Jesus said to the crowds, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst. ( Jn 6:15).    

God is good!

Today’s gospel is about the seminal teaching of Jesus about the Eucharist. The Lord’s claim in this passage is  that he gives himself as the source of true life to those who show strong desire for him. He says, “I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever , and whoever believes in me will never thirst.”

Within this claim is the way forward to acquiring that life: “coming”  and “believing” in him— whoever comes to Jesus will never hunger; whoever believes in him will never thirst. The  emphasis lies on the “coming” because that involves an act of the will. But once we have come to Jesus, “believing” becomes essential for the full reception of the life he proffers us.

The way the Eucharist has evolved to its present form renders it as the concrete and practical expression of what Jesus intended. When we come to the Mass, there we celebrate with Jesus as the priest and the  sacrifice, we adhere to the first part of the invitation.

However, it is our firm belief in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist that completes the invitation and satisfy the true hunger and thirst we have. The Eucharist then becomes our food for the journey to eternal life and protection for our soul from eternal destruction. Jesus: For this is the will of my Father, that everyone who sees the Son and believes in him may have eternal life, and I shall raise him on the last day.

It is time for all of us to pick up our life in Christ again. Christ awaits us in the Eucharist to offer us life. The rich life in Jesus is available to us at the Mass; however, we should believe in the full presence of Jesus in what we receive and eat.

Prayer: Heavenly Father, source of every life, prompt us to be attentive to the voice of your son so that we may possess life in him always.