Most of us have probably been around children enough to know that they take anything that is said to them quite literally. It is only as we grow older that we learn to appreciate nuance in conversation, and can learn to appreciate figures of speech. Unfortunately, as we grow older, we sometimes experience the opposite problem: that is, we think that someone is speaking figuratively, when they are, in fact, speaking quite literally!
That’s very much what is going on in today’s Gospel. Jesus repeats again and again that he is the “Bread of Life”- the bread that came down from heaven and gives eternal life. Jesus is being quite literal, and it is the crowds who struggle to understand what Jesus is saying. They refuse to accept that he “has come down from Heaven,” and that there might be truth to his words.
This leaves us with an interesting question: one which I have posed in previous weeks as we reflect on the Bread of Life discourse. How do we relate to Jesus as the Bread of Life, the Eucharist? Do we truly believe that He is present in the Eucharist? Do we truly believe that we attain Eternal Life by receiving the Body of Christ at Mass? Do we allow ourselves to be changed by what we receive, so that as St. Augustine says, we can become the Body of Christ on Earth?
Our response to the Eucharist is about more than just Adoration and Reverence. These are important, but they are not the be all and end all of our relationship to the Eucharist. St. John Chrysostom once said “I receive him [Jesus] to become him, to be Eucharist for others.” Our challenge, then, is to allow the Eucharist to transform us, so that we can work to build up the Church, which is the Body of Christ on Earth. If we allowed our reception of the Eucharist to truly inspire in us care and concern for others, imagine the difference we could make in the world! And that, brothers and sisters, is what Intentional Discipleship, the favorite phrase of our Bishop, is all about.
As we enter into this coming week, I would like to ask you to keep me in your prayers, as I will be on retreat. Please pray that this will truly be a time of rest and renewal, and be assured that you will all be in my prayers as well. I will return to Windsor in time for our celebration of the Feast of the Assumption, so I hope to see many of you at our Outdoor Mass at Assumption next weekend! More details about the outdoor Mass can be found on our website.
Sincerely in Christ,
Fr. Steven Huber, CSB