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Our Sunday Reflection - June 11, 2023
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Jesus is the living bread come down from heaven.John 6:51-58
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Introduction to the Liturgy of the Day
This weekend, we come together to receive the Body and Blood of Christ, conscious of the fact that Jesus gave us his Body and Blood to sustain us and nourish us as we continue to carry out his mission. He is the living bread come down from heaven, the bread that is the flesh he gave for the life of the world, the bread that leads us all to eternal life. Let us give thanks to God —Father, Son, and Holy Spirit—for the unique and priceless gift of the Eucharist, to which we are invited every day.Introduction to the Liturgy of the Word
It is food and drink that sustains us as humans, a fact especially obvious to someone who is starving and thirsty. In the desert, God sustains the Chosen People with a food—manna—they’ve never seen before. The Eucharist, however, is truly unique, for it is Christ’s own Body and Blood. Paul points out that consuming it means that we participate in Christ’s sacrifice. Jesus himself says it is essential to truly have life within you. May the word of God we hear today prepare us to receive the Body and Blood of Christ in the Eucharist.Reflections
- The manna that God provided to the Chosen People in the desert was literally bread from heaven. It was a food they did not recognize, in fact, a food they did not even recognize as food, a food unknown to their ancestors. Moses had to explain: it is food, it is indeed the bread God had promised, and unless the people eat it, they will starve to death in the desert. The words we hear Jesus proclaim in the Gospel come right after the starving crowd of thousands has been fed with just five loaves and two fish. Neither do these people recognize Jesus’ flesh as food. Obviously, this is also a food unknown to their ancestors. Like Moses, Jesus has to explain: his flesh is true food, and unless the people eat it, they will not have eternal life within them.
- In the third chapter of John’s Gospel, Jesus repeatedly uses the word “believe” as the key to eternal life; for example, “everyone who believes in him may have eternal life” (3:15). Now, in the sixth chapter, Jesus essentially substitutes an action for a belief: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life” (6:54). Orienting one’s mind toward God is essential, but now Jesus calls the people to do something: to eat the flesh of our Lord. Just as what we ordinarily eat and drink becomes part of us, giving life and energy to our physical selves, the Body and Blood we eat and drink become part of us, giving life and energy to our whole selves, for they are “true food” and “true drink” (6:55).
- The energy we receive from consuming Christ’s Body and Blood can energize us to carry out the mission he calls us to. We are called to be his witnesses, to make disciples, and to build the kingdom. The true food and true drink remind us of his sacrifice, sustain us in our faith, and nourish us. In this way, as Saint Paul writes, we participate in the body and blood of Christ. Participating in Christ’s body and blood assists us in participating in Christ’s mission.
Question of the Week
How do I participate in Christ’s mission? Do I recognize the strength I receive in the Eucharist?
-from Pastoral Patterns
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readings of the mass
LISTEN HERE to the Audio Recordings of the Readings of Sunday, June 11, 2023
SELECT HERE for the Readings of Sunday, June 11, 2023
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Offerings
The Sunday offerings are a portion of our blessings that we give to God (Church) in gratitude to what God has done for us...ONLINE GIVING OPTIONS -
Reflections on the readings
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