Monday of the Third Week of Easter

Today is my youngest sister’s birthday. I peeked ahead at the gospel for the day and read how Jesus fed five thousand and then followed him wanting more. Jesus warned them, “Do not work for food that perishes.” My sister has enjoyed cooking and preparing lovely meals since she was in seventh grade. She was a manager at Michael’s Café and Bakery until she and Michael retired. The food she catered and served on beautifully decorated tables always “perished,” the diners coveting every morsel. Jesus asked the crowd to work for the “food that endures for eternal life.”  My sister did that, too. She and her husband “fed” people in many acts of service: Habitat for Humanity, Big Brothers, care of elderly parents, miscellaneous tasks in the parish, and so on. The Gospel passage ends with “This is the work of God, that you believe in the one he sent.” My sister’s firm faith matches the Gospel selection on her birthday.