Today is May 5, Monday of the Third Week of Easter.
We read at today’s Mass, “Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you. For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”
These words come alive for me in a unique way right now. Over these past days, I’ve had the opportunity to speak on various media platforms — CNN, EWTN, SiriusXM with my good friend Katie McGrady — not to engage in the politics of the conclave, but to proclaim the Gospel. These appearances are not about who the next pope will be, but about who Jesus Christ is and what he calls us to be.
All of this media work has reminded me of the heart of our faith: We’re not made for passing things. We’re not meant to labor endlessly for what fades away. We are made for the food that endures for eternal life. That food, of course, is the Eucharist: a foretaste of heaven, the Bread of Angels given for our journey.
When people thank me for my vocation, I sometimes jokingly say I became a Dominican for a selfish reason: to save my soul. But truly, isn’t that what we all desire? We want to be saved. We want to live forever in the love of God. Today’s Gospel reminds us that all of our work, our service, our prayers — everything — is aimed at that ultimate goal.
Yes, we’re paying close attention to what’s happening in the Church and around the world. The conclave and the influence of global events are serious matters. But they are not the highest things. The highest things are the things of God.
Seeking the food that lasts
Jesus says the Father has set his seal on the Son. In the sacraments — especially in baptism and confirmation — we receive that same divine seal, the mark of the Holy Spirit. St. Cyril of Alexandria once wrote:
And the Son is the express Image of the Father, and His Spirit is the natural Likeness of the Son. For this cause, moulding anew, as it were, into Himself the souls of men, He stamps them with the Likeness of God, and seals them with the Image of the Most High.
The more we work for what endures — divine love, charity, holiness — the more we are conformed to God. You can sense it in the presence of a holy person, can’t you? There’s a kind of fragrance, a spiritual residue. Recently, I brought some guests into the cell of St. Dominic here at Santa Sabina, and one of them said, “This feels like a holy place.” That’s what we mean by the seal of God — a visible and invisible sign of his presence.
And that is our prayer today for the next pope, that he be a man sealed by the Spirit burning with love for Christ, who will set the Church ablaze with the fire of divine love. That all of us, renewed in our baptismal call, may find it easier to labor not for food that perishes, but for the food that endures.
Let us pray,
Grant, we pray, almighty God, that, putting off our old self with all its ways, we may live as Christ did, for through the healing paschal remedies you have confirmed us to his nature. Who lives and reigns with you in the unity of the Holy Spirit, God, for ever and ever. Amen.
