First Reading: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14B-16A
Reflection:
The first reading this Sunday recounts the time after the Exodus when the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for 40 years. This was a time of testing for them and also an opportunity for them to grow in their trust of God. During this time, God provided miraculously for them through a bread-like food called “manna.” The manna appeared every morning on the ground and each person was to collect enough for that day. In fact, it would only last one day, going bad if they tried to keep it overnight. Every morning God provided His people with their “daily bread.” Because they had to trust that God would provide this miraculous bread each day, it taught them that “not by bread alone does one live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the LORD.”
This manna came to be called “bread from heaven,” and it pointed forward to the Eucharist–the true “bread from heaven”–which we celebrate on this Feast of Corpus Christi (“the Body of Christ”). Like the Israelites, we must trust that God provides supernatural sustenance for us through transforming mere bread and wine into the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus in the Eucharist. We take Him at his word that the Eucharist is the Real Presence of Jesus and is life-giving food for our souls (especially considering the words that we hear Jesus speak in this Sunday’s Gospel).
Second Reading: 1 Corinthians 10:16-17
Reflection:
Here the Apostle Paul gives witness to the celebration of the Eucharist in the Early Church. The Eucharist was instituted by Jesus at the Last Supper on the night before He was crucified. The early Christians gathered together to “break bread” in commemoration of those events, as has continued down to this day in the Mass. The “cup of blessing” Paul refers to would be the third cup in the Jewish Passover Seder liturgy, which is what Jesus and His disciples were celebrating at the Last Supper. In this liturgy, there are four cups of wine. The third cup—the “cup of blessing”—is believed to be the one Jesus consecrated, saying “This is my blood…” Paul evidences that the early Christians continued to bless the cup and break bread in order to participate in the body and blood of Christ. In other words, they celebrated the Eucharist and viewed it as the very body and blood of Christ, as the Catholic Church continues to teach. The Eucharist is also called communion because it unites us as the body of Christ. As Paul says, “we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.”
Gospel Reading: John 6:51-58
Reflection:
The gospel reading for this Sunday comes from the longer “Bread of Life Discourse” in John’s gospel. This dialogue of Jesus with the “Jewish crowds” took place at the time of the Passover and almost immediately after Jesus miraculously multiplied the loaves and fed the 5,000. This context itself points towards the Eucharist, which is the New Passover and an amazing miracle involving bread. Jesus references the manna in the wilderness, explaining that the Israelites ate that “bread from heaven” but still died. Jesus now offers the people a new “bread from heaven,” one that leads to eternal life. In fact, He says that He is the “living bread from heaven,” and we must eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have eternal life. As one might imagine, these words were scandalous to Jesus’ original audience. What could Jesus mean? He was speaking of the Eucharist, which He would institute at the Last Supper one year later. He was teaching His followers that He would pour out His flesh and blood on the cross and give them the Eucharist in order for them to consume His very body and blood sacramentally in communion. Thus, in this discourse, we hear Jesus teaching us about the Eucharist and emphasizing that it is His very body and blood (the Real Presence of Christ) given to us as nourishment for our souls and food for the journey to Heaven.
Application:
- The Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist can be a difficult teaching for both Catholics and non-Catholics to grasp. We take Jesus at His word, trusting that His very body, blood, soul, and divinity becomes present to us in the Eucharist. Do you believe it? Ask God to help you have the eyes of faith to believe in Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist. Thank God for this amazing gift and the opportunity to welcome Jesus into our lives in this tangible way.
- Consider ways you can grow in your devotion to Jesus in the Eucharist and how you might better be open to the grace offered to you through the Eucharist.
