Many of his disciples returned to their former way of life
and no longer walked with him.
Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” (Jn 6:66-67)
Today’s Gospel, in my mind, is rather tragic.
Jesus had just given his followers some incredibly hard information. He told them that He was the bread of life and that, unless they ate the flesh of the Son of Man and drank His blood, they would have no life within them.
They were incredibly confused at this.
Many of them, as we heard in the Gospel, decided that they would no longer follow the Lord.
After all, they were not cannibals. And if Jesus said this and really meant it, they felt that He lost all credibility.
So they left.
Jesus asked His Apostles if they wanted to leave Him as well. Peter responded for them all when he said, “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.”
There are many tenets of the faith that are hard for us to understand. Sometimes, we feel quite tempted to reject our faith outright. Jesus asks us the same question He asked His Apostles: “Do you want to leave me, too?”
Well? What’s your answer?
FAITH ACTION: Take some time in silent prayer and reflection. Ask yourself the question: “What, about my faith, is difficult for me to follow or believe?” Be honest about it. Wrote down your answer(s). Then, ask yourself how your questions can best be answered. Do you need to go to your priest and ask him to help you out? Do you need to share with someone else who is walking the journey with you? Do you simply need to spend some time asking the Lord for insight? Figure out what you need to do. And then do it.