Catholic thoughts from a Catholic Catechist
Mike Denz
 

Part I: God the Son – The Word of God

In the beginning…

To begin to understand who Jesus Christ is we have to go back to the beginning, just like St. John did in his gospel.

“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.  He was in the beginning with God; all things were made through him, and without him was not anything made that was made.” -John 1:1-3

When St. John wrote about the “Word” he was referring to the Son of God. He tells us that the Word was in the beginning, and the Word was both “with” God and “was” God. The Son of God is both with God (the Father and the Holy Spirit) and is God.

St. John goes on to say that it was “through” the Word that “all things were made” and “without him” nothing was made. 

St. John’s description of God the Son, “In the beginning” is done purposely to draw us to the first line of Genesis. It is these first few verses that John is describing for us: 

“In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. The earth was without form and void, and darkness was upon the face of the deep; and the Spirit of God was moving over the face of the waters.”   -Genesis 1:1-2

The Gospel of John is a description of the Trinity - as found here in the first chapter of Genesis. In these opening verses of Genesis, we see God the Father referred to simply as “God”. The Holy Spirit is “the Spirit of God”. But where is the Son – the Word? We find Him when we read on:

And God said, "Let there be light…”

And God said, "Let there be a firmament in the midst of the waters…”

And God said, "Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place…”

And God said, "Let the earth put forth vegetation…”

And God said, "Let there be lights in the firmament of the heavens …”

And God said, "Let the waters bring forth swarms of living creatures…”

And God said, "Let the earth bring forth living creatures…”

Then God said, "Let us make man in our image…”

-Genesis 1:3, 6, 9, 11, 14, 20, 24, 26

God spoke and His Word is revealed. This is God’s Son. We now see (and hear) God the Son, represented as the voice or Word of God, Who is both with God and is God, and through Whom everything was made. God spoke and creation was made.

This is why St. John calls God the Son the “Word of God”. When the Father speaks, He reveals His Son. There is much more to say about this beautiful image.

Before the beginning…

Before creation there was only God. God the Father, in all His eternal glory, is Truth, Beauty and Goodness. All of God’s attributes are perfect. God is not just truthful, but Truth itself. He is not just beautiful or good, but Beauty and Goodness itself.

God the Father is infinite. There is no limit to Him. He is omnipotent (all powerful), omniscient (all knowing), omnipresent (always everywhere). God is perfection. This means His words and ideas are also perfect.

Our ideas are finite and imperfect. They have limits and lack reality. I may have an idea of a cookie, but that doesn’t mean I have a real cookie. My ideas lack existence.

My words too are limited and lack a certain reality. I can say “cookie” but that does not produce a cookie into existence.

When God had ideas (and spoke these ideas in Genesis 1), they were created – they were given existence.

But what about God’s idea of Himself? What if God expresses Himself in a Word? When we ask God to reveal Himself to us, He does this perfectly in one Word. 

This Word is the Son of God.

In a free and eternal act of complete and total self-giving love, God the Father pours all of Himself out to His Son. “Begotten, not made”, the Son is “God from God, Light from Light, Ture God from true God” as we proclaim in the Creed.

This perfect love is returned by the Son to the Father in another free and eternal act of complete and total self-giving love. There never was a time when this exchange of love was not taking place. It isn’t even contained in time (remember, we are talking about “before the beginning”). From all eternity, God the Son has been fully and completely accepting all the Father’s love and returning all this love back to the Father. This is the life of God – Love. So much so that this love between the Father and the Son is the Third Person of the Divine Family – the Holy Spirit.

God is three persons (not people like humans, but divine identities, or “who”). All three divine persons completely possess the one divine nature or spirit. This is why the Creed states that God is “consubstantial”, which means that the Three Divine Persons are of the same substance (the prefix “con” means with or together). In God’s case the substance is spirit.

It is the Son of God Who took on a human nature and became a man. This was foreshadowed throughout the entire Old Testament. We will explore some of these Old Testament foreshadowings in Part II.

