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]

This [...] Gospel passage [...] introduces us to the second part of the discourse that Jesus delivers in the Synagogue of Capernaum, after having satisfied the hunger of the great multitude with five loaves and two fish: the multiplication of the loaves. He presents himself as “the bread which came down from heaven”, the bread that gives eternal life, and he adds: “the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh” (v. 51).

This passage is decisive, and in fact it provokes the reaction of those who are listening, who begin to dispute among themselves: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” (v. 52). When the sign of the shared bread points to its true significance, namely, self-giving to the point of sacrifice, misunderstanding arises; it leads to the actual rejection of the One whom, shortly before, they had wanted to lift up in triumph. Let us remember that Jesus had to hide because they had wanted to make him king.

Jesus continues: “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (v. 53). Here the blood is present together with the flesh. In biblical language, flesh and blood express concrete humanity. The people and the disciples themselves sense that Jesus invites them to enter into communion with him, to ‘eat’ him, his humanity, in order to share with him the gift of life for the world. So much for triumphs and mirages of success! It is precisely the sacrifice of Jesus who gives himself for us.

This bread of life, the sacrament of the Body and Blood of Christ, comes to us freely given at the table of the Eucharist. Around the altar we find what spiritually feeds us and quenches our thirst today and for eternity. Each time we participate in the Holy Mass, in a certain sense, we anticipate heaven on earth, because from the Eucharistic sustenance, the Body and Blood of Jesus, we learn what eternal life is. It is living for the Lord: “he who eats me will live because of me” (v. 57), the Lord says. The Eucharist shapes us so that we live not only for ourselves but for the Lord and for our brothers and sisters. Life’s happiness and eternity depend on our ability to render fruitful the evangelical love we receive in the Eucharist.

As in that time, today too Jesus repeats to each of us: “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you” (v. 53). Brothers and sisters, it is not about material sustenance, but a living and life-giving bread, which conveys the very life of God. When we receive Communion we receive the very life of God. To have this life it is necessary to nourish ourselves of the Gospel and of the love of our brothers and sisters. Before Jesus’ invitation to nourish ourselves of his Body and of his Blood, we might feel the need to dispute and to resist, as did those listeners whom today’s Gospel spoke of. This happens when we struggle to model our existence after that of Jesus, to act according to his criteria and not according to worldly criteria. By nourishing ourselves of this food we can enter into full harmony with Christ, with his sentiments, with his behaviour. This is so important: to go to Mass and partake in Communion, because receiving Communion is receiving this living Christ, who transforms us within and prepares us for heaven.

May the Virgin Mary support our aim to enter into communion with Jesus Christ, by nourishing ourselves of his Eucharist, so as to become in our turn bread broken for our brothers and sisters.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 19 August 2018]

Third Easter Sunday [4 May 2025]

God bless us and may the Virgin protect us! In these days, as the prayer of the Church is intense in anticipation of the choice of Peter's successor, the proclamation of the Gospel (Jn 21:1-19) concerning Peter himself takes on great value.

*First Reading, from the Acts of the Apostles (5, 27b-32. 40b-41)

