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“He who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him” (John 6:56).
How is it possible not to rejoice in such a promise?
However, we have heard that at his first announcement, instead of rejoicing, the people started to murmur in protest: “How can he give us his flesh to eat?” (John 6:52). To tell the truth, that attitude has frequently been repeated in the course of history. One might say that basically people do not want to have God so close, to be so easily within reach or to share so deeply in the events of their daily life. Rather, people want him to be great and, in brief, we also often want him to be a little distant from us. Questions are then raised that are intended to show that, after all, such closeness would be impossible.
But the words that Christ spoke on that occasion have lost none of their clarity: “Let me solemnly assure you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (John 6:53). Truly, we need a God who is close to us. In the face of the murmur of protest, Jesus might have fallen back on reassuring words: “Friends,” he could have said, “do not worry! I spoke of flesh, but it is only a symbol. What I mean is only a deep communion of sentiments.”
But no, Jesus did not have recourse to such soothing words. He stuck to his assertion, to all his realism, even when he saw many of his disciples breaking away (see John 6:66). Indeed, he showed his readiness to accept even desertion by his apostles, while not in any way changing the substance of his discourse: “Do you want to leave me too?” (6:67), he asked. Thanks be to God, Peter’s response was one that even we can make our own today with full awareness: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life” (6:68). We need a God who is close, a God who puts himself in our hands and who loves us.
Christ is truly present among us in the Eucharist. His presence is not static. It is a dynamic presence that grasps us, to make us his own, to make us assimilate him. Christ draws us to him, he makes us come out of ourselves to make us all one with him. In this way he also integrates us in the communities of brothers and sisters, and communion with the Lord is always also communion with our brothers and sisters. And we see the beauty of this communion that the Blessed Eucharist gives us.
—Homily, May 29, 2005
An excerpt from the book The Joy of Knowing Christ.
I am reminded of the disciples saying, “This is a hard teaching.” How can we have a God that is so close to us? I have always thought that the doubting disciples were repulsed by the idea of “cannibalism.” A terrible thought, right? But our Holy Father is getting at a more difficult truth, that God wants to be so close, He is actually inside, becoming part of us. If God wants to do that, who would we be to question Him. I notice that they are not questioning Him, either, just leaving.
What do I do? Question? “Leave”? or maybe, just ignore the whole thing and do business as usual?
Getting into this question means:
-not standing still
-not staying the same
-being shaken
-converting.
O.K. Jesus, I will eat Your flesh and drink Your blood.
Thank you Lord for staying with us. For Being Here. We need you. We need your flesh and body. I cant imagine 2000 years without those devoted Catholics receiving and praying to our Lord. Our world is bad, but imagine if we were not praying and receiving him. Thank you Lord for staying with us in the Eucharist. Thank you for all your love.
This is why the Holy Eucharist is the center of our faith as Catholics. It sets us, as a people, apart from those who do not hold Him so close, and by having this deep relationship, we are called to be like unto Him, and be transformed utterly from what once we were.
I am personally so grateful to God for this gift, among all His other gifts to me, and to us, that He did not leave us alone. Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament—a Holy Hour a week—has been transforming everything for me, in miraculous ways. Everyone who can do this, should do this, and pray for our world, for all the souls in it. Can we not watch one hour with Him?
If you begin, you will not regret it! Such joy will fill you—it is impossible to describe.