Eighteenth Meditation
(The Way of Perfection, Chapter 33-35)

"Jesus said to them, 'I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst… No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day… I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world… Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.'" (1)


Living Bread

She yearns for Him with famished zeal;
His love draws her unceasingly:
His power sure; His presence real,
Yet hidden in humility.

He is the Bread of heaven sent:
To fill the hunger of the soul;
To cleanse and cure in his descent
Into the heart -- to make it whole.

His body is the sustenance;
His blood the sacrifice outpoured;
His soul, and His divine essence,
Unite the soul unto its Lord.

She receives Him with reverence,
And lingers, looking deep inside,
To savor His divine essence,
As love with Beloved abide.

She cherishes His presence held;
In communion, their spirits meld.

May the Bread of Life satisfy the deepest hunger of our souls and draw us to Himself in life eternal.