 After the apostles had been scourged for their preaching, St Luke writes that when they came out of the Sanhedrin they went away rejoicing that they had been found worthy to suffer outrages for the name of Jesus. After all, the Lord had foretold to them that they would be hated, banished, insulted, and reviled because of the Son of Man, and that precisely that would be the time to rejoice and even exult because great is the reward in heaven, since this was also the case with the prophets (cf. Lk 6:22-23). Besides, if they persecuted the Master, they will do the same to you (cf. Jn 15:20). Peter and John, after the healing of the cripple at the Porta Bella, a miracle that made much noise in the city, had been tried before the Sanhedrin, the Jerusalem tribunal, the same one that had condemned Jesus a few weeks earlier. As soon as they were released, they had resumed preaching and performing miracles. Arrested again and put in prison, during the night they were released by an angel and it is understood that this miraculous intervention made them even stronger; they resumed preaching. Today's passage situates us precisely at this moment: arrested once again and brought to court, Peter replies to the high priest who questions them that "one must obey God rather than men". He then speaks of the difference between the logic of God and the logic of men: that of men, that is, that of the Jewish court, considers that a wrongdoer who has been killed should certainly not be given publicity. And he argues thus: Jesus, in the eyes of the religious authorities, is an impostor crucified because he had to be prevented from deceiving the populace prone to give credence to any supposed messiah. A condemned man hung on the cross, according to the Torah, becomes cursed even by God. However, there is also God's logic: you crucified Jesus and yet, against all odds, he is not only not cursed by God but raised to the right hand of God who made him Prince and Saviour to grant Israel conversion and forgiveness of sins. Words that sound scandalous to the judges exasperated by the apostles' confidence, so many decide to eliminate them as they did Jesus. Gamaliel intervenes, however, who invites the Sanhedrin to prudence because if this work is of human origin it will destroy itself, but if it comes from God this will never happen; indeed he warns them so that "it will not happen to you to fight against God" (Acts 5:34-39). Today's liturgical reading skips the Gamaliel episode and directly narrates Peter's response to the tribunal determined to scourge the apostles and then free them. History shows that there have always been persecutions, scandals, and attacks of all kinds in the Church, and yet it continues to go on through the centuries. St Augustine writes: "The city of God advances through time, pilgrimaging between the persecutions of the world and the consolations of God." (De Civitate Dei, XIX, 26).

*Responsorial Psalm 29 (30), 3-4, 5-6ab, 6cd.12, 13

Psalm 29 (30) is very short, only thirteen verses (of which only eight are proposed in today's liturgy). Reading through the entire psalm one perceives the situation of a desperate person who has done everything to be saved, crying out, begging, asking for help. There are people who even enjoy seeing him suffer and mock him, but he continues to cry out for help until someone finally listens and frees him. It is God himself who intervenes and, freed from oppression, the desperate man explodes with joy. The opening of the psalm sets the tone for everything else: 'I exalt you, O Lord, for you have raised me up and not allowed my enemies to rejoice over me'. In every psalm there are two levels of reading: here too, the adventure of one who, despite having suffered an unexpected collapse in his life, continues to be certain that in the end he will be delivered, is an image of Israel exploding with joy after the Babylonian exile, just as it had exulted after the crossing of the Red Sea. In tragic moments, Israel trusts in God: "In my confidence I said: never shall I waver"; he cries out to the Lord: "Hear, Lord, have mercy on me, Lord come to my aid!" and uses every argument possible, going so far as to provoke God: "what good would it do you if I died, what good would my blood do you if I went down to the grave?"  And when the psalmist says: "Can the dust praise thee, proclaim thy faithfulness?" he makes us realise that in those days it was believed that after death there was nothingness, so useless before death were prayers, sacrifices, songs. God, however, listens and performs the miracle: "I cried out to you, my God, and you healed me; Lord you brought me up from the abyss and revived me when I was about to die". This psalm finds its fulfilment in the Easter cry of Alleluia because the Lord has delivered us from the bondage of evil. Among rabbinic commentaries I found this: "God has led us from slavery to freedom, from sorrow to joy, from mourning to the feast day, from darkness to shining light, from slavery to redemption. Therefore we sing Alleluia before him!"

* Second Reading: From the Book of Revelation of Saint John the Apostle (5, 11-14)