• Jesus took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to the disciples and said, "Take, eat; this is my body.”  -Matthew 26:26
• And as they were eating, he took bread, and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them, and said, "Take; this is my body."  -Mark 14:22
• And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, "This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me."  -Luke 19:22

• He took the seven loaves and the fish, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to the disciples.  -Matthew 15:36
• And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed, and broke the loaves, and gave them to the disciples to set before the people.  -Mark 6:41
• And he commanded the crowd to sit down on the ground; and he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people.  -Mark 8:6
• And taking the five loaves and the two fish he looked up to heaven, and blessed and broke them, and gave them to the disciples to set before the crowd.  -Luke 9:16

• When he was at table with them, he took the bread and blessed, and broke it, and gave it to them. 

These four actions: taking, blessing (or giving thanks), breaking and giving, are almost always mentioned as something Jesus did with bread when He wanted to allude to - or institute - the Eucharist.

Why?

Company
The word “company” comes from the Latin words “com”, meaning “together” or “with”, and “panis”, meaning “bread”.  When you have friends and family over for a meal, they are those whom you have “bread with” – your “company”. 

You are also likely to pray a blessing, or give thanks before you eat the meal.  Eucharist comes from a Greek word “eucharistia” meaning “thanksgiving”.

Eating a meal like this with someone had significance in the first century and still does today in some cultures.  Eating of the same loaf with another is seen as an intimate act of friendship, because you would consume the same loaf of bread, which had to be broken so it would be in small enough pieces to be consumed by many.  This is one reason why the religious leaders complained when Jesus ate with sinners.  This is where we get phrase “breaking bread” with friends and family when you eat a meal together. 

It is often customary to bring something to the meal to share or “give” to the others at the meal.  When we say we are “sharing” a meal in its fullest sense, it means everyone contributed to the meal and everyone receives something from the meal.

Jesus’ Passion
Jesus’ Passion was foreshadowed by the Passover instituted over 1400 years earlier.  In the Passover the Israelites were commanded to take and sacrifice an unblemished lamb, eat it, and put the lambs blood on the doors of their houses to save them from the angel of death (Exodus 12).  Beginning the night of Holy Thursday, which was also Passover, Jesus instituted a sacrificial meal that would replace the Passover celebration.  Later that night Jesus was “taken” by the temple guards.  Already being the “Blessed” of the Father, Jesus was then “broken” on the Cross.  Jesus “gave” Himself for the forgiveness of our sins.

The Mass
During Mass, just as during the multiplication of loves which foreshadowed the Mass, the priest “takes” bread when it is brought up during the offertory.  During the Eucharistic Prayer the priest “gives thanks” (eucharistia) and “blesses” the bread, so it may become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. 

Then, similar to when we break bread with family, the priest literally “breaks” the bread in what is called the “Fraction Rite” during the “Lamb of God” at Mass.  This is not only to make the host smaller so it can be eaten.  The breaking of bread in Mass represents how Jesus’ body was broken, so it can offered to many for the forgiveness of sins.  While breaking bread makes it smaller or easily edible, Jesus’ body being broken made His flesh nourishing for Eternal Life.

In the Acts of the Apostles the earliest Christians described Mass as “Breaking Bread”:

“And they devoted themselves to the apostles' teaching and fellowship, to the breaking of bread and the prayers.  And fear came upon every soul; and many wonders and signs were done through the apostles.  And all who believed were together and had all things in common; and they sold their possessions and goods and distributed them to all, as any had need.  And day by day, attending the temple together and breaking bread in their homes, they partook of food with glad and generous hearts, praising God and having favor with all the people.”

-Acts 2:42-47

And to “break bread” on Sunday was a tradition early on for Christians, “On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread…” (Acts 7:20)

The priest then “gives” the Eucharist to the people, as the first priests – the apostles, gave the multiplied bread to the thousands.  And we all share in, and are united by, the one Body of Christ.

The Body of Christ – the Church
St. Paul writes that the Church is the Mystical Body of Christ.  Jesus it the “head over all things for the church, which is his body” (Ephesians 1:22-23).  “Christ is the head of the church, his body, and is himself its Savior” (Ephesians 5:23).

