For some weeks now, our readings especially, the gospel have continued to tell us that Jesus is the bread of life. This is simply to remind us of the importance of the Holy Eucharist in our Christian life. Eucharist means thanksgiving. So, today filled with the Holy Spirit, we give thanks to God for this precious gift. In today’s gospel when Christ said: “I am the living bread come down from heaven, anyone who eats this bread will live forever…”, the Jews became enraged. The reason is simple. They were full of pride and lacked true wisdom. They could not comprehend what Christ meant. They refused to be humbled, in order to become wise in the ways of God. The question is : Why does Jesus give us his flesh and blood? Again, the answer comes in Jesus’ own words, “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink.” The food we most need is food for eternal life, food for our soul. It takes an act of faith. Peter didn’t understand but he did believe. We are called to do the same. What we celebrate in the Eucharist is a mystery. We come into the church from a physical world. In faith we are called to look beyond the physical. We may not understand the Real Presence in human terms. Even before we come to the Eucharist, we might struggle some to understand what we hear in the readings at Mass. What does this mean for us today? To open ourselves to what God offers us at Mass, I encourage you to put a little preparation into it. Look at the readings before or after Mass and ask God to help you understand. I encourage you to say a prayer before we Mass begins to ask God to help you open yourself to what He offers you. We come here in faith but a faith that might not be perfect.
