8TH WEEK IN ORDINARY TIME

Long for pure spiritual milk so that through it you may grow into salvation, for you have tasted that the Lord is good. 

Just as each of us was born on a particular date, each of us was reborn the moment we were baptized. But that’s only the beginning! As St. Peter writes, salvation is something we “grow into” (1 Peter 2:2). It’s a step-by-step process, with each step building on the last one. And when we “have tasted that the Lord is good,” we long for more (2:3).

Did you know that those tastes of God’s goodness are available to you in the sacraments? They are the “pure spiritual milk” that can foster our growth (1 Peter 2:2). Take Confession, for example. Maybe we’ve been looking to quench our thirst with things that don’t really satisfy us, like money, power, or pleasure. But when we bring these fruitless pursuits to the Lord, we receive his forgiveness and the grace to move forward. And that makes us long for his mercy and grace every time we stray from him.

Of course, there is no more life-giving spiritual food available to us than the Eucharist. At Mass, as we listen to the word of God and as we “taste” the goodness of Jesus himself in his Body and Blood, we are nourished and empowered to follow him. And that makes us hunger even more for God’s presence because we realize what a difference it makes in our lives.

Yet even when you receive the sacraments regularly, you might feel as if your growth in faith and understanding is painstakingly slow. But “growing into salvation” can be like time-lapse photography of a seed sprouting, pushing through the soil, forming leaves and buds, and finally unfolding into the beautiful flower that God intended it to be. You are growing even if you can’t see every step of the process.

So keep hungering for that “pure spiritual milk” of God’s goodness. Drink deeply and know that as you quench your thirst, it will have an effect in your life!

“Lord, I long for your nourishment. Thank you that you never stop working in me.”

1 Peter 2:2-5, 9-12
Psalm 100:2-5
Mark 10:46-52