HOMILIES

Dear Audience,
For better understanding of the spiritual message behind this homily I kindly remind you to first read and contemplate the biblical texts before reading or listening to my preaching - a human reflection on the Word of God!

The Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (Year A)

Jun 7, 2026

133

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First Reading

A reading from the Book of Deuteronomy (8:2-3, 14b-16a)

Moses said to the people: "Remember how for forty years now the Lord, your God, has directed all your journeying in the desert, so as to test you by affliction and find out whether or not it was your intention to keep His commandments. He therefore let you be afflicted with hunger, and then fed you with manna, a food unknown to you and your fathers, in order to show you that not by bread alone does one live, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of the Lord."

"Do not forget the Lord, your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, that place of slavery; who guided you through the vast and terrible desert with its seraph serpents and scorpions, its parched and waterless ground; who brought forth water for you from the flinty rock and fed you in the desert with manna, a food unknown to your fathers."

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Responsorial Psalm

Psalms of David (147:12-13, 14-15, 19-20)

(R) Praise the Lord, Jerusalem.

Glorify the Lord, O Jerusalem; praise your God, O Zion. For He has strengthened the bards of your gates; He has blessed your children within you. (R)

He has granted peace in your borders; with the best of wheat He fills you. He sends forth His command to the Earth; swiftly runs His word! (R)

He has proclaimed His word to Jacob, His statutes and His ordinances to Israel. He has not done thus for any other nation; His ordinances He has not made known to them. (R)

Second Reading

A reading from the First Letter of Saint Paul to the Corinthians (10:16-17)

Brothers and sisters: The cup of blessing that we bless, is it not a participation in the blood of Christ? The bread that we break, is it not a participation in the body of Christ? Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.

(P) The word of the Lord.
(R) Thanks be to God.

Gospel

A reading from the Gospel according to John (6:51-58)

Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the word."

The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them, "Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. 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. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever."

(P) The Gospel of the Lord.
(R) Praise to you, Lord Jesus Christ.

Homily

Today's gospel from John (6:51-58) is part of a long conversation Jesus had with the people the day after the miraculous feeding of a massive crowd with just five loaves of bread and two fish, John (6:5-15). Rather than understanding the miracle as a spiritual sign, the people had sought Jesus out for more physical bread. But Jesus used their physical hunger to redirect their attention to spiritual reality. He urged them to stop working for temporary "food that perishes" and instead pursue the spiritual "food that endures for eternal life", which the Son of Man, that is Himself, would give, John (6:27). When the people asked Him what God requires from them to obtain the bread of eternal life, Jesus replied that the only thing God asks of them is faith - specifically, "believing in the one He has sent", John (6:28).

In saying this, Jesus was shifting their focus from religious rituals to complete faith and trust in Him as the Messiah sent by God, yet they were not ready to believe in Him. Instead, they asked Jesus to perform a miracle as grand as Moses did for their ancestors - raining manna from heaven to prove His identity. Jesus corrected them, stating that it wasn't Moses who gave the manna, but God, and that those who ate the manna in the wilderness only sustained physical life temporarily, and the people eventually died, whereas the bread that He gives is the true bread from God the Father in heaven for the world, offering eternal life to those who believe, John (6:29-33). Assuming Jesus was offering a magical, continuous food supply, the people immediately and enthusiastically asked Him for "this bread always", John (6:34).

Knowing that their focus was still entirely on temporary bodily needs, Jesus further declared, "I am the bread of life, and whoever comes to me would never go hungry, and whoever believes in me would never be thirsty", John (6:35). Here, Jesus used everyday necessities as metaphors to emphasize that just as bread and water satisfy temporary physical hunger and thirst, He would satisfy humanity's deepest spiritual longings, such as meaning, purpose, peace, and eternal fulfilment. Despite His explanation of being the bread from heaven for eternal life, because of his known human lineage and humble family background, the people could not accept Jesus equating Himself with the divine manna from heaven. However, in today's gospel, Jesus reinforced his claim by stating that He is the "living bread" that came down from heaven and added a further layer by explaining that this bread is my own flesh, meant to be consumed for eternal lifeJohn (6:51-58). This statement sparked an immediate and fierce argument among the crowds. They took his words literally and asked, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" They wondered how it was possible for a human being to literally offer his flesh for consumption.

However, instead of softening his message to appease them, Jesus again repeated His claim with even greater emphasis. He stated that one must both eat his flesh and drink his blood to have eternal life and then identified vital spiritual benefits for those who "eat his flesh and drink his blood." He promised that whoever partakes of him or feed on him will receive eternal life, undergo resurrection on the last day, abide intimately with Him, and obtain spiritual life and nourishmentJohn (6:53-57). Now, to ancient Jewish listeners, this was deeply scandalous. Drinking blood was strictly forbidden by Jewish Law and eating human flesh was an abomination, (Gn. 9:4; Lev. 17:10-13; Deut. 12:16).

