas, son of Simon the Iscariot, took part.
What do you think was the hunger that Judas sought to satisfy? It was no accident that it was night. He walked out into the darkness.
What are the hungers you seek to satisfy as you continue your walk through this Easter season?
Jesus continues to provide the morsel that we most need to be nourished. Truth be told — the real presence of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist becomes a problem only when we have lost our sense of his presence in other places in our lives — in all that is.
Those who have a deep sense of the presence of God in the whole of Creation — will not have great difficulty believing that he is present under the appearances of bread and wine. God alone can satisfy all the longings and hungers of our hearts — because from God alone comes the bread of eternal life. This is the bread we receive in the Eucharist.
Dearest Lord, give us this bread always.
As I do for you, please pray for me,
Most Reverend Jeffrey S. Grob
Archbishop of Milwaukee
P.S. On Saturday, May 17, Dcns. Brady Gagne, Timothy Sanchez, and Aaron Siehr will be ordained to the priesthood. In your charity, please keep them in your prayer.
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