As members of His Church, through the Sacrament of Baptism, we have given ourselves to Jesus.  Jesus has in effect “taken” us and “blessed” us.  Just as the words of the priest transform simple bread into the Body of Christ, the water’s of baptism transform us into members of the Body of Christ – His Church.  Over our lives, with the grace of the other sacraments, prayer, and the continued giving of ourselves to Jesus in love, He continues to “take” and “bless” us.

Then there is something else.  Jesus has to “break” us from sin.  He spoke of this symbolically when He taught:

“I am the true vine, and my Father is the vinedresser.  Every branch of mine that bears no fruit, he takes away, and every branch that does bear fruit he prunes, that it may bear more fruit.”  -John 15:1-2

When you prune a plant you remove the parts of the plant that take nutrients away from the production of fruit.  As is done often in Scripture, Jesus is using fruit as a symbol of love.  Just like a grape vine takes all its sunshine, nutrients and water to produce fruit for others, we are to take all that Jesus gives us and produce love for others.  God sometimes allows us to experience obstacles, struggles, disappointments, pain and humiliation to help us remove sinful vices from our lives – vices that take away from our ability to love well.  He “breaks” us down, “prunes us”, so we “may bear more fruit.”

The giving of this fruit is the final act of Jesus.  He “gives” us, as loving fruit, to others and to His Father.  Just as St. Paul said, “it is no longer I who live, but Christ who lives in me” (Galatians 2:20).  Just so, it is Jesus who loves through us – having given us sacramental grace to love supernaturally.  Therefore, it can be said that He gives us to others.  Like a vine to the branches and on to the fruit, Jesus’ love flows through us and out to others.

“I am the vine, you are the branches. He who abides in me, and I in him, he it is that bears much fruit, for apart from me you can do nothing.”  -John 15:5

"I will not leave you desolate"

Let’s begin Part V with a close look at what may be the most amazing statement Jesus makes about the Eucharist:

“As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.” -John 6:57

When we look at that verse closely, Jesus, most incredibly, seems to put no limits on the life of God that He wants to give us in the Eucharist. 

In the life of the Blessed Trinity, God the Father pours Himself out in a complete self-giving act of love to His Son, holding nothing back. This means that all of God is given to the Son. This is why the Son of God is equal in every way to the Father. Both are all loving, all knowing, all powerful, Truth, Beauty and Goodness. 

In verse 57 Jesus refers to His relationship with the Father when He says, “the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father.” Jesus is reminding His disciples that the Father has given ALL of Himself to the Son. Jesus follows this up by saying that just as the Father pours His life out to the Son, so that the Son may live, “so he who eats me will live because of me.”

In other words, God the Son pours Himself out in a complete self-giving act of love to those who eat the Eucharist. Now, we are not God, so we can’t receive all of God’s divine life exactly like the Son does from the Father. However, Jesus is pouring out all we can handle. Additionally, Jesus wants us to open ourselves to Him, more and more – to trust Him more. In doing so we give Jesus permission to transform us, making us capable of receiving more and more of His love.

Jesus wants to give all of Himself to us, which is everything He received from the Father. This is what the father says in the parable of the Prodigal Son from chapter 15 of St. Luke’s Gospel. Representing God the Father, the father in the parable says to his son, “Son, you are always with me, and all that is mine is yours” (Luke 15:31). God the Father gave us all that is His – His Son.

A few last words on why we know Jesus was speaking literally. 

