“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.”
Those words should not disturb Catholics who grow up believing in the Real Presence of the Body and Blood of Jesus under the appearance of bread and wine after the words of Consecration of the priest, in Persona Christi. But for the multitude of people who were fed by Jesus after he prayed over a few loaves and fish, and who sought him out for more such food, the response of Jesus that his flesh is bread for the life of the world must have been disturbing, maybe even repulsive. They did not understand Jesus that his “flesh” is who he is, what he does, what he says; that becoming his “flesh” in the world is the way to eternal life.
St. John reports that, “As a result of this, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” When we receive the Body and Blood of Jesus we have the responsibility to be the “flesh” of Jesus in the world, if we hope to live forever.
Do we fully understand that? Do we do that? Or do we “return to our former way of life”?
