A reading from the holy Gospel according to John
Jesus said, “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.”
Speaking to some of the Jews who were quarreling among each other, Jesus says these words. They say, “How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?” Accepted today as a central tenet of the faith, the Eucharist that Jesus describes to the people of his time must have seemed bizarre and gruesome. But by comparing himself to manna that came down from heaven, Jesus brings the exodus into the present. He says to them, “Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” In this way, as the Son of God, Jesus is able to declare himself as the true food and true drink through which he will remain forever with those who believe him.
God, help me understand today’s Gospel. I’ve grown accustomed to hearing spoken at every Mass what must have been shocking to the people of Jesus’ time. Jesus said literally, “Eat my flesh and drink my blood.” As grotesque and bizarre as these words seem, they are the means to eternal life then and today through the love of the Father who draws us to him. From today’s Psalm, we hear: “For steadfast is his kindness toward us, and the fidelity of the LORD endures forever.” Thank you, God, for the Eucharist, the pure gift of fidelity of your Son. In it, Jesus is present unceasingly in the unbloody sacrifice of the Mass.
Thank you, Lord, for sending your Son. His words penetrate the hearts of all who hear him, and some choose not to follow. Give me the grace today to hear his word and follow him.
Glory be to the Father, and to the Son, and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.