Petition: My Lord and My God, become my bread!

 

Gospel Passage: John. 6: 51-58

 

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." The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."

  

Introductory Prayer: I believe in you, Jesus, that you are really present in the Eucharist that you are my Lord and my God. Your body is the food of my spirit and the hope of my heart. I trust that just being in your presence with my poor faith allows me to receive renewal of strength and an increase of faith, hope and love. I love you Lord, especially for giving me this unequalled gift of your life and self in the Eucharist. May my Communion become fruitful by a grateful and faithful living of this intimate friendship. And may I share it with others.

  

1. The bread that I will give is my flesh

 

When we think of bread we think of what we earn or what will satisfy our hunger. Jesus has another idea. He identifies himself as the bread of life. He is the Eucharist. So he is both gift and giver. He is first of all a gift of thanksgiving, (meaning of Eucharist in Greek), to the Father. In his final Encyclical, John Paul II reflects that Jesus life giving sacrifice is first and foremost a gift to the Father: a sacrifice that the Father accepted, giving, in return for this total self-giving by his Son, who 'became obedient unto death' (Philippians 2:8), his own paternal gift, that is to say the grant of new immortal life in the resurrection. (Ecclesia de Eucharistia, 13) Thus Jesus becomes also a gift of salvation for us. The Son of God takes on flesh only to be able to give it up and give it to us. In his book on the Eucharist Pope Benedict XVI says: The first thing it (the Eucharist) tells us is that God gives himself to us so that we, in turn, can give ourselves. (A God Who is Near)

 

The first challenge of faith then in the Eucharist is to believe that God has made himself a gift for me. If I believe, I am grateful and want to express my gratitude as best I can. My debt of gratitude for all I have received (life, health, family, friends, a mission in), is made all the more pressing when I consider to what extremes God has gone to bless me. He took on flesh. He died to give me new life, new flesh. He left me himself captured in a Sacrament of Love, the Eucharist. What thanksgiving do I give?

  

2. Unless you eat

 

Source and summit of Christian life(EE,1; Lumen Gentium, 11), the Eucharist is not just another aspect of Catholic faith or life, it is the heart of it all. When Jesus encountered people during his walk among us, he challenged them to believe. In the end he was inviting them to believe in him, Gods gift of love for them. All who crossed his path would have this option, believe and eat his body or reject him and walk away. We too, struggle to believe, "How can this man give us (his) flesh to eat?"

 

What does it mean to eat his body? The language Jesus uses, chew my body, along with unbroken Christian tradition, makes it clear that he was speaking literally. He wants us to eat his body, by receiving him in Eucharistic communion. But this communion of life with the Lord also signifies a bond of communion between us and God, the life of grace, (strengthened by the Eucharist), and a bond of communion with his body, outward union with the Church. So we must be a Catholic, in the state of grace to receive him. And we must then live his life, (faith, hope and love) as well as his mission. Unless I go to Mass regularly, practice frequent confession and then strive to live his life and work, how can I have life?

 

In his last letter to priests, John Paul II says that he (the priest) must learn to apply them (take and eat) to himself. If he is able to offer himself as a gift, placing himself at the disposal of the community and at the service of anyone in need, his life takes on its true meaning. (Letter to Priests, Holy Thursday 2005)

 

3. Eternal Life

 

The flesh of Jesus stands in stark contrast with the flesh of the world. Passing passions and pleasures that only create more hunger and emptiness can hardly be compared with the bread that gives life forever. But this eternal life is not just continued living; it is perfect fulfillment and spiritual joy that goes far beyond those of the flesh. Eternal life is what we long for, even if we are unaware. Like the Samaritan woman we should plead, Lord, give me this water! (John. 4:15) Or with the Disciples of Emmaus we should exclaim, Stay with us, Lord! (Luke.24:29) Have I recognized and developed my hunger for God, for the Eucharist?

 

The object of my desire is not so far away. It is more real than all the sensual pleasures and goods of this world combined. Intimacy with God is now possible, because he has come down and become our bread. John Paul II adds:  Those who feed on Christ in the Eucharist need not wait until the hereafter to receive eternal life: they already possess it on earth, as the first-fruits of a future fullness which will embrace man in his totality. (EE, 18)

 

"The more we enter into the night of the misunderstood mystery the more we trust him, the more we find him, the more we discover the love and freedom that sustain us through all the nights. God gives so that we can give. This is the essence of the Eucharistic sacrifice, of the sacrifice of Jesus Christ." (Benedict XVI, A God Who is Near)

 

Conversation: Dear Lord, help me to believe and even understand that I need you. Make my appetite for the world, diminish and my hunger for you grow. Help me to believe that you can satisfy my deepest and strongest desires, that you are my strength that you are near. Teach to prepare well to receive you, that I may eat you in the Sacrament and with my life of service. May my life be a gift like yours.

  

Questionnaire:

 

1. What are the breads of my life that I most hunger for? How often do I reflect on and seek ways to express my gratitude for all that I have received?  What are the ways in which God wants me to give back to him the gifts with which he has blessed me?

 

2. What are the ways in which I eat his body and drink his blood? How do I prepare to receive him in communion? What signs do I give, after having received him at Mass, of the communion that I am living?

 

3. How is the Eucharist at the center of my prayer life? How can I describe the peace that communion and Eucharistic adoration give to my life? How do I develop my hunger for God and his blessings in prayer? What are the childlike qualities that help this happen in me?