May 1, 2025 Written by 

Power and Wealth

1. “He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life" (Jn 6:54). By instituting the Eucharist on the eve of his death, Christ wanted to give the Church a food that would nourish her continually and make her live his own life as the Risen One.

Long before the institution, Jesus had announced this unique meal. In Jewish worship there was no lack of sacred meals, which were eaten in the presence of God and which manifested the joy of divine favour. Jesus surpasses all this: now it is he, in his flesh and blood, who becomes the food and drink of humanity. In the Eucharistic meal, man feeds on God.

When, for the first time, Jesus announces this food, he arouses the amazement of his listeners, who fail to grasp such a lofty divine plan. Jesus therefore vigorously emphasised the objective truth of his words, affirming the necessity of the Eucharistic meal: "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you will not have life in you" (John 6: 53). This is not a purely spiritual meal, in which the expressions 'eating the flesh' of Christ and 'drinking his blood' would have a metaphorical meaning. It is a true meal, as Jesus emphatically states: "My flesh is true food and my blood true drink" (Jn 6:55).

Such food, moreover, is no less necessary for the development of divine life in the faithful than material food is for the maintenance and development of bodily life. The Eucharist is not a luxury offered to those who would like to live more intimately united to Christ: it is a requirement of Christian life. This requirement was understood by the disciples since, according to the testimony of the Acts of the Apostles, in the early days of the Church the "breaking of bread", the Eucharistic meal, was practised daily in the homes of the faithful "with joy and simplicity of heart" (Acts 2:46).

2. In the promise of the Eucharist, Jesus explains why this food is necessary: "I am the bread of life" he declares (Jn 6:48). "As the Father, who has life, has sent me and I live for the Father, so also he who eats of me will live for me" (John 6:57). The Father is the first source of life: he has given this life to the Son, who in turn communicates it to humanity. He who feeds on Christ in the Eucharist does not have to wait for the hereafter to receive eternal life: he already possesses it on earth, and in it he also possesses the guarantee of bodily resurrection at the end of the world: "He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day" (Jn 6:54).

This guarantee of Resurrection comes from the fact that the flesh of the Son of Man given as food is his body in the glorious state of the Risen One. The listeners to the promise of the Eucharist had not grasped this truth: they thought that Jesus wanted to speak of his flesh in the state of his earthly life, and thus manifested great repugnance at the meal announced. The Master corrects their way of thinking, pointing out that it is the flesh of the Son of Man "ascended to where he was before" (Jn 6:62), that is, in the triumphant state of his ascension into heaven. This glorious body is filled with the life of the Holy Spirit, and it is in this way that it can sanctify the men who feed on it, and give them the pledge of eternal glory.

In the Eucharist, therefore, we receive the life of the risen Christ. For when the sacrifice is sacramentally performed on the altar, not only is the mystery of the Saviour's Passion and Death made present in it, but also the mystery of the Resurrection, in which the sacrifice finds its crowning glory. The Eucharistic celebration makes us participate in the redemptive offering, but also in the triumphant life of the risen Christ. This is the reason for the atmosphere of joy that characterises every Eucharistic liturgy. While commemorating the drama of Calvary, once marked by immense sorrow, the priest and the faithful rejoice in uniting their offering to that of Christ, because they know that they are at the same time living the mystery of the Resurrection, inseparable from this offering.

3. The life of the risen Christ is distinguished by its power and richness. The one who receives communion receives the spiritual strength needed to face all obstacles and trials while remaining faithful to his commitments as a Christian. He also draws from the Sacrament, as from an abundant spring, continuous streams of energy for the development of all his resources and qualities, in a joyful ardour that stimulates generosity.

In particular, he draws on the life-giving energy of charity. In the tradition of the Church, the Eucharist has always been considered and lived as the sacrament par excellence of unity and love. Already St Paul declares it: "Since there is one bread, we, though we are many, are one body; For we all partake of the one bread" (1 Cor 10:17).

