A few years ago, I was at Church where a middle-school-aged boy said to everyone "it's just bread" referring to the Eucharist. I think the boy was saying out loud what many Catholics incorrectly believe to this day.
We Catholics believe that the Eucharist, is the source and summit of our faith. If the Eucharist is the source and summit of your faith, you should be able to answer this question: "Why is the Eucharist the source and summit of your faith?" This week's gospel helps us to understand the Eucharist more.
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.”
Ordinary Bread Versus Jesus
Jesus comes to us in the Eucharist, yet when we look upon the consecrated host, we might find ourselves "murmuring" just like the Jews in the Gospel. We might say something like, "That's Jesus? Is this not the bread that just came out of a plastic bag? Do we not know where it was manufactured? Does it not taste like bread?"
After the murmuring in the Gospel, Jesus says, "No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him". This seems to be a reference to baptism where we are given the gift of faith. In other words, we cannot believe in the Eucharist except by the hand of God which comes upon us at baptism (at baptism we receive a supernatural faith).
As Catholics we do NOT believe that the bread changes in a scientifically-measurable way. But don't we believe in electrons and atoms even though we have never seen them? We Catholics believe that the bread has become Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit even though we can see no difference. Now if the Eucharist is Jesus in his ENTIRETY, then how can the Eucharist NOT be the source and summit of our faith? Is it not Jesus whom we worship? Is he not the source of all that is good? Is he not God? Jesus is Lord. The Eucharist is Jesus. The Eucharist is the source and summit of our faith. If you find this difficult to believe, remember that there was only one teaching that resulted in some of Jesus' followers leaving him. It was the teaching of the Eucharist. You can read about Jesus' followers leaving him in John Chapter 6. Even the apostles who remained with Jesus had difficulty believing. In John 6:60 his disciples say to Jesus, "this saying is hard, who can accept it?"
If you are having difficulty believing that the Eucharist is Jesus, you should trust in God and use the faith he has given you. You must USE your God-given faith! After several of Jesus' healings, Jesus told the healed person "your faith has saved you". Now let's take a look at what happens at Mass every week.
Holy Mass
The Eucharist is the summary of our faith. The Eucharistic encounter is like the short story of man. God creates man, man needs God. God gives himself to man. Man accepts.
In the Eucharist, we can see that God gives himself to us freely. God knows that food alone does not satisfy the needs of man, but only God can do that. In his generosity, God gives man what man needs- God himself. In preparation for our weekly encounter with God at Mass, we refuse mortal sin (which makes us incompatible with God) and instead seek God even though many mortal sins can give us temporary pleasures (e.g. premarital sex, stealing, missing Mass etc).
When faced with the decision of whether or not to attend Mass, we might say just as the apostles said to Jesus "Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life." At the celebration of the Eucharist (Mass), we admit that we cannot live without God. We admit that the things of this world are not enough for us. We acknowledge that we need God and that we cannot live without him. And what does God say in reply? "Your faith has saved you."
Yes, it's neat that Elijah received food from God at a time when Elijah was fleeing for his life. But I am sure Elijah would have preferred to have what most of us have access to every day- the Euchurist. Jesus says in this week's Gospel "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.”
A Preview of Heaven
In this gospel, Jesus says, "I will raise him on the last day". What does this have to do with the Eucharist? Paragraph 1402 of the Catechism says that "If the Eucharist is the memorial of the Passover of the Lord Jesus, if by our communion at the altar we are filled "with every heavenly blessing and grace," then the Eucharist is also an anticipation of the heavenly glory."
That's right. Jesus says, "I will raise him on the last day because the Eucharist is very closely related to heaven. The activity that we do every weekend (Mass), which some Catholics find boring, is truly a snapshot of heaven. Perhaps what makes heaven so great is that God gives himself to us (even though we have done nothing to deserve his love) and like we do during Mass, the holy souls in heaven respond to God by acknowledging his greatness in never-ending praise. Can you believe that the same thing happens at Sunday Mass? God gives himself to us eternally, and we respond in praise (even our attendance is pleasing to him) and thanksgiving. At communion, we experience a real union with God as he becomes one with us and his divinity enters our bodies which can only happen because God has sanctified us through baptism.
When Jesus said, "Do this in memory of me", he didn't just mean that he wanted us to remember him. He was telling us to celebrate the Mass; to break bread with one another. And of course part of Mass includes an invitation to participate in communion. We have an opportunity to respond to the invitation to holy communion as Mary responded- "Behold, I am the servant (handmaid) of the Lord. May it be done to me according to your word."
Because the Lord cares so much about us, he gives himself to us at Mass. He does this because he loves us.
Read more about the Eucharist
Reading 1
1 Kgs 19:4-8
Elijah went a day’s journey into the desert,
until he came to a broom tree and sat beneath it.
He prayed for death saying:
“This is enough, O LORD!
Take my life, for I am no better than my fathers.”
He lay down and fell asleep under the broom tree,
but then an angel touched him and ordered him to get up and eat.
Elijah looked and there at his head was a hearth cake
and a jug of water.
After he ate and drank, he lay down again,
but the angel of the LORD came back a second time,
touched him, and ordered,
“Get up and eat, else the journey will be too long for you!”
He got up, ate, and drank;
then strengthened by that food,
he walked forty days and forty nights to the mountain of God, Horeb.
Responsorial Psalm
Ps 34:2-3, 4-5, 6-7, 8-9
R. (9a) Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
I will bless the LORD at all times;
his praise shall be ever in my mouth.
Let my soul glory in the LORD;
the lowly will hear me and be glad.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Glorify the LORD with me,
Let us together extol his name.
I sought the LORD, and he answered me
And delivered me from all my fears.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Look to him that you may be radiant with joy.
And your faces may not blush with shame.
When the afflicted man called out, the LORD heard,
And from all his distress he saved him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
The angel of the LORD encamps
around those who fear him and delivers them.
Taste and see how good the LORD is;
blessed the man who takes refuge in him.
R. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.
Reading II
Eph 4:30—5:2
Brothers and sisters:
Do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God,
with which you were sealed for the day of redemption.
All bitterness, fury, anger, shouting, and reviling
must be removed from you, along with all malice.
And be kind to one another, compassionate,
forgiving one another as God has forgiven you in Christ.
So be imitators of God, as beloved children, and live in love,
as Christ loved us and handed himself over for us
as a sacrificial offering to God for a fragrant aroma
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