The book of Revelation is a hymn to victory narrated with many visions. In today's text, millions and millions of angels shout at the top of their voices in heaven: "long live the King!" while on land, sea, and under the earth, every breathing creature praises the new King, Jesus Christ: the immolated Lamb, acclaimed as he receives "power and riches, wisdom and strength, honour, glory, and blessing". To describe the kingship of Christ, the vision uses a language of images and numbers; a rich text, therefore, because only symbolic language can introduce us into the ineffable and lindicable world of God. It is, at the same time, a difficult text because it uses recurring images, colours and numbers that are not easy to interpret. It is difficult to grasp the hidden meaning of a passage such as the expression "the four living creatures", which in the previous chapter are four winged beings: the first with the face of a man, the other three of animals - a lion, an eagle, a bull - and we are used to seeing them in many paintings, sculptures and mosaics, believing we know without hesitation to whom they refer. St Irenaeus, in the 2nd century, proposed a symbolic reading: for him, the four living ones are the four evangelists; St Augustine took up the same idea, modifying it slightly, and his interpretation has remained in the tradition: according to him, Matthew is the living one with the face of a man, Mark the lion, Luke the bull and John the eagle. Modern biblical scholars do not seem to agree because for them the author of Revelation has taken an image from Ezekiel, where the four beings support the throne of God and simply represent the created world. The numbers are also difficult to interpret. According to many, the number 3 symbolises God; 4 the world the created world by reason of the four cardinal points; 7 (3+4) evokes both God and the created world in its fullness and perfection, while 6 (7-1) stands for incompleteness, imperfection. Of singular interest is this acclamation: 'The Lamb that was slain is worthy to receive power and riches, wisdom and strength, honour, glory and praise': power and riches, wisdom and strength refer to earthly success, honour, glory and praise are reserved for God. It is a total of seven words: this is to say that the immolated Lamb, that is, Jesus is fully God and fully man, all expressed with the suggestive power of symbolic language. All creatures in heaven, on earth, under the earth and on the sea thus proclaim their submission to God who sits on the Throne and to the Lamb: "To him who sits on the Throne and to the Lamb, praise, honour, glory and power for ever and ever". John's insistence aims to exalt the victory of the immolated Lamb: defeated in the eyes of men, he is the great victor. Let us contemplate here the mystery that lies at the heart of the New Testament, which is at the same time its paradox: the Lord of the world is made the least, the Judge of the living and the dead is judged as an evildoer; he who is God is accused of blasphemy and rejected precisely in the name of God. All this happens because God has allowed it. By using this language, St John has a twofold objective: on the one hand, he offers the community a response to the scandal of the cross by providing arguments to Christians who were arguing bitterly with the Jews about the death of Christ. For the Jews it was clear that he was not the Messiah because it is written in Deuteronomy that "anyone condemned to death under the law, executed and hung on a tree, is a curse of God" (Deut 21:22). For Christians, on the other hand, in the light of the resurrection, his death is the work of God and the cross constitutes the place of the exaltation of the Son, as Jesus himself had announced: "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, you will know that 'I am'" (Jn 8:28). That is, you will recognise my divinity: "I Am" is exactly the name of God (Ex 3:14). In a condemned wretch the glory of God shines forth, and in John's vision the Lamb receives the same honours and acclamations as he who sits on the Throne. Secondly, with Revelation John wanted to support Christians in the hour of trial because on the cross Love conquered hatred and, after all, this is precisely the message of Revelation in support of persecuted Christians

*From the Gospel according to John (21, 1-19)

John specifies in this text the presence of seven apostles (21,2). Since the seven Churches of Revelation represent the whole Church, it can be assumed that the seven apostles indicate the disciples of all times, i.e. the whole Christian world. This chapter, as is often the case in the Fourth Gospel, is all symbolic. Let us look at just a few examples. 

1. When the boat touches the shore, despite the fact that the disciples find an embers fire with some fish and bread, Jesus asks them to bring the fish caught by them. Probably this is the message: in the work of evangelisation, since he called Peter "fisher of men", Jesus goes ahead of us (here is the fish already placed on the fire before the disciples arrive), but he always asks for our collaboration.

2. Another point is the dialogue between Jesus and Peter of which the Italian translation has tried to render in some way the subtlety of the Greek verb used for love. Commenting on verses 15-17 in the catechesis of 24 May 2006, Benedict XVI notes the use of the two verbs agapaō and phileō.  In Greek, phileō expresses the love of friendship, affectionate but not all-encompassing; agapaō, love without reserve. The first time Jesus asks Peter: "Simon... do you 'agapā̄s me'?" (21:15), i.e. "Do you love me with that total and unconditional love?", Peter however does not answer with agapaō but with phileō, saying: "Lord, I love you (phileō) as I know how to love". Jesus repeats the verb agapaō in the second question, but Peter insists with phileō. Finally, the third time, Jesus only asks "phileîs me?" and Simon understands that his poor love is enough for Jesus. One can say that Jesus adapted himself to Peter, rather than Peter to Jesus, and it is this adaptation of God that gives hope to the disciple, who has experienced the suffering of infidelity. As in the night between Thursday and Friday, Peter denied three times that he knew the man, now Jesus questions him three times: infinite delicacy to allow him to erase his threefold denial. Hence the confidence that will enable him to follow Christ to the end. 

