Scripture readings for today's reflection can be found at Friday of the Third Week of Easter | USCCB
In
our gospel for today, we hear the continuation of the Bread of Life Discourse
from the Gospel of John, chapter six. In yesterday’s gospel we heard Jesus tell
us, “I am the bread of life.” (John 6:48). Today we
hear that the Jews were amazed and probably disgusted, “How can this Man giveus his Flesh to eat?” (John 6:52). The Jews thought that he was teaching cannibalism.
Instead, Jesus was speaking spiritually.
He was already intending to bring us his body and
blood in the Eucharist at the Last Supper and to commission his disciples to
continue to do so through each Holy Mass that has been celebrated since His
ascension into Heaven. This teaching of His Body and Blood went beyond anything
the Jews could possibility know or understand.
At each Mass we, as Catholics, know and believe that
the Bread and Wine, once the priest speaks the words of Consecration, are
receiving the Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. Based on today’s
gospel and the words of Jesus, we know and believe that the Host and Wine is
more than just a symbol of the Body and Blood of Christ. It truly IS Christ.
Further, we believe the words of Jesus when he tells
us, “Whoevereats my flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on thelast day.” (John 6:54) As a result of this belief in the Real Presence of Jesus
in the Blessed Sacrament, we need and should go to confession often to be
prepared to receive the Lord worthily. In the 1st Letter of St. Paul
to the Corinthians, Paul tells us, “Therefore whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the
Lord unworthily will have to answer for the body and blood of the Lord.” (1
Corinthians 11:27). Paul believed in the Real Presence and as a result
encouraged those who read his letters to be prepared to receive communion
worthily.
As we approach the Lord for Holy Communion at each
mass, let us silently pray these words, “My Lord and my God.” Then as we give
thanks for this great gift of the Lord’s Body and Blood, let us pray for tall
those among our family and friends, who may not believe as we do, that they may
come to faith that Jesus Christ is truly present, Body, Blood, Soul, and
Divinity at every mass.
From Arlene B. Muller
ReplyDeleteThe Real Presence of Our LORD JESUS CHRIST in the Eucharist is a great MYSTERY, & at the beginning of Mass the priest presiding at Mass leads us in the Penitential Rite as our way to "celebrate the SACRED MYSTERIES". We really cannot know or understand HOW Our LORD JESUS CHRIST can at the same time be fully intact & sitting at the right hand of our Heavenly Father in heaven while each of the many Sacred Hosts received by every member of the congregation at a Catholic Mass are His entire Body, Blood, Soul & Divinity. But it is TRUE. A MYSTERY OF FAITH is something that our human minds, as great as they are, can never fully understand but yet believe. If we try to figure it out we only get confused. It is MIND BOGGLING! But we know that JESUS CHRIST is fully GOD & fully human--the Mystery of His Incarnation--and we know that He promised in this passage from the 6th chapter of St. John's GOSPEL to give us the ability to eat His flesh, we know that at the Last Supper He held up the bread & said "THIS IS MY BODY" & held up the cup/chalice of wine & said "THIS IS MY BLOOD" & made this happen for the first time, even though He was still sitting at the table with His disciples at the same time, & He said "DO THIS IN MEMORY OF ME" to His disciples, thus giving both the command & the ability to consecrate the bread & wine to become His BODY, BLOOD, SOUL & DIVINITY to His apostles & from them to every Catholic priest, & we know that because JESUS CHRIST IS GOD that He is fully able to do whatever He says & is always faithful to keep His promises.
Especially in this age we human beings have difficulty believing what we do not understand, partially because we pride ourselves on the extent to which our knowledge, especially of science, has advanced & partially because we have often been deceived because of our gullibility toward mere human leaders who promised great things but were evil. Tragically our human nature THROUGHOUT human history has led people to believe evil & false leaders while at the same time becoming skeptical toward GOD, the only One who is fully deserving of our faith & trust.
If we really think about it, GOD has filled our lives with miracles & mysteries all around us that we know & experience but can never fully understand. For example, every human being that we see began living as a few cells that contained our unique DNA at the moment of conception in the wombs of our mothers, grew & developed in this hidden & secret place, emerged several months later as babies & then grew through various stages (infancy, childhood, adolescence) into adulthood & will someday die & enter into eternity.
We need to be more wary of the many voices of human beings who are not deserving of our trust & we need to humble ourselves & believe & trust in Our LORD JESUS CHRIST Who has so often proven Himself worthy of our trust. We need to be humble enough to acknowledge that as intelligent & capable as we human beings may be, GOD is greater & we must humble ourselves & take the leap of faith in trusting & believing in Him & His miracles & mysteries we can never fully understand in this life, including His Real Presence in the Eucharist.