(Also the Feast of Sr. San Roque) 

READINGS:   Proverbs 9: 1-6   /   Psalm 34: 2-3. 4-5. 6-7   /   Ephesians 5: 15-20   /   JOHN 6: 51-58

HIS WORD… 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… FOR MY FLESH IS TRUE FOOD, AND MY BLOOD IS TRUE DRINK.

my words… Today is the Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time, and we have just heard the fourth episode of the Bread of Life Discourse in the gospel of John Chapter Six. And this is the climax of Jesus’ proclamation that He is the bread that came down from heaven and His flesh and blood are the real food and drink that bring eternal life. His proclamation caused quarrels among the Jewish people, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat? (Jn 6:52). For the thought of “cannibalism” has increased; not only his flesh but also his blood! The people in Jesus’ time could not personally and culturally accept the idea. So, for the last episode of this Bread of Life Discourse which will be the gospel next Sunday, the people had to decide.

Again my dear Brothers and Sisters, we are more blest than them because we have come to believe that Jesus’ flesh and blood are the very essence of the Holy Eucharist. And we receive The Body and Blood of Christ joyfully and gracefully! But a Catechetical question arises: How come that in the Mass, it is only the priest who drinks the Blood of Christ whereas the people or congregation receive only the Body of Christ? The answer is, in the Holy Communion of the Mass we are receiving the “living flesh” of the Lord, not cooked, not dried up; and therefore, as a living flesh it has already blood in it. And by our great faith in Him, His flesh and blood incorporate into the physiological systems or networks of our physical and spiritual bodies. It is truly Jesus with His REAL PRESENCE coming and entering and penetrating into us. That is the depth of the mystery of the Body and Blood of Christ in the Holy Eucharist.

Brothers and Sisters let us be transformed into Christ for He has come to us “flesh and blood” that He may dwell among us and with us. It is Jesus penetrating into our lives that we may have life in Him. And this life will bring us to eternity with Him. Let us receive Him often so that He may govern us in our daily Christian living and values. Let us always be with Him for He willed to be with us until the end of times.

MAY THE EUCHARISTIC JESUS BRING US TO LIFE EVERLASTING…  

By Fr. Julius C. Lupot