The Eucharistic celebration brings together all Christians, whatever their differences, in a unanimous offering and meal in which all participate. It gathers them all into the equal dignity of brothers of Christ and sons of the Father; it invites them to respect, to mutual esteem, to mutual service. Communion also gives each person the moral strength needed to rise above reasons for division and opposition, to forgive wrongs received, to make a new effort in the direction of reconciliation and fraternal understanding.

Is it not, moreover, particularly significant that the precept of mutual love was formulated by Christ in its highest expression during the Last Supper, at the institution of the Eucharist? Every believer should remember this when approaching the Eucharistic table and strive not to contradict with his life what he celebrates in the mystery.

[Pope John Paul II, General Audience 8 June 1983]

81 Last modified on Thursday, 01 May 2025 04:16
don Giuseppe Nespeca

Giuseppe Nespeca è architetto e sacerdote. Cultore della Sacra scrittura è autore della raccolta "Due Fuochi due Vie - Religione e Fede, Vangeli e Tao"; coautore del libro "Dialogo e Solstizio".

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May we obtain this gift [the full unity of all believers in Christ] through the Apostles Peter and Paul, who are remembered by the Church of Rome on this day that commemorates their martyrdom and therefore their birth to life in God. For the sake of the Gospel they accepted suffering and death, and became sharers in the Lord's Resurrection […] Today the Church again proclaims their faith. It is our faith (Pope John Paul II)
Ci ottengano questo dono [la piena unità di tutti i credenti in Cristo] gli Apostoli Pietro e Paolo, che la Chiesa di Roma ricorda in questo giorno, nel quale si fa memoria del loro martirio, e perciò della loro nascita alla vita in Dio. Per il Vangelo essi hanno accettato di soffrire e di morire e sono diventati partecipi della risurrezione del Signore […] Oggi la Chiesa proclama nuovamente la loro fede. E' la nostra fede (Papa Giovanni Paolo II)
Family is the heart of the Church. May an act of particular entrustment to the heart of the Mother of God be lifted up from this heart today (John Paul II)
La famiglia è il cuore della Chiesa. Si innalzi oggi da questo cuore un atto di particolare affidamento al cuore della Genitrice di Dio (Giovanni Paolo II)
The liturgy interprets for us the language of Jesus’ heart, which tells us above all that God is the shepherd (Pope Benedict)
La liturgia interpreta per noi il linguaggio del cuore di Gesù, che parla soprattutto di Dio quale pastore (Papa Benedetto)
In the heart of every man there is the desire for a house [...] My friends, this brings about a question: “How do we build this house?” (Pope Benedict)
Nel cuore di ogni uomo c'è il desiderio di una casa [...] Amici miei, una domanda si impone: "Come costruire questa casa?" (Papa Benedetto)
Try to understand the guise such false prophets can assume. They can appear as “snake charmers”, who manipulate human emotions in order to enslave others and lead them where they would have them go (Pope Francis)
Chiediamoci: quali forme assumono i falsi profeti? Essi sono come “incantatori di serpenti”, ossia approfittano delle emozioni umane per rendere schiave le persone e portarle dove vogliono loro (Papa Francesco)
Every time we open ourselves to God's call, we prepare, like John, the way of the Lord among men (John Paul II)
Tutte le volte che ci apriamo alla chiamata di Dio, prepariamo, come Giovanni, la via del Signore tra gli uomini (Giovanni Paolo II)
Paolo VI stated that the world today is suffering above all from a lack of brotherhood: “Human society is sorely ill. The cause is not so much the depletion of natural resources, nor their monopolistic control by a privileged few; it is rather the weakening of brotherly ties between individuals and nations” (Pope Benedict)
Paolo VI affermava che il mondo soffre oggi soprattutto di una mancanza di fraternità: «Il mondo è malato. Il suo male risiede meno nella dilapidazione delle risorse o nel loro accaparramento da parte di alcuni, che nella mancanza di fraternità tra gli uomini e tra i popoli» (Papa Benedetto)
Dear friends, this is the perpetual and living heritage that Jesus has bequeathed to us in the Sacrament of his Body and his Blood. It is an inheritance that demands to be constantly rethought and relived so that, as venerable Pope Paul VI said, its "inexhaustible effectiveness may be impressed upon all the days of our mortal life" (Pope Benedict)

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