Trong những ngày trước, Chúa Giêsu đã làm phép lạ hoá bánh và cá ra nhiều để nuôi sống muôn người. Người Do Thái nhận ra có một điều đặc biệt ở đây, đó là Chúa Giêsu có thể là Đấng Thiên Sai hoặc ít nhất là một tiên tri. Họ đã tò mò tiếp tục theo Chúa. Họ đã thích thú tất cả những gì mà Chúa đã truyền dậy cho họ, cho dù họ vẫn chưa hiểu được một đoạn Thánh kinh hoàn toàn và chính xác, nhưng họ cũng đủ hiểu với những gì họ quen nghe, nên điều đó khiến họ không gặp những khó khăn. Họ tiếp tục đặt câu hỏi, tìm kiếm sự hiểu biết, đặc biệt là sự hiểu biết mà họ có thể thoải mái.
What is it I Truly Seek?
On the preceding day, Jesus multiplied loaves and fishes to feed the multitude. The Jews realize there is something special here, that Jesus may be the Messiah or at least a prophet. They are curious enough to continue following him and asking him questions. They have liked everything he has said up till now. Some of it they have not understood completely or correctly, but it has been close enough to what they are used to hearing that it causes them no great difficulty. They continue to ask questions, looking for understanding, especially understanding they can be comfortable with. What is my attitude when I question Our Lord about events and challenges in my life? Am I seeking to understand so I can embrace God’s plan better, or does my response depend on how much I comprehend?
2. Opening Our Horizons: Now Jesus has said something truly shocking. He wants them to eat his flesh and drink his blood! Up to this point, most of the crowd has been willing to accept him as a bread-provider. He fed them yesterday. Maybe, if they hang around long enough, he will do it again. Their ideas about the Messiah are too materialistic, based only on the re-establishment of David’s Kingdom at the expense of the Romans. Jesus, on the other hand, wants to take them to a new level. He wants to take them into the mystery of the loving generosity of God. As good as the manna in the wilderness was, he wants to give something much better. As wonderful as David’s Kingdom was, he wants to give a greater kingdom. This is so far beyond what they are looking for; they will not be able to understand what he is offering. It will have to be accepted in faith.
“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.” John 6:53–55
Human reason and free will are the most precious natural gifts God gave us. They are what separate us from every other animal. Human reason enables us to think critically, understand concepts, and arrive at conclusions. Central to our human reason is our free will, which enables us to act upon the conclusions we reach or to reject them, choosing instead to follow our disordered appetites and misguided desires. Though human reason was wounded by Original Sin, it was not completely destroyed. We must diligently strive to act rationally and in accord with common sense, adhering to the natural law that God has written on our souls. However, even though a rational approach to natural law will bring us a long way toward right living, it is not sufficient to lead us into the deeper truths of eternal salvation, promised to us in Jesus’ discourse on the Bread of Life, on which we have been reflecting.
By natural reason alone, the Eucharist makes no sense. How could that which appears to be a piece of bread be the “Flesh of the Son of Man” and a cup that appears to be wine be His Blood? Yet when we incorporate divine revelation into our reasoning, the Eucharist as the Flesh and Blood of Jesus, the Son of God, makes perfect sense: “…my Flesh is true food, and my Blood is true drink.” The Eucharist makes sense, but only when we listen with faith to the revelation Jesus gave to us. Today’s Gospel provides the clearest teaching we have ever received on this Precious Gift.
Today’s Gospel begins by relating that “The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, ‘How can this man give us his Flesh to eat?’” (John 6:52). They were quarreling because they were not opening their human reason to the light of Jesus’ revealed truth. In this exchange, the Eternal and Incarnate Son of God was speaking a divine truth to them. Jesus spoke clearly and plainly, but their minds remained closed. They heard His words, but they closed themselves off to the Father’s Voice, which testified on Jesus’ behalf that all He said was true. It seems that some who listened began to understand and believe, prompting the quarrel among them.
Truths of faith, such as our belief in the Eucharist, must be more certain than any other natural truth we believe. No rational person would deny the reality of the physical world we see with our eyes or touch with our hands. The noises we hear, the food we taste, and the aroma we smell are all judged as real because we believe what our five senses perceive. When our consciences perceive divine truths, those truths are more certain than all sensory knowledge. Why? Because God is the one directly communicating to us.
