June 11, 2023: Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ

Gospel: John 6:51-18

Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: “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 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.”

Reflection

This is a beautiful passage from the Bread of Life Sermon laid out in the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. As I read and reflect on this portion, I wonder how I might have received this message if I had heard it as one of Jesus’ followers. Would I have walked away in sadness and confusion as did many others?

We hear this passage as believers and as recipients of years of Eucharistic theology and thus have been blessed to have some understanding of the meaning of Jesus’ words. 

Yet with each reception of the Eucharist, I pray that we deepen our understanding of this gift.  May we remember, as Paul encourages us to do in our second reading today, that by participating in the Eucharist we truly participate in the life and death of Christ.

Action

As we prepare for this year of National Eucharistic Revival, I pray that we will be open to learning at a deeper level what Jesus intended as he gave us the gift of his Body and Blood.

Help us to remember this week that as we share in the Eucharist as community we become one body in Christ. As one body in the shared gift of Eucharist, how will we love and minister to the needs of our world?