• Jesus left His Church with the infallible ability to pass on the truths of God without error. The Catholic Church has always infallibly taught that the bread and wine at Mass are not just a symbols, but are really the body and blood of Jesus Christ. “In the most blessed sacrament of the Eucharist ‘the body and blood, together with the soul and divinity, of our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ is truly, really, and substantially contained’” (Catechism of the Catholic Church, 1374).
• In John 6:5, when Jesus was speaking about regular bread, he said, "How are we to buy bread, so that these people may eat?" When John quoted Jesus saying this he used the Greek word “esthio” for “eat.” However, when Jesus spoke of eating His flesh, Jesus uses the word “trogo”, which means to gnaw or chew, which one would use to describe eating meat. Jesus wanted to be sure everyone who heard Him understood He was being quite literal.
• The expression “to eat the flesh and drink the blood” of another human being already had a specific meaning to first century Jews. It meant to persecute, assault and destroy a person. We see this symbolic use of eating a man’s flesh in Psalm 27:2, “When evildoers come at me to devour my flesh.” By stating that the evildoers are going to “devour my flesh” the Psalm is saying that the evildoers are going to persecute, assault and destroy the person. Jesus said we needed to eat His flesh for eternal life. It would make no sense for Jesus to be saying we had to persecute or assault Him so we could have eternal life.
• When Jesus explained the need to “eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood…” (John 6:63) “Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, ‘This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?’ But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, ‘Do you take offense at this?’… After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him” (John 6:61, 66). And Jesus let them go. He knew they understood Him to mean they literally had to eat His flesh and drink His blood. Jesus did not correct them, because that is what He meant. If they would not believe Him, they had to go.

During the Last Supper Jesus revealed to His apostles more about this truly astounding gift, which is the gift of Himself in Holy Communion under the appearance of bread and wine. 

“And he took bread, and when he had given thanks he broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is my body which is given for you. Do this in remembrance of me.’ And likewise the cup after supper, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’”  -Luke 22:19-20

The apostles – who are the first bishops and priests of the Church – are commanded to “Do this in remembrance of me.” This shows that they too are to say the words Jesus said and that is what the bread would become – the Body of Christ. 

The Eucharist is described by the Catholic Church as the very source of our Christian life. This is because the Eucharist IS Jesus and Jesus is the source of our life. In St. John’s gospel account of the Last Supper we read some beautiful imagery Jesus used, alluding to the Eucharist.

"I will not leave you desolate; I will come to you.” -John 14:18

Jesus will come to us in the Eucharist.

“Yet a little while, and the world will see me no more, but you will see me;” -John 14:19

The world does not believe in the Eucharist, but Christians who believe will see Him in the Eucharist at Mass and adoration.

“because I live, you will live also.” -John 14:19

Jesus refers back to John 6:57, “I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.”

“In that day you will know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you.” -John 14:20

 Jesus refers to the relationship of the Trinity and back to John 6:56, “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”

“He who has my commandments and keeps them, he it is who loves me; and he who loves me will be loved by my Father, and I will love him and manifest myself to him." -John 14:21

Jesus tells us that to be His disciples we need to return His love by keeping His commandments. This alludes to the need to be free of mortal sin before reception of the Eucharist.

“Judas (not Iscariot) said to him, ‘Lord, how is it that you will manifest yourself to us, and not to the world?’ Jesus answered him, ‘If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him.’” -John 14:22-23

If we love Jesus we will keep His word and Jesus will make His home in our body and souls when we consume the Eucharist.

I encourage you to read John 6 in front of the Eucharist. Which verses or phrases really stand out to you? Read those over a few times and ask Jesus what He wants you to take away from His Word.

1. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
2. "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”
3. “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
4. “For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.”
5. “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”
6. “As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.”
7. “This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever."

-John 6:51-58

St. Hilary of Poitiers, who lived all the way back in the 4^th century (315-368), is a Doctor of the Church.  He commented on these verses from St. John when he wrote:

“For as to what we say concerning the reality of Christ’s nature [divine life] within us, unless we have been taught by Him, our words are foolish and impious. For He says Himself, My flesh is meat indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. He that eats My flesh and drinks My blood abides in Me, and I in him. (Jn. 6:55-56) As to the reality of the flesh and blood there is no room left for doubt. For now, both from the declaration of the Lord Himself and our own faith [Church teaching], it is truly flesh and truly blood. And these when eaten and drunk, bring it to pass that both we are in Christ and Christ in us.”

St. Hilary leaves no doubt that Jesus is speaking literally.  That what we receive in the Eucharist is the flesh and blood of Jesus Christ.