3. Each time Jesus bases his demand on this adherence of Peter to entrust him with the ministry of shepherding the community: "Shepherd my sheep". Our relationship with Christ has meaning and truth if it fulfils a mission in the service of others. Jesus indeed specifies 'my' sheep: Peter is invited to share the 'burden' of Christ. He does not own the flock, but the care he devotes to Christ's flock will be the test of his love for Christ himself. When Jesus asks him if he loves me more than them, this is not to be understood as 'because you love me more than the others, I entrust the flock to you', but quite the opposite. Precisely because I entrust you with this task, you must love me more, and remember that in any ecclesial context, accepting a pastoral assignment entails a lot of gratuitous love. St Augustine comments: "If you love me, do not think that you are the shepherd; but shepherd my sheep as my own, not as your own."

4. We also have here an account of an apparition of the Risen One, but the term apparition should not mislead us because Jesus does not come from elsewhere and then disappear; on the contrary, he is permanently present with his disciples, with us as he had promised: "I am with you always, until the end of the world" (Mt 28:20). That is why it is better than apparition to use the term manifestation. Christ is Invisible, but not absent, and in the apparitions of then and of all times He makes Himself visible (in Greek: "He gives Himself to, He makes Himself seen"). These manifestations of Christ's presence are a support to strengthen our faith: full of concrete details, sometimes surprising, but with high symbolic value. 

5. What is the significance of the 153 fish? Apparently, exactly one hundred and fifty-three species of fish were known then. For St Eusebius of Caesarea, it is a symbolic way of indicating a maximum yield fishing. And later it becomes the theological symbol of the fullness of salvation wrought by Christ through the Church over the centuries that gathers all, Jews and Gentiles, into one faith.

NOTE: Chapter 20 of the Fourth Gospel concludes by saying that Jesus did many other signs in the presence of the disciples, which are not written in this book because we believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, and believing we have life in his name (20:30-31). It is therefore a good ending and why chapter 21? For many it was added later, almost as a postscriptum to clarify the issue of Peter's pre-eminence, already felt in the early Christian communities. Put another way, Peter's role in an account of Christ's appearance under the pen of St John may come as a surprise, and this points to one of the problems of the early Christian communities. This is why it seemed useful to remind the community linked to the memory of John that, by Christ's will, the pastor of the universal Church is Peter and not John. "When thou art old, thou shalt stretch forth thy hands, and another shall clothe thee, and bring thee whither thou wilt not" (v.18), a phrase that immediately follows the delivery to Peter: "shepherd my sheep" and seems to clearly indicate that the mission entrusted to Peter is one of service and not of domination. At the time, the belt was worn by travellers and servants: here is a double sign for the itinerant servants of the gospel. Peter died faithful in the service of the gospel; this is why John explains: Jesus "said this to indicate by what death he would glorify God"(v.19) and this suggests that this chapter is after Peter's death (during Nero's persecution in 66 or 67). It is generally thought that John's gospel was written very late and some even speculate (starting with Jn 21:23-24) that the final draft was written after his own death.

+Giovanni D'Ercole

(Jn 6:44-51)

God does not attract with peremptory force or blackmail, but with invitation (v.44).

And sincere belief is activated by an initial testimony in oneself (v.44).

The Father does not let us become chronic. He acts within each one to reshape convictions, adhesions, projects.

Everything works in the direction of ourselves, not in an unnatural mode.

He acts present in each person in a way that is spontaneous and at the same time akin to individuating principles; more respectful of inclinations, real characteristics, energies.

This teaching (v.45) is internal: impersonated by Christ in the Word that does not distort anything - implicit in his Person and story.

Thus the gift of life is linked to assimilating and becoming One with that Food.

Bread that does not damage people, but convinces, supports, ferments and orients - in an unrepeatable way; each one by Name.

That “Manducated” kills conformity and extinction.

It possesses the virtue of reknitting the threads that distinguish the character of Person, the innate quality, vocational essence, propulsive capacity [Life of the Eternal].

The bread of the earth preserves life but does not update, does not ceaselessly regenerate us, nor does it open a way through death.

