19TH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME B
THIS TEACHING IS TRUE!
JN 6: 41-51
MESSAGE
“I am the Bread of Life.” The Lord Jesus repeatedly identified himself with Bread. So was this a simple illustration of something else o was it a clear teaching he wants all to learn? He also said: “… whoever eats this bread will live forever.” So it does not seem to be just a figure of speech; it was a teaching that carries with it a promise – life! He continued: “this bread is my flesh.” How can simple bread give life? It can happen only if the bread truly refers becomes his flesh, his Body.
And from Jesus’ preaching, the teaching continued up to the Last Supper, when he took the bread and said: “This is my Body,” and the wine: “This is my Blood.” The bread will be “given up for you” while the wine will result in the “forgiveness of sins.” How clearly and powerfully expressed! And just as we think it is over, we read from the writings of the apostles, from the teachings of St. Paul, and the Fathers of the Church, about the Bread that gives life, the Blood that brings salvation. From Jesus to our time, the truth of the teaching remains.
In the USA these days, they are having a Eucharistic revival, because church authorities learned that even among Catholics, very few believe that Jesus is present in the Bread and Wine of the Eucharist. Filipinos on the other hand, showed in a survey how strongly they believe that the Lord Jesus is truly present in his Body and Blood at Mass. Indeed, this is a grace, a gift of faith that only the Father can plant into our hearts. However, is our belief in the teaching also our guide in life?
REFLECT
If you truly believe that Jesus is present in the Holy Communion you receive at Mass, in the Bread and Wine of the Eucharist, how does this affect your life? How does it translate into your way of serving and loving others? How does it challenge you to do your part in making a better world?
