His heart was moved with pity for them.

In today’s Gospel, Jesus steps off the boat and sees a vast crowd waiting for him. They are tired, confused, and searching. Instead of being annoyed or overwhelmed, “his heart was moved with pity for them, for they were like sheep without a shepherd.” This is one of the most beautiful descriptions of the heart of Christ. He does not look at human need with judgment or impatience, but with compassion. The people followed Jesus because they were hungry, not just for food, but for meaning, healing, and direction. Their hunger drew them to him. And when they reached him, he did not turn them away. He taught them. He stayed with them. He cared for them. This tells us something important: when we truly hunger for Jesus and come to him, he always responds with mercy. This hunger is not only emotional or intellectual. It is deeply spiritual. We hunger for peace, forgiveness, belonging, and hope. And Jesus meets that hunger most powerfully in the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, we do not just learn about Jesus—we receive him. We bring our weakness, our confusion, our wounds, and our emptiness, and he looks upon us with the same pity and love he showed the crowd. The first reading about Solomon helps us understand what true hunger looks like. When God offers Solomon anything he wants, Solomon does not ask for wealth, power, or long life. He asks for an “understanding heart.” Solomon hungers for wisdom and for the ability to do God’s will. And because his desire is pure, God blesses him beyond measure. This is how God responds to holy hunger. Psalm 119 echoes that same desire. To seek God with the whole heart is to admit that we need him. It is to stop pretending we are self-sufficient. It is to come before him honestly and say, “Lord, teach me. Feed me. Guide me.” In the Gospel, the crowd does not come with perfect lives. They come with questions, struggles, and emptiness. But they come. And that is enough for Jesus to be moved with pity. Today, the Lord asks us: What are you hungry for? If we hunger only for comfort, success, or control, we will always feel empty. But if we hunger for Jesus—especially in the Eucharist—he will always satisfy us. Not by removing every problem, but by filling our lives with his presence. May we never stop being hungry for Christ. And when we come to him in prayer, in Scripture, and above all in the Eucharist, may we trust that his heart is still moved with pity for us, and that he still longs to feed his people with love.