The Bread that reactualizes the ultimate gift of the Son, nourishes the existence of an indestructible quality that does not fade, because it is divine Gold of our spring being.

The prophets had announced that in the last times one would not know God by hearsay but by personal experience.

After the failure of the kings and the priestly class, women and men would be taught directly by the Lord.

The expression «Bread came down from Heaven» designates Jesus himself in relationship with the Father and [precisely] in his mission to bring Wisdom, and exuberant Life, to people.

Divine, limitless Life, which immediately pours into each one - so excluding the uncertainties or interpretations veiled by the shortcomings, by the “visual” defects of the mediators, which conversely would lead to collapse.

Presence that in the time of complexity also kindles in us the desire to be instructed by God-in-Person, guided by the inner Friend, and walked by regenerating insights, in his Spirit.

He inclines us to pay no heed to a nature that seeks and «murmurs» only for the banal "taste" of sustenance: «manna in the desert» (v.49); that is, interest, reputation, titles, trivialitiy of satisfactions.

«I am the Bread, the Living, the one who came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this Bread, he shall live the Life of the Eternal, and the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the full Life of the world» (v. 51).

The Spirit that internalises and actualises is the main Subject of even domestic, daily history of salvation. Making himself ours.

By evangelizing us and growing in Friendship [we «instructed by God» (v.45)] the nourishing action of the Master introduces our fermented flesh into the new Life.

The Son beside us changes our 'taste' and familiarises of Himself the same 'Nature'.

In this way, we, too, assimilated and identified with the Bread-Person made intimate, reveal Totality in act, living Eternity, the original Source.

[Thursday 3rd wk. in Easter, May 8, 2025]

Also in domestic style

Jn 6:44-51 (41-51)

Jesus wants to turn the page. He does not intend to prop up the muddled, no longer vital.

He is faithful to the law of change of full Life, which ceaselessly seeks new arrangements - instead of stagnating in the situation.

This (at all times) while the religious authorities and the habitués wish to cling to the past, to what they know, to the ordinary sense of 'justice', to the morality of reference around...

In short, when it is Christ's time, everyone leaves. But the disagreement is already written.

God does not draw with peremptory force or blackmail, but with invitation (v.44).

And sincere belief is activated by an initial testimony in oneself (v.44).

For his social status as a small artisan [a landless man], the 'murmuring' (vv.41.43) was obvious, and referred back to the same opposition expressed by God's people wandering in the wilderness.

Not only is the divine claim to be authentic Manna, but the very origin of Jesus is incomprehensible to a devoutly quiet, normalised mentality - one that allows itself to be carried away without enigma.

The contestation is unrestrained and radical; it prefers and follows what gives immediate security - not the original. But the Lord does not slacken, otherwise he would leave us to become chronic.

Having to seem, having to be, having to do, do not give room for listening, for perception, for the change that awaits us: they paralyse.

The Father acts within each one to reshape convictions, adhesions, projects.

Everything works in the direction of ourselves, not unnaturally or of others - not even of Him.

He acts present in each person in the most spontaneous way.

In this way and at the same time, akin to individuating principles; more respectful of inclinations, of real characteristics, of energies even of the period.

This teaching (v.45) is interior: impersonated by Christ in the Word that does not distort anything - implicit in his Person and vicissitude.

Thus the gift of life is linked to assimilating and becoming One with that Food. Food that does not undermine the person, but rather convinces, sustains, ferments, and directs - in an unrepeatable way, by Name.

That sugared Bread grasps the flavour of an exterior emptiness at the bottom of which there is no annihilation: we are introduced into redemption, immersed in new life.

In conformity, life does not kill extinction. It does not possess the virtue of tying up the threads that distinguish the character of Person, nor the innate quality, the vocational essence, the propulsive capacity [Life of the Eternal].

It is the implicit 'cultural', ritual and banal, uninspired, ungenuine, that does not become living - and does not guarantee fullness but rather habituation.

As for us, if we have made a callus to it.

The bread of the earth preserves life but does not update, does not regenerate us ceaselessly, nor does it open a way through death.

The Bread that re-actualises for us the ultimate gift of the Son, nourishes existence with an indestructible quality that does not fade away, because Divine Gold of our being springs forth.

The prophets had announced: in the last times one would not know God by hearsay but by personal experience.