The Eucharist is called the “real presence”, which means that the Eucharist is no longer bread and wine (although it has the appearance of such) but is in its substance Jesus Christ, wholly and completely. 

But St. Hilary was almost 300 years after Jesus.  What about those who lived in the first century?  What about those who knew the apostles?

Enter St. Ignatius of Antioch.  He is known as an Apostolic Father of the Church because he was taught by an apostle, St. John – the very John who witnessed Jesus teach about the Bread of Life and wrote about it in his gospel.  Before St. Ignatius was martyred in the year 110, he wrote about the real presence of the Eucharist:

“I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ, who was of the seed of David; and for drink I desire his blood, which is love incorruptible.”
“Take note of those who hold heterodox opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes.”

St. Ignatius was dealing with unbelief in the Eucharist less that 70 years after Jesus rose from the dead!  St. John wrote his gospel about 15 years earlier.  No wonder the Holy Spirit inspired St. John to recall the great teaching of Jesus on the Bread of Life!  Still, over 1900 years later, many Catholics still don’t believe.

St. Justin Martyr, who lived in the early second century (he was born around the same time St. Ignatius was martyred) also wrote about the real presence of the Eucharist:
 

“And this food is called among us Eucharistia [the Eucharist], of which no one is allowed to partake but the man who believes that the things which we teach are true, and who has been washed with the washing that is for the remission of sins, and unto regeneration, and who is so living as Christ has enjoined. 

St. Justin explains that baptism and belief in the teaching of the Church was a requirement for reception of the Eucharist in the second century just as it is today.
 

“For not as common bread and common drink do we receive these; but in like manner as Jesus Christ our Savior, having been made flesh by the Word of God, had both flesh and blood for our salvation, so likewise have we been taught that the food which is blessed by the prayer of His word, and from which our blood and flesh by transmutation are nourished, is the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh.”

That last part from St. Justin is a mouthful!  What he is saying is that the bread and drink are not common bread and drink.  He goes on to say that the Word of God (another title for the Son of God – Jesus) made Himself flesh to save us with that very same flesh on the Cross.  Likewise, the words of Jesus, when spoken by the priest over the bread and wine, are transformed into “the flesh and blood of that Jesus who was made flesh.”

Next time well look more at John 6 as well as other times when Jesus taught about the Eucharist.

Until then, pray for this: that the next time you are at Mass, may God will deepen your love and devotion for the Eucharist.

Last time in Part II we began to look at what Jesus did and taught in the Gospel of St. John, chapter 6. We start Part III just past the half point of this chapter - which is all about the Eucharist - the Bread of Life. The people were murmuring about their unbelief in Jesus, thinking He was just a regular man and not God.

Jesus answered them, "Do not murmur among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draws him; and I will raise him up at the last day. It is written in the prophets, 'And they shall all be taught by God.' Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.   -John 6:43-45

When Jesus refers to Isaiah 54:13, “All your sons shall be taught by the LORD” He is referring to His own divinity – as He is at that moment teaching them! Jesus also tells them the Father must draw them. As mentioned in Part II, grace from God the Father must penetrate their hearts – must “draw” them. We need God to give us the grace to believe in Jesus. However, not all accept the grace. Holding on to our sinful lives blocks this grace. If you are seeking God who is Truth, Beauty and Goodness, then you will be “drawn” by Him. If God the Father, in His Truth, Beauty and Goodness, is attractive to you – draws you – then you will be drawn to Jesus because He is God’s Son – He is God. Therefore, Jesus can say, “Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to me.”

Not that any one has seen the Father except him who is from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, truly, I say to you, he who believes has eternal life. I am the bread of life. Your fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. This is the bread which comes down from heaven, that a man may eat of it and not die. -John 6:46-50

Jesus is the only way to God the Father. He “has seen the Father” which is a way of saying He knows the Father perfectly and is the only one who can reveal Him. Jesus also says once again that faith in Him is crucial, for anyone “who believes has eternal life.” And spiritual life – eternal life – is what Jesus has been stressing. Their “fathers ate the manna in the wilderness and they died”, but “the bread which comes down from heaven… (which is Jesus) a man may eat of it and not die.” When Jesus talks about not dying, He is talking about spiritual life - eternal life in heaven.

