SAINT CATHERINE OF SIENA, VIRGIN AND DOCTOR OF THE CHURCH (MEMORIAL)

I am the bread of life. 

Do you sometimes read the Bible and wonder what Jesus is trying to say?   Often, Jesus’ message is obvious.   For instance, in the parable of the Good Samaritan (Luke 10:29-36), he is clearly telling us to help people, even those we don’t know or who seem different from us.   Or sometimes, Jesus gives a straight answer to a direct question, like when a scribe asks which commandment is the greatest.   “You shall love the Lord, your God, with all your heart, with all your soul, and with all your mind” (Matthew 22:37).

But in today’s Gospel (John 6:35 – 40), part of the famous Bread of Life discourse, Jesus’ message was not all that clear to his listeners.   The more Jesus talked, the more scandalized they became.   How can he say he came down from heaven?   How could he give them his flesh to eat?

Jesus’ meaning was both symbolic and literal, so it’s no wonder that people were confused.   When Jesus refers to himself as the Bread of Life, he is talking about faith in him as the sustenance for our journey through life.   He is saying that his words and our relationship with him are nourishment for our souls.

But Jesus is also speaking literally.   He was describing his gift of the Eucharist, which would become the pinnacle of our worship.   He was talking about how receiving this gift could unite us with his Body and Blood, his soul and divinity.   It wasn’t until after the resurrection that Jesus’ followers began to celebrate the Eucharist.   So at this point, his listeners had no way of knowing what he was referring to.   All they could do was accept his words with faith.

Even today, the Eucharist is mysterious.   It defies our imagination, and only the gift of faith can allow us to believe it.

After hearing the Bread of Life discourse, many of Jesus’ followers left him.   Not Peter though.   He was probably just as confused as the others, but he believed in Jesus.

It’s normal to have doubts.   We may question a Church teaching or wonder why bad things happen to good people.   But whatever our questions, we can always hold on to our faith until God makes his ways clearer to us—just as Peter did.

“Lord, give me a humble heart that accepts and trusts your word.”

Acts 8:1-8
Psalm 66:1-7