[1 Kings 19:4-8; Psalm 33; Ephesians 4:30-5:2; John 6:41-51]
According to a survey of 1837 people in the UK who described themselves as Catholic; 51% said that they ‘probably or definitely believe’ in the Real Presence of Christ’s body and blood in the Eucharist.[1] I would suggest that these 51% are the one’s who believed Jesus in today’s Gospel. The other 49% are similar to the people in today’s Gospel who say, ‘Surely this is Jesus, son of Joseph, we know his father and mother.’ Jesus does not correct their mistakes about being the son of Joseph, but he warns them that ‘no one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day’. The message for us from this is, that we in 2024, will only see Jesus as the son of Joseph, unless we receive the grace from God to see Jesus as the bread from heaven.[2]
The Holy Mass which we all attend, is not a spectator sport. When we come to Mass, we are joining together as witnesses and active participants in the Eucharist. The priest, acting in the person of Christ [persona Christi], could [if he was to choose to] trace his ordination all the way back to the Apostles who were present at the Last Supper; when the Eucharist was instituted. Jesus did not say this is a symbol of my body and blood, He said take and eat, this is my Body and take and drink, this is my Blood, do this in remembrance of me.
If we were to be really honest with ourselves, can we all say hand on heart, that we approach the Eucharist in a way that demonstrates we fully believe we are encountering Jesus? That we are obeying His words from the Gospel today; to eat the bread of life, which is His flesh for the life of the world? Can we also say that we show gratitude for what, no make that who, we receive? Perhaps one way of showing our belief in the real presence, would be to try and get to Mass a little bit earlier; to help us prepare fully to encounter Jesus in the Eucharist; discarding in prayer, the things which may distract us during Mass. I know that not everyone can do this, as some are looking after their children during the Mass, but we can all respect the silence prior to Mass when some others are preparing to encounter Jesus. A way of showing our gratitude for the Eucharist would perhaps be to stay behind after Mass, thank Jesus for being present in our midst, and not forgetting to say a prayer of thanks for our priest, who has answered the call of God and through his sacred priesthood makes Jesus real for us at every Mass.
Sometimes I find it really difficult to prepare properly for the Mass. There are often lots of things to think about regarding the practicalities of the Mass, ensuring everything is in place; so that the Liturgy can take place properly and respectfully. These practicalities are sometimes a distraction to what is taking place in front of me.
Another element of today’s Gospel is a clear link to the reading we had last week. We heard last week about the Jews complaining to Moses in the wilderness that they had more food to eat while they were slaves of the Egyptians than they had now that God had freed them. As we know God provided manna and quails to eat. This week the Jews were complaining because of the language Jesus was using; some of them found it intolerable. But Jesus went on to explain that God provided the manna in the desert and now He was providing an eternal food.
We know what Jesus has done for us. We know that he died and rose again to save us and yet there are times when we feel hard done by and are less than grateful; times when we find ourselves moaning about our lot in life. These are the times to remember that no matter how tough we are finding things, Jesus is with us, We know this because He said He would be with us until the end of time. [Matthew 28:20] This means that we are not alone. Jesus comes to us in every Mass; He is present through the Word of God and through the Eucharist. When we receive the Body and Blood of Christ, we become like Him, just like He became like us when He was made man.
The part of the letter we hear from St Paul to the Ephesians, urges us to allow the Holy Spirit to lead us to be more Christ like. He asks us not to bear grudges, not to lose our temper or raise our voices to anyone, we are to be friends with one another, and kind and forgive each other in the same way that God forgives us. In all of this we are to remember that Christ readily gave himself up for us as an eternal Paschal sacrifice, abolishing the need for any further sacrifices. I know in the last few days I have struggled with this. I know that I have argued and raised my voice and refused to listen to people I love. Thankfully, I have been able to look at my actions, discuss them and restore peace to our relationship.
As we go through the week ahead, it would be good to revisit today’s readings; examine how our relationship is with God and our neighbour. To think about what Jesus in the Eucharist means to us as individuals, If we already believe that the Eucharist is the Real Presence, do we treat the Eucharist with the utmost respect. If we don’t see the Eucharist as the Real Presence of Jesus Christ, then we should pray for God’s grace to see Jesus as the bread from heaven.
Further Reading
Catechism of the Catholic Church (CCC)
Nineteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time
CCC 1341-1344: “Do this in memory of me”
CCC 1384-1390: take and eat: Communion
Please keep in your prayers this week
- The sick and housebound, those who are dying and those who are grieving.
- Father Jean-Patrice that he makes a full recovery.
- All the staff and pupils of our schools that they have a safe and healthy break over the summer holidays.
- Those who are homeless and those who are hungry.
- Victims of domestic abuse.
- The communities which are being subjected to violence and disorder at this time.
- Bailey and Arthur who will be baptised at St Bede’s this weekend.
Deacon Tony
10th August 2024
[1] Ben Clements and Stephen Bullivant, Catholics in Contemporary Britain: Faith, Society, Politics, [Oxford University Press, Oxford, 2022].
[2] Placid Murray OSB, 100 Liturgical Homilies, [The Columba Press, Dublin,1988]91.