The Holy Gospel according to John (6:52-59).
The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?” Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day.
For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood is true drink. Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
The Gospel of the Lord.
Reflection: For the past 3 days, the Gospel has been from John, chapter 6, the bread of life discourse. In these Gospels, Jesus tells the crowds that he is the bread of life, and if we come to him, we will never hunger. Jesus also tells the crowds that he is the living bread that came down from heaven, and that whoever eats this bread will live forever. In today’s short Gospel, Jesus tells the crowds 3 times to eat his flesh and to drink his blood, saying his flesh is true food and his blood is true drink. And what happens to us when we do this? Jesus tells us we will have eternal life and will raise us on the last day. We remain in him and he in us, and we will live forever. The Catechism of the Catholic Church, paragraph 1396, states, “Life in Christ has its foundation in the Eucharistic banquet.” So, after all these things Jesus tells us, why wouldn’t we want to receive the Eucharist? The Eucharist is what sets us apart from the other Protestant churches. We believe the simple gifts of bread and wine that are brought to the table during the mass, become the Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity of our Lord, Jesus Christ. Many people, sadly, many of them Catholics, do not believe in the true presence.
This reminds me of Bishop Robert Barron telling of the encounter between Flannery O’Connor, a Catholic novelist/writer, and Mary McCarthy, a novelist who called herself an ex-Catholic who no longer practiced her faith. During a dinner conversation, Mary McCarthy called the Eucharist a very powerful symbol for Catholics. Flannery O’Connor responded, “Well, if it is just a symbol, to hell with it.” Flannery O’Conner was defending the real presence of Jesus Christ, Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity, in the Eucharist.
One more story that I heard some time ago. Imagine if your pastor advertised on social media that every one who came to mass on Sunday would receive a one carat diamond. I would venture to say that the crowds would be great and the line of people waiting to get to mass would be long. Well, at every mass at every Catholic Church, we have something more precious, more valuable than a diamond. We have the Eucharist, the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. A diamond does not feed us nor does it give us eternal life. Where are the crowds of people?
Action of the day: Jesus told us that he will always be with us. This is true in the gift of the Eucharist. Pray for the grace to NEVER take this gift of the Eucharist for granted.
Audio Reflection:
Thank you. God bless.