John 6:52-59

Acts 9:1-20

Psalm 117:1bc, 2

John 6:52-59

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."

These things he said while teaching in the synagogue in Capernaum.

Opening Prayer: Lord God, you have generously bestowed the beginning of eternal life upon me. I did nothing to merit this grace and initial share in your life. Help me to collaborate with your grace so that I may attain the consummation of heavenly glory.

Encountering the Word of God

1. Jesus Responds to Questions about the Eucharist: In the Gospel, Jesus is finishing his discourse in the synagogue in Capernaum. He has just alluded to the great truth of the Eucharist and, in response, the crowds begin to quarrel among themselves since they don’t understand how Jesus can give them his Flesh to eat. Jesus responds to their question by reiterating three things. First, he says to the crowds that unless they eat the Flesh of the Son of Man, they will not have life. This is because Jesus’ Flesh and Blood bestow eternal life on those who partake of them. Second, when we eat the Flesh of Christ and drink his Blood, we enter into communion with him: Jesus remains in us and we remain in Jesus. “Life in Christ has its foundation in the Eucharistic banquet” (CCC, 1391). Communion with the Flesh of the risen Christ “preserves, increases, and renews the life of grace received at Baptism” (CCC, 1392). Third, Jesus is able to give eternal life to us because he has received life from the Father. John alludes to this in his prologue: “In him was life and the life was the light of men” (John 1:4). Jesus himself proclaims to his Apostles that he is “the way, the truth, and the life” (John 14:6). The life we are called to share in, through Jesus Christ, is divine life.

2. The Church as the Body of Christ: Through the Eucharist, we are united to Christ and are united in one body, the Church. As Communion, the Eucharist “renews, strengthens, and deepens this incorporation into the Church, already achieved by Baptism” (CCC, 1396). These truths are implied in the first reading. Saul is persecuting the early Church, called the Way, yet Jesus does not ask him, “Why are you persecuting my followers?,” but rather: “Why are you persecuting me?.” The Church is truly the Mystical Body of Christ. Jesus proclaimed a mysterious and real communion between his own body and ours. “In the Body of Christ, the life of Christ is communicated to those who believe, and who, through the sacraments, are united in a hidden and real way to Christ in his Passion and glorification” (CCC, 790). The unity of the Body of Christ does not take away the diversity of its members. Christ is the head of the body, the Church. The unity of Christ and the Church, head and members of one Body, implies their distinction and this is often expressed by the image of bridegroom and bride. “Christ loved the Church and gave himself up for her, that he might sanctify her” (Ephesians 5:25-26). He has joined the Church with himself in an everlasting covenant and never stops caring for her as for his own body (Ephesians 5:29). “Christ purified her by his blood and made her the fruitful mother of all God's children” (CCC, 808).

3. The Incorporation of Saul into the Body of Christ: Saul is called to form part of the Body of Christ. Saul is passionate by temperament, learned in Sacred Scripture, and a man of conviction. God wants all these talents to be placed at the service of the Gospel. Saul is an instrument chosen by God and will carry the name of the Lord to the Gentiles and the children of Israel. Saul will “open the eyes of the people so that they may turn from darkness to light and from the power of Satan to God, so that they may obtain forgiveness of sins and an inheritance among those who have been consecrated by faith” (Acts 26:18). Saul was baptized by Ananias. This was his incorporation into the suffering, death, and resurrection of Christ. Saul will suffer for the name of Jesus: he was stoned, beaten, and imprisoned on account of the Gospel. He will ultimately give his life for Christ through martyrdom. He encountered the risen Christ and now shares in Christ’s resurrection. A few days after his baptism, Saul began at once to proclaim Jesus in the synagogues that Jesus is the Son of God. This is the grace of Christ at work. Saul used to go from synagogue to synagogue persecuting the Body of Christ, now he goes from synagogue to synagogue building up the Body of Christ.

Conversing with Christ: Lord Jesus, I am a member of your Body. Help me to know my place and my role in that Body. Help me to work to build up the Church and spread the seed of the Kingdom of God throughout the world so that it may grow in justice, peace, and charity.

Living the Word of God: How am I building up the Body of Christ? What talents and gifts is God asking me to place at the service of his kingdom?