Why come to Mass each week? Why come to daily Mass, if that is a possibility for you? These three weeks’ Gospel readings from St. John, Chapter 6, known as the Bread of Life Discourse, provide the answer. We come to Mass to be fed…by God’s Word in Holy Scripture and in the Eucharist which feed and unite us. Jesus knows that we need His Body and His Blood (both flesh and blood fully present in the consecrated host, even if the consecrated blood of Christ is not available to us at certain times) to remain connected to Him, the Father, and to one another.
We hear in St. John’s Gospel that the Israelites want to crown Jesus their king because he has miraculously provided food to them, they a people starving under the Roman occupation. Jesus urges them, however, to seek the bread that comes down from heaven. “I AM the bread of life,” he explains. “Whoever eats this bread will live forever, and the bread that I give is my flesh for the life of the world.” (John 6:51) “This is a hard saying,” the people complain. “How is it possible to eat His flesh and drink his blood?” “It’s NOT!” many of his followers conclude, and they turn away.
As we weigh our choices—to remain engaged or turn away, consider this quote from Romans 10:10; “Faith in the heart leads to justification; confession on the lips to salvation.” Have faith in Jesus; He has the words of eternal life.