Jesus Gives Communion by Pfarrkirche Kaisermühlen, 19th Century
Gospel Jn 6:41-51
The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, "I am the bread that came down from heaven, "
and they said, "Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, 'I have come down from heaven'?"
Jesus answered and said to them, "Stop murmuring among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets: They shall all be taught by God. Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father. Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die. I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world."
REFLECTION
"I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die."
We know Jesus died for our salvation, so what do we need the Eucharist for? His sacrifice is real, our commitment to Him wavers. Sometimes we follow Him without a question, and sometimes we wander away.
The Sacraments of reconciliation (confession), and the Eucharist help us come back to Christ, and be nourished by Him.
What happens when we eat good nutritious foods? Our bodies get nourished and transform those vitamins, minerals, proteins in all the things we need to survive. What more happens when we receive Communion?
Pope Benedict XVI tells us:
"The Body and Blood of Christ are given to us so that we ourselves will be transformed in our turn. We are to become the Body of Christ, his own Flesh and Blood. We all eat the one bread, and this means that we ourselves become one. In this way, adoration, as we said earlier, becomes union. God no longer simply stands before us as the One who is totally Other. He is within us, and we are in him. His dynamic enters into us and then seeks to spread outwards to others until it fills the world, so that his love can truly become the dominant measure of the world. (Pope Benedict XVI, Homily at Marienfeld, Twentieth World Youth Day [August 21, 2005])"
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