A reading from the Holy Gospel according to John 6:44-51
Jesus said to the crowds:
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world.”
(The Gospel of the Lord. Praise to you Lord Jesus Christ!)
Reflection: Jesus is the bread of life!
About 16 years ago, as I waited to fall in line to receive communion. Our Pastor motioned to me and my beloved to come to the altar. My wife, Lillybeth went up right away so I thought that everything was okay. Then I noticed that Fr. Tony kept motioning to me to come over as well. Little did I know that he was going to deputize us to help distribute Holy Communion as he also handed me a ciborium.
I remember distinctly the moment I received the ciborium as I marveled at what I was carrying. Without thinking, I impulsively raised the ciborium slightly above the height of my elbows, to the level of my chest in great awe and wonder as I honored God’s presence. Lord Jesus, this is really you, your body is right in front of me. Thank you for the privilege to share your body to all the faithful!
I felt such peace and joy in my heart as I sensed the great presence of our Lord Jesus’ spirit with each person approaching me. I offered consecrated hosts to everyone in line by proclaiming, “the body of Christ”, and each person receiving agreed and assented with an “Amen”!
What a beautiful love God grants us! Our Lord Jesus shares of Himself through the most Holy Eucharist!
From that time on the Holy Spirit prompted my wife and I to learn how we can serve God more through our church community.
Brothers and sisters! Our Lord Jesus is the bread of life! He strengthens and leads us to live lives of holiness, to lead us to eternal life! Jesus is the living bread that came down from heaven! He shares his holy body and blood with us at every Mass to allow all the faithful to one day be reunited in Paradise, to live forever! Our Lord Jesus is preparing a place for us in Heaven where there is no more suffering and no more sadness!
Proclaim the good news to everyone! Jesus is the bread of life!
Action for the Day:
In silent prayer ask God to continue to increase our faith, to guide us with His Spirit on how to share the good news of His great love to everyone. Lord Jesus, help us to discern daily to follow your holy will. How can we serve you today?
Audio Reflection:
