Monseigneur James Shea’s Call to Spiritual Nourishment and Mission

Yet another powerful speaker at the recently concluded 10th National Eucharistic Congress, Monseigneur James Shea delivered a powerful and evocative talk at a Eucharistic Congress, emphasizing the profound spiritual hunger that pervades humanity and the fulfillment found only in Jesus Christ. Through a tapestry of personal anecdotes, biblical narratives, and theological reflections, Shea illustrated the vital importance of the Eucharist and the mission to share this divine nourishment with the world.

Shea began by recalling a story his mother told him about a poor family in North Dakota, where a young girl, desperate with hunger, was scalded by her drunken father when she reached for food. This harrowing memory set the stage for a discussion on the deep, often overlooked, spiritual famine that affects humanity. He connected this to a prophecy from Amos, where God speaks of a coming famine—not for bread or water, but for hearing the word of the Lord.

Highlighting the contrast between physical and spiritual hunger, Shea pointed out that despite living in a time of unprecedented food security, many people still experience profound emptiness. He illustrated this with statistics about food waste and the booming weight loss industry, underscoring that true satisfaction cannot be found in material abundance.

Shea then delved into the nature of God as the source of all being and sustenance. He described how all of creation, especially living beings, depend on God for their existence and nourishment. This dependence is a sacramental expression of our deeper spiritual need for God, a theme he explored through various biblical stories and theological insights.

He recounted the history of humanity’s relationship with God, from the creation and fall of Adam and Eve to the trials of the Israelites in the desert. Despite humanity’s repeated failures and turnings away from God, He continued to provide, culminating in the ultimate gift of His Son, Jesus Christ. Shea vividly described how Jesus, through His life, death, and resurrection, restored the broken relationship between humanity and God.

In a particularly moving part of his talk, Shea spoke of Jesus’ institution of the Eucharist at the Last Supper and His sacrificial death on the cross. He explained that Jesus, the bread of life, offers Himself as the true food that satisfies our deepest hungers. This sacrament, celebrated at every Mass, is the source of spiritual nourishment that brings eternal life.

Shea emphasized that the central question of every human life is where to turn for sustenance. He challenged the audience to recognize that we are made with a voracious hunger for God, which can only be truly satisfied through the Eucharist. This divine food, he asserted, has a “satiety score of infinity” and is the only remedy for the spiritual famine foretold by the prophet Amos.

Concluding his talk, Shea called on the faithful to embrace their dependence on God not as a burden but as a glory and blessing. He urged them to stop merely living for God and start living from Him, drawing life and strength from the Eucharist. With a rallying cry, he encouraged the audience to go out into the world and share the good news of this life-giving food, telling everyone they meet, “We found where the food is.”

The audience responded with enthusiastic applause, inspired by Shea’s profound insights and passionate call to deepen their faith and share the Eucharistic nourishment with a spiritually starving world.