Now, Jesus is about to begin a seven-fold declaration exclaiming exactly what He means about Him being the bread from Heaven. He will now establish that, as He is God, He can and will give us His flesh and blood to eat and drink.

1. “I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh." The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?"
2. "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.”
3. “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.”
4. “For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.”
5. “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me, and I in him.”
6. “As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me.”
7. “This is the bread which came down from heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live for ever."

-John 6:51-58

Jesus is clear. We are to eat His flesh and drink His blood. The Bread of Life, which would become known as Holy Communion and the Eucharist, is really His body and blood. After Jesus first declares that He is giving us His flesh as bread, the Jews said, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” They knew Jesus was speaking literally, but they did not believe He was God, so they did not believe He could do it.

Jesus declares above that eternal life and the resurrection at the end of the world are intrinsically linked to the Eucharist. He says His flesh and blood are real food and real drink – “food indeed” and “drink indeed”.

Next time we’ll look at what some of the earliest saints had to say about the Eucharist.

In Part I we looked at how a survey of Catholics discovered that 69% of them believe that the Eucharist is a symbol. We then looked at how the manna (what is it?) God gave the Israelites in the desert also confused the people at first. Finally we looked at how fulfillments in the New Testament are always greater that what foreshadowed them in the Old Testament.

Now, let us look at the day Jesus first talked about the Eucharist. He called it, “The Bread of Life” and we call His teaching, “The Bread of Life Discourse.” This event is relayed in the Gospel of St. John, chapter 6.

One day Jesus fed over 10,000 men, women and children with bread and fish that He miraculously multiplied from only 5 loaves and 2 fish. The next day some of the disciples he fed caught up with Him. We’ll pick things up there at verse 26. 

“Truly, truly, I say to you, you seek me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not labor for the food which perishes, but for the food which endures to eternal life, which the Son of man will give to you.”    -John 6:26-27

Jesus does not want His disciples following Him just to be physically fed. He wants to spiritually feed them. It is part of our fallen human nature to seek out our physical needs before our spiritual ones. Jesus wants to change that for us. Jesus said, “Seek first his kingdom” in Matthew 6:33 when referring to the Kingdom of God. This seeking of heaven first is what Jesus is trying to teach here.

Then they said to him, “What must we do, to be doing the works of God?” Jesus answered them, “This is the work of God, that you believe in him whom he has sent.”  -John 6:28-29

This is a big step. To do the “works of God” Jesus’s disciples need to believe that He IS God. Jesus is about to reveal the Eucharist to them. The Eucharist will only make sense if Jesus is God.

So they said to him, “Then what sign do you do, that we may see, and believe you? What work do you perform? Our fathers ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written, ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”  -John 6:30-31

The Messiah (in Greek, the Christ) who the Jews were waiting for was prophesied to bring everlasting manna to the people of Israel. The Messiah was predicted to be a prophet like Moses (Deuteronomy 18:15-18). From this prophesy was the idea that the Messiah would feed the people like Moses did with the manna. This time with an everlasting manna. They are asking Jesus to do this if He is the Messiah – feed them like Moses. However, they have yet to understand that He is more than just the Messiah. His is God. 

Jesus then said to them, “Truly, truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven. For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world.”   -John 6:32-33

Jesus tells them that the manna was from God and that “the true bread” which was coming next is also from heaven and this bread will give “life to the world.”

They said to him, “Lord, give us this bread always.” Jesus said to them, “I am the bread of life; he who comes to me shall not hunger, and he who believes in me shall never thirst.   -John 6:34-35

The people said they wanted this bread, but they do not yet understand it because they do not believe in Jesus. Jesus tells them that He Himself is the Bread of Life, but Jesus knows they don’t believe in Him.

