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.” These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.
REFLECTION:
This Gospel reading makes me think of the importance of the Holy Eucharist.
Today, a lady approached me, tears streaking her face just from the sight of me. That happens sometimes when my neck ticks on its own. That’s just the way life is now.
She asked about my family, not seeing anyone around me, and was surprised by my nonchalant response: “I don’t have anyone. I live alone.”
Her eyes widened, and she asked, “How do you survive?”
My response was, “Well, when I find myself collapsed on the floor, I just slowly get back up. So, I just have to take every day as it comes.”
When I see the words, “will live forever,” it actually sounds daunting to me. A year already feels like a decade, so “forever” doesn’t sound appealing at all. It’s not an incentive for me. So why receive the Holy Eucharist if “living forever” isn’t my goal? Is “because He said so” enough? To me, it is. But I can understand if someone else says it’s not enough.
So, I rake my brain for a reason to receive the Holy Eucharist besides obedience. Then it strikes me. For people like me, who aren’t surrounded by loving family or friends 24/7, if I’m not receiving any love from anyone, and if I don’t even love myself, where is the source of love coming from?
HE (Holy Eucharist) is the source of love.
God, who is all love, gives Himself through the Holy Eucharist. There are times I don’t even have the strength to get to church, but He finds someone to take me there so I can receive Him out of His Divine Mercy.
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