“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.’” John 6:35
It is a symptom of the wound of love that the more the heavenly Bridegroom Jesus satisfies our hunger and thirst for Him, the more our hunger and thirst increases. The satiation of our hunger and thirst, promised by Jesus in John 6:35, awaits us at the eternal wedding feast in heaven. But our loving Father and Jesus our Bridegroom offer us a foretaste of this heavenly banquet in the Holy Eucharist.
As I meditated on the Song of Songs and my hunger for Jesus in Holy Communion, I wrote the following reflection. May our loving reception of the Holy Eucharist continually increase our hunger and thirst for Jesus the Bridegroom until we become nothing but longing for Him.
Our Beloved is fresh and ruddy, radiant and beautiful, to be known among ten thousand. His head is golden, purest gold, for all the Wisdom of God dwells within Him, a treasure worth more than all the gold in the world. His lips are lilies distilling pure myrrh and His conversation is sweetness itself. When the Word of God speaks pure goodness drips like honey from His holy mouth. Our Beloved is altogether lovable, altogether desirable, and that is why the maidens love Him.
He has taken us to His banqueting hall and He feeds us with the Bread of Life and the Wine of Salvation. His banner over us is Love. Feed us with raisin cakes and restore us with apples, for we are sick with love. Sweet Bridegroom, the only remedy for our malady of love is You - You Who are Love.
Your Bread of Life is better than raisin cakes, sweeter than apples. You set before us a feast, Infinite Love hidden in a tiny Host, and You call to us, “Eat, friends; drink! Drink deeply, lovers! Open wide your mouth that I may fill it. I will satisfy your hunger with honey from the rock, with My Very Self. I will sustain you on your journey home to Me.”
With the eyes of the heart, we see and we believe, Jesus. We sit in Your longed-for shade and Your fruit is sweet to our taste. We prostrate our hearts before You in thanksgiving for Your Bread of Life that sustains us as we long for the day when You will kiss us with the kisses of Your mouth and we will hunger and thirst no more. Our every desire shall be fulfilled with Your love that is better than wine. You will be our joy and our gladness and we shall praise You forever. How right it is to love You!
For more reflections on Christ the Bridegroom and the Song of Songs come to Hope’s Garden. You can find us on Instagram, YouTube, Spotify, and at Hopesgarden.com.
Beautiful and comforting!!!!