Dear Friends in Christ,
The Bible is an important source of divine revelation for us as Christians. In it, God speaks to us personally and teaches us important truths of theology.
It is in the Bible that we learn, from Jesus Himself, that the Holy Eucharist is His Body and Blood. As we celebrate Corpus Christi this Sunday, this Sunday’s Gospel gives us the biblical basis of our Eucharistic faith.
In the Gospel, Jesus makes it clear “I AM the living bread that came down from Heaven.” This makes it obvious for us that the Eucharist is Jesus Himself. He also connects our regular reception of Holy Communion with eternal life. In John 6:54, Jesus states “whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise Him on the Last Day.” Here, the Lord reminds us that when we receive the Eucharist now, eternal life begins in us. This beginning later reaches full development and maturity in eternity. As the Eucharist is the Risen Christ, our reception of His risen flesh prepares us to rise with Him at the end of time.
The Church teaches us that at the Mass, the miracle of transubstantiation takes place. The Catechism of The Catholic Church tells us that transubstantiation is “through the consecration of the bread and wine (at Mass) there occurs the change of the entire substance of the bread into the substance of the Body of Christ, and of the entire substance of the wine into the Blood of Christ even though the appearances…of bread and wine remain.”
May we be aways hungry, in faith, for the Bread of Life, the Holy Eucharist! In Christ,
Fr. Michael