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Do you think it is possible to become so focused, so involved with something that you overlook the bigger picture and perhaps even forget why you are doing it in the first place? In today’s Gospel, the Pharisees and scribes were so focused on the disciples of Jesus eating their meals with unwashed hands that they did not pay any attention to God’s commandments.

What helps us to keep going when the going gets tough? How do we remain faithful to the call to discipleship when the cross we carry gets heavy? The readings from today’s Liturgy of the Word give us some help and encouragement.

The Catechism of the Catholic Church and the prayers of today’s Mass teach us that the Blessed Virgin Mary was preserved free of sin from the moment of her conception in the womb of her own mother. This is the dogma of the Immaculate Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary; that through the anticipated merits of her Son, Jesus, Mary was preserved from Original Sin at the moment of her own conception, and remained sinless throughout her life. This is why the Archangel Gabriel, in the Annunciation found in the Gospel of Luke, greeted her with the words: “Hail, full of grace.” At the end of her earthly life, she was taken up, body and soul, into Heaven. This act of divine favor is known as the Assumption of the Blessed Virgin Mary, and it allowed Mary to experience the first fruits of her Son’s Resurrection. In her glory, she gives us cause to hope that we, too, can one day share in Christ’s Resurrection.

Today's Gospel Reading continues from Chapter 6 of the Gospel of John which scholars call the bread of life discourse. In this lengthy oration, Jesus is professing that he is the bread of life sent down from heaven by the Father so that whoever eats this bread will live forever. It is a pivotal section in Jesus’ ministry because this is the time when many who follow him will find his words too difficult to hear and will leave him. Their departure comes after the passage we heard today. Jesus is the bread that came down from heaven and in partaking of this bread which has become his Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, we are transformed. We become united with God and his work. We are then sent forward to make God's Kingdom present on earth through our own efforts, in response to God’s command.

In our First Reading today (Genesis 16:24, 1215), God gave the Israelites bread from Heaven to sustain them on their Exodus journey from slavery in Egypt to the freedom of the Promised Land. The manna appeared on the ground each morning near the place where the people had camped. They could gather only what they needed for that day. If anyone tried to hoard more than a day’s portion, it would spoil overnight and could not be eaten the next day. Only on the sixth day (Friday) could they gather and save enough Manna for two days so that they could observe the Sabbath rest on Saturday and avoid the work of gathering Manna on the Sabbath. This manna truly was their daily bread, and God provided it in this way so that they could learn to trust that God would look out for them and provide for them.