But I said to you that you have seen me and yet do not believe. All that the Father gives me will come to me; and him who comes to me I will not cast out.  -John 6:36-37

The people saw Jesus and heard Jesus, but the grace coming from Jesus did not penetrate their hearts. Those who’s hearts are penetrated are described by Jesus as those “the Father gives me”, because the grace of God – which came through seeing and hearing Jesus – is from the Father.

For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will, but the will of him who sent me; and this is the will of him who sent me, that I should lose nothing of all that he has given me, but raise it up at the last day. For this is the will of my Father, that every one who sees the Son and believes in him should have eternal life; and I will raise him up at the last day.”  -John 6:38-40

All that believe in and follow the Son of God will be saved and raised from the dead to eternal life at the end of time. However, the people here get hung up on Jesus saying, “I have come down from heaven”, because they don’t believe He is God. 

The Jews then murmured at him, because he said, “I am the bread which came down from heaven.” They said, “Is not this Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How does he now say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”  -John 6:41-42

Because they knew His earthly father, Joseph and His mother Mary, they don’t think He can be from heaven. 

Jesus is just beginning to show them what the Bread of Life really is! What Jesus says next blew them away! We’ll take a look at that in Part III!

Until then, spend some time in prayer considering Who Jesus is and how great is His love for you. This love is fulfilled in the gift of the Eucharist.

A 2019 Pew Research Center survey found that 69% of Catholics believe that Holy Communion is a just symbol. The 69% is broken down as follows: 

• 22% believe that the Catholic Church teaches that the Eucharist is actually Jesus Christ, but they personally believe it’s just a symbol. 
• 43% think the Church teaches that the Eucharist is a symbol and personally believe it’s just a symbol.
• The remaining 4% are not sure what the Church teaches, but personally believe it’s just a symbol.

What do you believe? Who is correct? What is the Eucharist? What does the Church teach? The truth about what the Eucharist really is, is obviously an important question. If the Eucharist is just a symbol, that’s one thing. However, if it’s actually Jesus, then it’s the most important gift God has given us – and Catholics need to know.

This is not the first time the faithful have been confused about holy bread. And I’m not referring to the Eucharist, but to another bread from heaven that came thousands of years before.

After the people of Israel escaped Egypt and crossed the Red Sea with Moses, they found themselves hungry. God provided food for them. God said,

"I have heard the murmurings of the people of Israel; say to them, 'At twilight you shall eat flesh, and in the morning you shall be filled with bread; then you shall know that I am the LORD your God.'" In the evening quails came up and covered the camp; and in the morning dew lay round about the camp. And when the dew had gone up, there was on the face of the wilderness a fine, flake-like thing, fine as hoarfrost on the ground. When the people of Israel saw it, they said to one another, "What is it?" For they did not know what it was. And Moses said to them, "It is the bread which the LORD has given you to eat. Now the house of Israel called its name manna.  -Exodus 16:12-15, 31

When the people first saw the manna, they asked, “What is it?” in Hebrew, “man hu” This also led to the name of the bread: man hu: manna. Like many Catholics today, the Israelites also did not know what their bread really was. 

Much of what we read in the Old Testament is a foreshadowing of Jesus, the Church, the Sacraments, Mary and more. The “what is it?” bread – manna – is a foreshadowing of the Eucharist (or Holy Communion). An important fact about Biblical foreshadowing is this: The New Testament fulfillment is always greater than what foreshadowed it in the Old Testament. For example, Moses is a foreshadowing of Jesus and Jesus is greater than Moses. This means that the bread that Jesus gave is far superior to the manna which came down from heaven in the desert. 

But if it’s just a symbol, how is it greater? I’ll give you a hint… it’s not just a symbol.

Next time we will look at what Jesus Himself taught about the Eucharist. Until then, go to Jesus in prayer and ask Him to help you deepen your understanding of the Eucharist.

Peace

This is a popular word people associate with Jesus – often at this holy time of Christmas. St. Luke tells of the angels visit to the shepherds on the night of Christ’s birth.

After the angel announces the birth of Jesus to the shepherds, a multitude of angles appear and sing:

“Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace among men with whom he is pleased!” 

