He Who Eats This Bread Will Live Forever

Written by Rev. Fr. Don Mendoza | 04 August 2012

TWENTIETH SUNDAY IN ORDINARY TIME
(Green) Cycle B, Year II (August 19, 2012)
Prv 9:1-16/Eph 5:15-20/Jn 6:51-58

Jesus Christ presents Himself in the gospel as real bread that must be shared with and eaten by the people for them to have eternal life. Many times in the Scriptures and in the gospel He speaks of Himself as the Bread of Life and its fundamental necessity for our salvation. Truly, Jesus is serious in this matter and He really means that we must believe that He is bread, a food that must be eaten for our salvation.

This eating of the body and drinking of the blood of Christ happens only in the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. For this reason, the Holy Catholic Church obliges us to attend the Holy Mass at least every Sunday because it is in the Sacred Meal of the Holy Mass will we be able to partake in Body and Blood of Christ. However, a lot of the catholic laity does not attend the Sunday Mass and this is most probably because they do not know the importance of faith, religious life and of the Holy Eucharist. In other words, these people need evangelization and catechesis. And among those who attend the Sunday Mass, only few take the Holy Communion. This is perhaps because they know that they are not in the state of grace and they are not prepared to go to Confession and to change their ways of life.

On the other hand, it is very clear in the gospel how Jesus Christ has repeatedly expressed the importance of eating His body as a means of salvation. There is really a need for us to partake in the Holy Communion and thus to prepare ourselves for this Sacred Union with God through the sacramental Body of Christ. The reason behind this is that we are all created in the image and likeness of God and our image of God is our spirit. God is a spirit and our spirits are but a share in the being of God. Our spiritual nature is then renewed and filled with life only with its union with God. Moreover, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, has incarnated and has become one of us in our human nature. We are then made one with Christ through His Incarnation. Our human nature then is only renewed and filled with life only with its union with Jesus Christ through the Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist.

We then ask ourselves: If we are Christians, followers of Christ, must we believe in the real presence of Christ in the Holy Eucharist? Must we eat the Body of Christ? Definitely Yes! If Christ is not really present in the Holy Eucharist, there is no sense in partaking in the Sacred Meal. On the other hand, if He really is present, all the more we are then obliged to eat His Body and even drink His Blood.

Eternal life is essentially connected with the Holy Eucharist because the Holy Eucharist is none other than Jesus Christ. Being God, Jesus Christ is the fountain and the fullness of eternal life. If we want to live forever and attain the fullness of life, we must be in communion with Jesus Christ and this can only be realized through the Holy Eucharist. Let us then give priority to the Holy Eucharist especially during Sundays and let us always prepare ourselves to partake in the Sacred Meal so that we may become worthy to take the Holy Communion which is the instrument for our eternal life and salvation.