Christ the King Parish

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

As you may have noticed, the Gospel passages from the last few weeks have taken a major detour. We have temporarily departed from the Gospel of Mark, and are now in our third week of listening to the “Bread of Life Discourse” in the Gospel of John, which we will continue to listen to until the end of August. I would suggest that during these next weeks you find some time to read the entire discourse, which can be found in chapter six of the Gospel of John (verses 22-71).

This discourse is unique because, unlike the synoptic Gospels (Matthew, Mark, and Luke), John’s Gospel does not have the words of institution at the Last Supper: “this is my body...this is my blood.” Rather, the “Bread of Life Discourse” is the scene in which we receive John’s theology of the Eucharist. And what does Jesus have to say to us about the Eucharist here? “Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” We know by the reaction of the crowd who heard these words that this was a very provocative, even scandalous, thing for Jesus to say. To them, He was proposing cannibalism, which is why many of His followers leave him, as we will see in the readings to come.

As members of Christ’s Church today – having 2,000 years of exposition on the Gospels behind us – we have the benefit of a clearer understanding of the Eucharist. We have terms like “transubstantiation” in order to clarify the process of change that occurs at Mass when the bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. We know that we are not cannibals consuming lifeless pieces of flesh, but that, in consuming the Eucharist, we invite the living and resurrected Lord into our lives. And yet, despite the strides we have made in our theology, there are people who still “murmur” against Jesus and his teaching on the Eucharist.

And why is that? For one, despite many well-documented Eucharistic miracles that confirm the appearance of human heart tissue in the host, Christ’s presence cannot be verified scientifically. Our faith tells us one thing, but our bodily senses tell us another. More importantly, though, it is easy to doubt God’s presence and his promise of giving life to the world when our world is shrouded in death and darkness. I came across a news clip from last weekend that said that 30 people were shot in Chicago during a 24-hour period. And as a Church we are still confounded and disgusted by the recent news of the abuse of Cardinal McCarrick. There is no wonder why we “murmur.”

And yet we must pause, for Jesus did not say that we ourselves are life for the world. He did not say that religious leaders are. He said that He is. That’s precisely why He came to us, and gave himself to us in the Eucharist, because He knew that left to ourselves we die, and cause others to die as well. With devoted reception and adoration of the Eucharist, however, we begin to see that, even amidst the suffering of life, we can still live, and live well. This is what John means when he uses the Greek word ζωή (zoe) for life in chapter six. This refers not to any normal life, but the fullness of life, the very life of God. This is the same word he uses in those very special words in 3:16: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, so that everyone who believes in him might not perish but might have eternal life (ζωή - zoe).

Whether our faith in Christ’s presence in the Eucharist is strong or weak, let us continue to grow in our devotion to it. The Church teaches us that the Eucharist is the source and summit – the beginning and end - of our faith. This is because it contains the fullness of life. We all want that life, for ourselves and for the world; with increased prayer, devotion, and reception of the Eucharist, we can help to make that a reality.
God bless you,

Fr. Mario