-Luke 2:14

“Peace among men with whom he is pleased’? What does that mean exactly?

THE PRINCE OF PEACE

This particular verse is from a translation of the Bible called the “Revised Standard Version”. It is a Catholic translation and is considered by many to be the most accurate English translation we have.

Let’s look at some other Catholic Bible translations of this verse:

• “Glory to God in the highest and on earth peace to those on whom his favor rests.” is from the New American Bible.
• “Glory to God in the highest; and on earth peace to men of good will.” is from the Douay-Rheims Bible.

There is a theme here. Peace is dependent on something else. It is for men with whom God is pleased, on whom God’s favor rests… people the Douay-Rheims Bible calls “men of good will”. 

“Men of good will” means that your will is good, or in other words, your will is to do God’s will. This is the most descriptive and helpful of the translations above, because it doesn’t just tell us that peace comes to those who have God’s favor or to those God is pleased with. “Men of good will” tells us what we need to do to have peace:

We need to follow God’s will.

This is why the “Gloria” at Mass was changed a several years ago, from “Glory to God in the highest. And peace to His people on earth” to “Glory to God in the highest. And on earth peace to men of good will.”

By the way, many of us are very used to another translation of this verse that is, well… not quite accurate… and may be another reason for people’s confusion about “peace” and “men of good will”. In the Peanut’s Christmas Special, which has aired annually for over 50 years, Linus quotes Luke’s Gospel using this translation, which is the King James Version of the Bible. It’s the Protestant translation used by most non-Catholic Christians. It reads, “Glory to God in the highest, and on earth peace, good will toward men.”

Anyway, back to the Catholic verse. What is peace then? Surely, it doesn’t mean that war never comes to those who do God’s will. It doesn't mean you won't be challenged by stressful situations.  It doesn’t mean you will not have enemies or have people who don’t like you. Jesus Himself had enemies and still does today.

It may help to look at what Jesus said about the peace He brings… after all, He is the “Prince of Peace”

“Do not think that I have come to bring peace on earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to set a man against his father, and a daughter against her mother, and a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law; and a man’s foes will be those of his own household. He who loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me; and he who loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me; and he who does not take his cross and follow me is not worthy of me. He who finds his life will lose it, and he who loses his life for my sake will find it.      -Matthew 10:32-39

Well… that doesn’t sound very peaceful, does it? The peace we so often think about is not what Jesus is bringing. He makes it very plain. Following Him will cause division in our lives, right up to losing our lives if need be, because many people will not agree with our choice to follow Jesus, and those people will often be in our own household.

OK, so Jesus does not bring the kind of peace where everyone gets along with everyone else. So what kind of peace does He bring?

“If a man loves me, he will keep my word, and my Father will love him, and we will come to him and make our home with him. He who does not love me does not keep my words; and the word which you hear is not mine but the Father’s who sent me. These things I have spoken to you, while I am still with you. But the Counselor, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, he will teach you all things, and bring to your remembrance all that I have said to you. Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”     -John 14:23-27

Jesus gives the kind of peace that comes with knowing you love Him, because you do His will… you keep His word… and the Trinity (Father, Son and Holy Spirit) come and make Their home with you. So that no matter how much craziness is going on around you, you have God with you, so your heart is not troubled and is not afraid…

YOU ARE AT PEACE WITH GOD

All baptized Christians who struggle to do God’s will have this peace… to a point, but there is so much more! Truly living in God’s peace takes time. Sin, anxiety and fear get in the way. To have this kind of peace more fully we need to pray every day. We need to frequent Mass, adoration of the Eucharist and confession. We need to do God’s will more faithfully… every day.

An excellent book on peace was written by a French priest and spiritual master named Father Jacques Philippe. It is titled, “Searching for and Maintaining Peace”. You can purchase it online by clicking HERE. I highly recommend this book, as well as the many other excellent books written by Father Philippe.

So, Christmas brought us Jesus and Jesus provided us the path to true peace.

Merry Christmas!