“You have life because of me”!
“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me” (Jn. 6:56-57).
These words were proclaimed authoritatively by Our Lord. And it means this: We will have true life because of him when we feed on him. Think of the many that die of starvation because they have no food, children who develop all kinds of diseases because they are malnourished. The moment these children are fed the right food, they will come back to life. They will have the energy to play. They will be happy. In the same way, when we feed on the Body of Christ, the Eucharist, we have life and energy. Without the life that Jesus gives, it is hard to experience life to the full. Jesus, who is God, left us Himself in the Eucharist so that generations of human beings will not say that he lived in the past. In the Eucharist, Our Lord is present in every moment on this earth so that we can feed on him and have life. When we feed on him, he gives us the grace to live life to the fullest. He gives us the strength to face the many challenges that come our way on our journey. If we feed on him, we will have life in this world and in the next. On our own part, we must desire to feed on him and dispose ourselves to receive him. All this belongs to the province of faith. Only faith sees, knows, and acts on the authority of the words of Our Lord. We may not fully understand but when we take the Eucharist, we are eating God himself in Jesus Christ!
Lord please increase our faith to trust in your Word so that we will hunger for you and come to you with open heart and mind so you can nourish us always. Amen