Dear Parishioners and Friends,

“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, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food,  and my blood is true drink.  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in Me, and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will live because of me.   This is the bread that has come down from heaven.  Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever.” (Jn 6: 53-59)

The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ gives great praise to God for the gift of the Eucharistic presence of the Son of God in our Church. We are invited to remain close to God: “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in him” (Jn 6: 56). And although, like Jesus’ contemporary listeners, we sometimes need to struggle against our own barrier of disbelief,  through the gift of this unique and real presence of Jesus, even now there appears before us  the prospect of union with God, which we will fully experience only then when God Himself raises us on the last day. So let us ask Jesus for a deep faith and together with the Church let us give Him the praise and worship He is owed.

Jesus Christ under the Eucharistic appearances of bread and wine becomes physically present among us. He is the Living Bread which gives life to everyone who receives Him. In discussion with the Jews, Jesus says that this is not ordinary food, but spiritual food, which not only strengthens man externally, but first and foremost protects him from eternal death. To live forever with God is to be united with Him.

The Lord Jesus gives us his Body and Blood to free us from the yoke of sin and to bring us salvation. “The bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (Jn 6: 51). Within each of us there is a deep desire to live a full life. What is this “fullness of life”? Christ tells us that the life he is talking about is completely different from the one we are currently living.  Living eternally in God means living life to the fullest, the fullness of humanity; it means being happy, being free from the worries and sins that even the longest life can make unbearable. Living a full life means to have participated in the Source of life, who is God himself.

So what are we to do in order that the Creator’s intention for us to live in full unity with God can be realized? The attitude allowing us even here on earth to taste the happiness of life in God is an attitude of service and the unselfish giving of ourselves to others.  As Jesus gave his body for the salvation of the world, just so we ought to give ourselves to our sisters and brothers, as we are all created in the image and likeness of God.  Giving ourselves to others out of love for God, in imitation of the attitude of Christ, results in happiness and deep inner peace.

God Bless!