Reflect today on Jesus’ crystal-clear teaching on the Eucharist. We must hear and understand what He said. Our faith in the Eucharist must become certain. Allow the Father’s Voice to resonate within your mind so that you are more certain that the Eucharist is the Flesh and Blood of the Son of God than anything else you believe. Strengthen your faith, knowing that His Flesh and Blood bring you to eternal life.
My Eucharistic Lord, I believe that You gave Your life for the salvation of all and that the gift of eternal salvation is given to us through the Sacraments. I believe that the Eucharist is Your Flesh and Blood, Your Divine Essence. Please strengthen my faith so that I am more open to the abundant grace You wish to bestow through the Precious Gift. Jesus, I trust in You.
Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have generously bestowed the beginning of eternal life upon me. I did nothing to merit this grace and initial share in your life. Help me to collaborate with your grace so that I may attain the consummation of heavenly glory.
1. The Incorporation of Saul into the Body of Christ: Saul was called to form part of the Body of Christ. Saul was passionate by temperament, learned in Sacred Scripture, and a man of conviction. God wanted all these talents to be placed at the service of the Gospel. Saul was an instrument chosen by God and will be the one to carry the name of the Lord to the Gentiles and the children of Israel. Saul will “open the eyes of the people so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may obtain forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been consecrated by faith” (Acts 26:18). Saul was baptized by Ananias. This was his incorporation into the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ. Saul will suffer for the name of Jesus: he was stoned, beaten, and imprisoned on account of the Gospel. He will ultimately give his life for Christ through martyrdom. He encountered the risen Christ and now shares in Christ’s resurrection.
Friday of the Third Week of Easter
“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. John 6:53–55
On a philosophical level, it’s useful to consider various things that appear to be “competing forces.” Good appears to be the opposite of evil. Light the opposite of dark. Heat the opposite of cold. And life the opposite of death. But are they truly opposites in the sense of being competing forces? When considered carefully, it is clear that good and evil, light and dark, heat and cold, and life and death are not actually “competing forces;” rather, evil is simply the absence of good, darkness the absence of light, cold the absence of heat, and death the loss of life. And though this philosophical distinction may not seem that interesting to some, and confusing to others, it is a helpful truth to ponder in light of today’s Gospel.
Today’s Gospel tells us that failure to “eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood” results in death. Death is the loss of life, and the Eucharist is the source of life. Jesus says that if you fail to eat His Flesh and drink His Blood, “you do not have life within you.”
This bold teaching of Jesus should cause us to stop and examine our approach to the Most Holy Eucharist. Sometimes we can fall into the trap of thinking that going to Mass and receiving Communion is something we do as a “favor” to our Lord. But in truth, it’s God’s most profound favor to us, because the Eucharist is the gateway to eternal life. And without it, we have no life within us. Our spirits die because we lose the presence of God.
Looking at the negative effect of not receiving the Most Holy Eucharist can be very useful. Sometimes we need to consider the consequences of our actions as a way of motivating us to greater fidelity. For that reason, considering the fact that failure to eat the Flesh of the Son of God results in death should be very motivating. It should fill us with a holy fear of the loss of the life-giving presence of God within us. This “holy fear” is a true gift from God and is, in fact, one of the Seven Gifts of the Holy Spirit.
Reflect, today, upon your interior attitude toward the Most Holy Eucharist. Do you see your participation in the Holy Mass more as a favor you offer to our Lord? Or do you see it as it is: the life-giving source of eternal life? Reflect upon how important this precious gift truly is and recommit yourself to a faithful and devout participation in this most holy Gift.
My Eucharistic Lord, Your Flesh and Blood are truly the source of eternal life for all who receive You in faith. I thank You, dear Lord, for this most precious Gift of the Most Holy Eucharist, and I pray that I will be filled with a deep hunger and thirst for You always. Jesus, I trust in You.
1. How Can This Man Give Us His Flesh to Eat? It is understandable that many of the Judeans who heard Jesus preach in the synagogue at Capernaum about the need to eat his flesh and drink his blood did not fully understand or grasp what Jesus was saying. Naturally, they quarreled and fought one another about the meaning of Jesus’ words. In response to their question, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?,” Jesus repeats three times that they need to eat his flesh and drink his blood. The first time, he says that those who do not do this will not have life. The second time, he promises the gift of eternal life and resurrection to those who eat his flesh and drink his blood. The third time, he says that this will cause a mutual indwelling: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood, remains in me and I in him” (John 6:56).
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