In the Gospel, the people ask for a sign, that they might believe in Him. Jesus does not give them a mere sign, He gives them His very self, 'I am the bread of life.' How beautiful and marvellous is such a mystery. Christ has given us His flesh as real food and his blood as real drink. We pray that we may always hunger for such food and thirst for such drink. For Christ comes to touch that which is deepest in our being and if we settle for anything else we settle for less than the gift offered by the Father.

Jesus 'emptied Himself' and gave all of His life to the Father. He was like a lamb led to the slaughter!

Jesus at His trial remained silent. When Stephen was accused of being a disciple of Jesus, he turned to his judges and accused them of killing the Messiah and of not keeping the Law. For Christ it was proper that He should remain silent but after the resurrection it is proper that His followers should preach Him. As it is written, there is 'a time to keep silence and a time to speak' (Eccl. 3:7). We are in the age of the Spirit, when Christ is to be proclaimed; let us take our example from Stephen and preach the Good News in all circumstances.