Since blood is the ultimate representation of life-force, and it belongs exclusively to God, consumption of human flesh and blood or wanton spilling of human blood was considered a fundamental violation of the sanctity of life and beneath human dignity for we are made in the image and likeness of God. Jesus finally concluded His preaching on the Bread of Life by summarizing the ultimate spiritual reality of His message. He contrasted Himself with the physical manna eaten by the Israelites in the desert, which only sustained temporary physical life, and declared that whoever eats Him as the true bread will live forever, John (6:58). However, a few verses later, John reports that many of Jesus' followers found His teaching so offensive and jarring that they turned back and abandoned Him, John (6:66).

What is the message for us?

Jesus' promise of giving his flesh and blood as true food and drink found its ultimate realization at the Last Supper with his disciples on the night before his crucifixion when Jesus took bread and wine, blessed them, and declared, "Take and eat; this is my body." He then took the cup of wine, giving thanks, and said, "Drink from it, all of you. This is my blood of the covenant" and commanded them to "do this in remembrance of me", (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; 1 Corinthians 11:23-25). The Last Supper is universally recognized as the foundational event for the Holy Eucharist which remains the central act of worship and the "source and summit" of Christian life.

However, Jesus' invitation to "eat my flesh and drink my blood" remains one of the most significant points of division among Christians due to fundamental differences in scriptural interpretation, historic church traditions, and philosophical reasoning. We Catholics and Eastern Orthodox Catholics believe in the "Real Presence" of Jesus Christ in the Eucharist, known as transubstantiation. We hold that the underlying substance of the bread and wine truly and literally become the actual Body and Blood of Jesus Christ during the Eucharist, though the appearance, taste, and texture of bread and wine, known as "outward accidents", remain the same.

Some Christian traditions, such as Baptists and Pentecostals view the Eucharist as purely symbolic or memorial act. For them the bread and wine are only metaphors or symbolic representations meant to help believers remember, believe in, and accept Jesus' sacrifice on the cross. Some others, like Presbyterians, Anglicans, and Lutherans take a middle ground. They reject Catholic belief of transubstantiation but also reject the idea that the Eucharist is just a symbol. Instead, they affirm the "Real Presence" via sacramental union or real spiritual presence.

While the Catholic Church holds that it possesses the fullness of the Christian faith, it teaches us to recognize all baptized believers as brothers and sisters in Christ. Therefore, we shall avoid condemning or judging different faith practices and perspectives on the Eucharist. Instead, let us engage with other Christians respectfully and lovingly and focus on our shared foundation, like the Scriptures, salvation through Christ, God's grace, prayer, and serving others.

The Eucharist is a sacred meal that we celebrate in memory of Jesus' life, death and resurrection, and we do so just as He had instructed His disciples during His last meal with them the night before His crucifixion and death. While they commemorated Israelites' physical freedom from Egyptian slavery, in the Eucharist we commemorate Christ's ultimate sacrifice on the cross which liberates us from the spiritual slavery of sin and death.
The Eucharist is a sacred meal in which first, we listen to God's Word; then we consume God's Word, which became flesh in Jesus Christ, and then we are sent forth to live as God's Word. In other words, having been spiritually nourished by God's Word and consumed the Body and Blood of Christ in the bread and wine, we literally become the Body and Blood of Christ in the world.
By connecting the bread and wine to His flesh and blood and instructing us to "do this in remembrance of Him", Jesus gives us a profound and tangible way to focus on His sacrificial love, the new covenant, and His real presence in our daily lives. Therefore, let us always approach the altar and partake in this sacred meal with gratitude, reverence, and expectant faith.
The invitation from Jesus to "eat His flesh and drink His blood" is a promise that whoever accepts and believes in Him will receive forgiveness of sins, eternal salvation, and ultimate resurrection. Hence, even though we may barely comprehend all that Jesus gives us in his Body and Blood, we shall pray today that He may strengthen our faith so that we may overcome distractions, lukewarmness, and doubt and worthily receive the Eucharist as our eternal nourishment.
The Eucharist is fundamentally a "Sacrament of Unity" that invites us to become one Body of Christ, as St. Paul reminds us in today's second reading, 1 Corinthians (10:16-17). By partaking in the Eucharist, we are physically and spiritually united to Christ and to each other in the community transcending historical, racial, cultural, social and language barriers. So, let us actively participate in the liturgy and receive the Holy Eucharist frequently to deepen our spiritual roots, unite with our community, and carry out our mission in the world.
The Eucharist is not ordinary food; it is truly, really and substantially the Body and Blood of our Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, preparing our bodies, hearts, and minds is essential to avoid receiving it unworthily. So, let us fast from all food and drink, (except water and medicine) for at least an hour before receiving the Holy Eucharist. Let us seriously examine our consciences and prepare spiritually by confessing our sins and seeking forgiveness of God. As we approach the altar to receive the Eucharist, let us silently pray again with deep faith, "Lord, I am not worthy that you should enter under my roof but only say the word and my soul shall be healed."

(P) Amen.

God Bless You!

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