Only God can satisfy the deep hunger in our hearts

We human beings have many desires that are constantly clamoring to be satisfied.

We desire security: we want to feel safe in our homes, safe when we drive on our highways or go across a bridge; we want to feel assured that our airplanes will not fall apart, or the food that we eat is not contaminated; we want to have adequate finances and reasonable protection from hurricanes and floods.

We desire a level of comfort: we want a place where we can relax, enjoy some kind of entertainment, sleep peacefully, be cool in the summer and warm in the winter. We desire pleasure: we gather to eat – crab boils, crawfish boils, supper at our grandparents’ home; we all have sexual desires that are meant to be fulfilled within the bonds of marital love.

We seek some successes: graduating from high school, college, or graduate school, successfully raising a family, pursuing a career, etc. We desire to be respected, esteemed and appreciated.

Most especially, we all have a great desire to love and to be loved.

All these desires and many others come from God, who placed all these desires in our hearts. Therefore, they are good and wholesome and the fulfillment of these desires is part of the countless blessings showered upon us by our loving God.

However, spiritual writers like the great St. Thomas Aquinas remind us, “All things in moderation.” Which means we need to eat to live, not live to eat. An ancient proverb says, “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy.” Someone else added, “All play and no work makes Jack a mere toy.” To be healthy physically, emotionally and spiritually, we need to incorporate a proper balance of both work and play.

Jesus tells us in John’s gospel, “Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life.” (John 6:27) We know that Jesus often used exaggeration to make a point. Jesus does not want us to quit our jobs but he is telling us to make sure our top priority is seeking spiritual food that will last forever.

Here is the mystery: the same God who placed all these hungers and desires in our heart has also placed a desire and hunger in the depths of our being that only God can fulfill and satisfy.

Jesus said, “I am the Bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger and whoever believes in me will never thirst.” (John 6:35) He is obviously talking about a hunger that is deeper than our hunger for food, pleasure, success and the other desires we listed.

St. Augustine, after spending years trying to satisfy his many desires without God, said “You have made us for yourself, O Lord, and our hearts will be restless until they rest in you.” God both places the desires in our hearts and is the completion of our desires.

In his book, “Befriending Our Desires,” the Jesuit author Philip Sheldrake contends that desire gives energy and direction to our souls. He suggested that we should recognize, appreciate and become friends with the many desires of our heart and not treat them as some kind of worldly enemy.

By paying attention to our desire, we can reach into our deepest self where the image of God dwells.

To find God in all things and above all things means that we should spend quality time pursuing a close relationship with Christ. We do this by daily reading and praying over the Scriptures, reflecting on how we are to moderate the many desires of our heart.

We then provide that empty space within our heart for Christ to enter and abide there.