Jn. 6: 60-69
“The greatest love story of all time is contained in a tiny white host.” (Ach. Bp. Fulton J. Sheen) Ach. Bp. Fulton. J. Sheen was a great apostle of the Holy Hour. He used to spend Holy Hour with the Eucharistic Lord every day without fail. Once, he shared that his passionate love for Eucharistic adoration was inspired by the heroic story of a little Chinese girl. During the Boxer rebellion, the Chinese government ordered the destruction of all Christian institutions. All over China, churches and monasteries were attacked and destroyed.
Soldiers came to this particular church. This little girl was praying behind the church. The soldiers desecrated the church and they put the parish priest under house arrest in his presbytery attached to the church. Then, they opened the tabernacle and threw consecrated species outside. There were thirty-two hosts spread on the floor. That night, the little girl sneaked into the church without the notice of the guard. The parish priest witnessed what the little girl was doing from his room. She knelt before one of the consecrated hosts and made her holy hour and consumed it by licking him off the floor. She continued the same for 32 days. On the last day, when she completed her holy hour and consumption of the Holy Eucharist, she made a noise by mistake and the guard was alerted. He came to the girl with his terrible temper and martyred her by beating her to death with the butt of his rifle. She found the greatest friendship of her life at a tender early age, Who is the Way, the Truth and the Fullness of Life…
Today we are invited to mediate on the final part of the bread of life discourse. Jesus presented himself as the bread of life and clearly taught them that He is the true spiritual food and drink who grants them the grace to become part of his eternity. However, many could not digest the words of Jesus and they left Jesus forever. One of the greatest accusations against the followers of Christ in the first century was that they were cannibals because they ate flesh and drank blood. The Jewish religious authorities of that time misunderstood the celebration of the Holy Eucharist as some kind of occult practice that encourages cannibalism, and it caused religious persecution against the followers of Christ.
There were individuals who belonged to different epochs of history who found it difficult to accept these teachings of Jesus. Even among Christians, certain denominations do not believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharistic species and they consider the Eucharistic celebration merely a memorial service. Anyhow, Jesus was very clear that all would not accept this because the acceptance of this mystery demands the gift of faith from His Abba. The discourse concludes with the faith affirmation of Peter’s proclamation of Jesus as the source of eternal life. Well, we know that Peter’s profession of faith was not an intellectual outcome of his personal effort but the gratuitous gift of Abba Father.
As we read and meditate on this passage today, we need to grow into the conviction that the reception of the body and blood of Jesus during the Holy Eucharist is not an accidental phenomenon, rather we are attracted by our heavenly Abba and he brought us to partake in this heavenly banquet of his Son and extend the privilege of becoming part of his eternity. Why is it considered a privilege? Many of our brethren did not receive this invitation to share his body and blood through their participation in this spiritual banquet. We enter into communion with the Holy Trinity through the reception of the Holy Eucharist, a communion that begins here and lasts for eternity. Thus, a follower of Christ is not alone, even in his/her death or even after that. All the other earthly communions can not be the same at the end of our earthly sojourn. It may not perish, but it may not be the same as we experience while we are living in our physical body. Nevertheless, our communion with the Holy Trinity becomes keenly intimate after our earthly sojourn. Paul comments on this intimate communion in this manner: “For now we see in a mirror, dimly, but then we will see face to face. Now, I know only in part; then I will know fully, even as I have been fully known. “(1Cor. 13:12)
All the same, there are people who received this invitation but they discarded this privilege. It is heart breaking to know that people consciously profane his precious body and blood in scandalous ways and deny their choice of saviour forever. Therefore, our faith in the Eucharist species is not merely our effort, rather the initiative is from our Abba, who called us to this heavenly banquet and graced us with the gratuitous gift of faith. We are blessed to be attracted by our heavenly father.
What is our response to this unfathomable gift of God? In today’s first reading, we see Joshua telling the people of Israel: “As for me and my household, we will serve the LORD.” (Josh. 24:15) A God who gave himself completely to the sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. What can we give other than our whole hearted love that manifests in our service towards our fellow brethren and being a Eucharistic love for them. Like Peter, let us remain close to Jesus because He is the Way, the Truth and the Fullness of Life…