19th Sunday, Eucharist Gives Life

 

In the Gospel today, the Jews murmured because Jesus said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.” They wondered how He could come down from heaven. After all, they knew His parents, Mary and Joseph. They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know His father and mother?”

How could they have known that Jesus came down from heaven, especially if Jesus lived for 30 years in their home town of Nazareth? They couldn’t have witnessed the incarnation, when Jesus really did come down from heaven, in the womb of the Blessed Virgin Mary at Her home. It’s no wonder they did not understand Our Blessed Lord’s words, “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.”

Although they could not comprehend, they took what Jesus said literally. How can what appears to be a mere man, give His flesh for the life of the world? It was not until the Last Supper, and then after His death on the Cross and His resurrection would they be able to understand.

We know that Jesus did give us His body and blood at the Last Supper and then gave us Body and Blood on the Cross, so that we may eat His flesh and drink His blood in the Eucharist, every time we come to Mass.

“..the bread I will give, is my Flesh for the life of the world.”

With these words of Our Lord today, we come to know the Eucharist is no ordinary bread and in fact is not bread at all, but rather truly gives life to the world. When we receive Holy Communion, we receive many spiritual gifts.

The most profound gift we receive when we receive Holy Communion is union with Jesus, that it is why it’s called Holy Communion. We become one with Our Lord in a deep and intimate way when we receive Him in the Eucharist. And in this one-ness, there is a great exchange of love. Our hearts are open to receive His love and His Heart is open to receive our love in the Eucharist. There is a true union of two hearts.

Another beautiful gift we receive from Holy Communion is the gift to endure ordinary sufferings of daily life, which at times can be overwhelming. As St. Ambrose said, “Communion is the remedy for our daily needs”.

St. Ignatius of Antioch said, “The Eucharist is the medicine of immortality, antidote against death, and food by which to live forever in Jesus Christ.” First, we can say, the Eucharist keeps the soul alive by preventing it from falling into mortal sin.

Second, the Eucharist continually heals the wounds of sin caused by original and personal sin. Third, the Eucharist also gives the soul the gift of eternal life, so that it may live forever with Jesus in heaven.

Besides the Eucharist being the manner in which each of us become one with Him, being a remedy for daily needs, for preventing the soul from dying, sustaining it by keeping it full of life, and giving it the gift of eternal life, it also gives us an incredible spiritual joy, when we receive Our Lord in Holy Communion.

The grace we receive in Holy Communion gives delight to the person, who receives it. There is a real spiritual delight, a hidden joy, which comes from receiving Our Lord in Holy Communion. And nothing can be compared to this joy, to the friendship, and nearness of Jesus, who comes to dwell within us. The peace of Christ gives us a true foretaste of eternal happiness. As St. John Vianney said, “all the happiness we can have in this life, consists in receiving Our Lord in Holy Communion.”

Hidden under what appears to be bread, Our Blessed Lord wants us to receive Him frequently, everyday if possible. Jesus is constantly calling us and patiently waiting for us,-- to come to Him-, He who is our greatest treasure, which our soul delights the most.

But the Eucharist is not only for us, Our Lord also wants us to go out and bring others to Him, so that His Heart may be united with each and every heart. He longs to come to dwell within each heart, and give everyone His life giving and sanctifying grace, so that all may be one with Him in heaven.

Today, Jesus is asking each of us to bring others to Him. He wants us to be real apostles of the Eucharist. Therefore, through the intercession of the Our Lady, the Mother of the Eucharist, may we have the zeal to invite others to become Catholic, that they may be filled with the love and the life of Jesus, truly present in the Eucharist, so that all may live with Jesus forever in heaven.