The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,
“How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
Jesus said to them,
“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.” (Jn 6:52-53)
When it comes to our faith, we generally ask a lot of “how can it be?!” types of questions.
How can there be three persons but only one God? How can Jesus have risen from the dead? How did He perform all those miracles? How can He give us His flesh to eat and His blood to drink?
Some people think that if we ask those kinds of questions we must be weak in our faith.
That is not entirely true.
Many people ask those questions because they truly are struggling to embrace the great mysteries of the Lord. They do not ask those questions to deny the faith but, rather, to strengthen their faith.
This weekend, we celebrate the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. Many of us will remember it better as Corpus Christi. On this day, we focus upon that great mystery: at the moment of consecration, the bread and wine are changed, immutably, into the Body and Blood of Christ. We nourish ourselves on that flesh and blood so that we may keep our steps straight and firm on the path to the Kingdom.
FAITH ACTION: With a renewed sense of reverence and awe, place your faith and trust in the Eucharist in which you partake at Mass this day.
Brothers and sisters:
The cup of blessing that we bless,
is it not a participation in the blood of Christ?
The bread that we break,
is it not a participation in the body of Christ?
Because the loaf of bread is one,
we, though many, are one body,
for we all partake of the one loaf. (1 Cor 10:16-17)