Today’s Gospel passage sums up the core of our Catholic faith. As impossible as it may seem, Jesus said, “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life.” It was a radical teaching, causing the Jews to argue, and many gave up following Jesus. They were hearing a human being tell them to eat His flesh and drink His blood. It was incomprehensible.
After two thousand years of teaching on the subject, those who fully believe in the Eucharist understand Jesus’s words. But His followers had no context, and they didn’t know that Jesus would give His life for their eternal life. The Apostles and other faithful disciples continued to follow Jesus without fully understanding. Still, they believed. They trusted in their Lord as we do when we take part in the Sacrifice of the Mass.
Today is the Feast of Corpus Christi, which celebrates the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. How long does it take for us to truly believe that the Eucharist is the Body of Christ? Most children receive this gift without giving it a second thought. As young communicants, we were told that this is the Body of Christ, and, like many things that our parents tell us at a young age, we simply accepted it as true. When we got older, we may have used our newly developed scientific minds to view it as simply a representation of the Body of Christ in the form of bread and not the real deal.
Many have struggled their whole lives to believe. As sinful humans, we tend to question everything, even the Son of God, and the validity of His Body in the Eucharist. Reread the passage. Jesus doesn’t say, “Believe in my Body and then eat it,” He just says to eat of it. “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.” No questions asked.
And so, let us not question this command, but carry it out as obedient followers of Christ. Perhaps through their obedience, one who questions whether the Eucharist is the true Body of Christ will come to believe. May the grace we receive when going to Mass, listening to the Scriptures, and receiving the Eucharist lead us to gratefully and truly accept what Jesus has told us with His own words: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.”
El pasaje del Evangelio de hoy resume la esencia de nuestra fe católica. Por imposible que parezca, Jesús dijo: “El que come mi carne y bebe mi sangre, tiene vida eterna”. Fue una enseñanza radical, que provocó discusiones entre los judíos, y muchos dejaron de seguir a Jesús. Estaban escuchando a un ser humano decirles que comieran su carne y bebieran su sangre. Era incomprensible.
Después de dos mil años de enseñanza sobre el tema, quienes creen plenamente en la Eucaristía comprenden las palabras de Jesús. Pero sus seguidores no tenían contexto, y no sabían que Jesús daría su vida para darles vida eterna. Los apóstoles y otros discípulos fieles continuaron siguiendo a Jesús sin comprenderlo completamente. Aun así, creyeron. Confiaron en su Señor, como nosotros lo hacemos cuando participamos en el Sacrificio de la Misa.
Hoy es la Fiesta del Corpus Christi, que celebra la presencia real de Jesús en la Eucaristía. ¿Cuánto tiempo nos lleva creer verdaderamente que la Eucaristía es el Cuerpo de Cristo? La mayoría de los niños reciben este don sin pensarlo dos veces. De pequeños, cuando recibimos la Primera Comunión, nos dijeron que este era el Cuerpo de Cristo, y, como muchas cosas que nuestros padres nos dicen a temprana edad, simplemente lo aceptamos como verdad. Al crecer, quizás usamos nuestra mente científica, recién desarrollada, para verlo simplemente como una representación del Cuerpo de Cristo en forma de pan y no como el verdadero Cuerpo.
Muchos han luchado toda su vida para creer. Como seres humanos pecadores, tendemos a cuestionarlo todo, incluso al Hijo de Dios y la validez de su Cuerpo en la Eucaristía. Releamos el pasaje. Jesús no dice: “Crean en mi Cuerpo y luego cómanlo”, simplemente dice que lo coman. “Yo les aseguro: Si no comen la carne del Hijo del hombre y no beben su sangre, no podrán tener vida en ustedes.” Sin dejar lugar a dudas.
Por lo tanto, no cuestionemos este mandato, sino que lo cumplamos como seguidores obedientes de Cristo. Quizás, a través de su obediencia, quien cuestiona si la Eucaristía es el verdadero Cuerpo de Cristo llegue a creer. Que la gracia que recibimos al asistir a Misa, escuchar las Escrituras y recibir la Eucaristía nos lleve a aceptar con gratitud y sinceridad lo que Jesús nos ha dicho con sus propias palabras: “Yo soy el pan vivo que ha bajado del cielo”.
Anita Renaghan is the author of several books including literary fiction, science fiction, and a young adult trilogy. She loves a good character study and has been many characters herself including: an aircraft mechanic in the Air Force, a college graduate, a second degree blackbelt, lost, a waitress and bartender, a wife and mother, an account executive, found, and a constantly inventive singer-songwriter. Anita is interested in sharing her faith with others through her writings and story characters. Her website is anitarenaghan.com
Feature Image Credit: finix photographer, pexels.com/photo/priest-performing-eucharist-ceremony-with-incense-32747885/
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