After the failure of kings and the priestly class, men would be taught directly by the Lord.

The expression 'Bread come down from Heaven' designates Jesus himself in relationship with the Father and [precisely] in his mission to bring Wisdom and exuberant Life to men.

Divine life, without limits, pours out immediately, to each one. Without uncertainties or interpretations veiled by the shortcomings of the "mediators", which on the contrary would lead to collapse.

Presence that in the time of complexity also kindles in us the desire to be taught by God-in-Person, guided by the inner Friend. They would be filled with regenerating insights, in his Spirit.

He inclines us to pay no heed to a nature that seeks and "murmurs" only for the corrupt "taste" of sustenance: "manna in the wilderness" (v.49); that is, interest, reputation, titles, trivialities of satisfaction.

Rather, we find authentic Life in the gift of good intuition and inner Vision.

In the grace that enables us to welcome the Call.

In the virtue that remains in listening - through active fidelity to the Vocation, through self-denial and righteousness of intentions that appropriate the virtues and merits of Christ.

"I am the Bread the Living, the one who came down from heaven. If anyone eats from this Bread he will live the Life of the Eternal, and the bread that I shall give is my flesh for the fullness of life in the world" (v.51).

The Spirit that internalises and actualises is the main Subject of even the most summary, daily history of salvation. Making ourselves our own.

By evangelising us and growing in Friendship ["instructed by God" (v.45)] the nourishing action of the Master immerses our fermented flesh in the New Life.

The Son beside us changes our 'taste' and familiarises of Himself the same 'Nature'.In this way, we too, assimilated and identified with the Bread-Person made intimate, reveal totality in action, living eternity, the original Source.

To internalise and live the message:

How do you enter into the gift of redemption through the Eucharist?

What 'contrary' morals around, the Bread of Life seeks to impart to you?

Have you ever felt 'severed from the earth' because of your different nourishment from Heaven?

What were the opportunities to make the leap that you may have overlooked?

7. The first element of eucharistic faith is the mystery of God himself, trinitarian love. In Jesus' dialogue with Nicodemus, we find an illuminating expression in this regard: "God so loved the world that he gave his only Son, that whoever believes in him should not perish but have eternal life. For God sent the Son into the world, not to condemn the world, but that the world might be saved through him" (Jn 3:16-17). These words show the deepest source of God's gift. In the Eucharist Jesus does not give us a "thing," but himself; he offers his own body and pours out his own blood. He thus gives us the totality of his life and reveals the ultimate origin of this love. He is the eternal Son, given to us by the Father. In the Gospel we hear how Jesus, after feeding the crowds by multiplying the loaves and fishes, says to those who had followed him to the synagogue of Capernaum: "My Father gives you the true bread from heaven; for the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven, and gives life to the world" (Jn 6:32-33), and even identifies himself, his own flesh and blood, with that bread: "I am the living bread which came down from heaven; if anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the life of the world is my flesh" (Jn 6:51). Jesus thus shows that he is the bread of life which the eternal Father gives to mankind.

[Pope Benedict, Sacramentum Caritatis]

1. "I am the living bread" (Jn 6:51). In the desert, the Apostles say to Jesus: "Dismiss the crowd" (cf. Lk 9, 12). This crowd followed the Master, listening to his words about the Kingdom of God; but by now the night and the hour of supper were approaching. The crowd stood there in silence and expectation. Already at one time in the wilderness, when there was a shortage of bread, the children of Israel had rebelled against Moses. They had then received the food, which fell every morning on the camp, and called it "manna". Thus the people, coming from the land of Egypt, had been able to continue their journey from the region of slavery to the promised land. Now Jesus says to the Apostles: "Give them something to eat yourselves" (Lk 9:13), and since they cannot find any solution, Christ multiplies the loaves: he blesses what little they have, breaks it and gives it to the disciples; and these, in turn, to the people. "They all ate and were satisfied".

2. The multiplication of the loaves in the desert is an announcement, as was the manna The crowds follow Jesus when they experience his power over food and human hunger. They are even ready to proclaim him king. Does not the Psalm of David speak of the Messiah's rule and the day of his triumph? "To thee the principality," it says, "in the day of thy power" (cf. Ps 110:3). At the same time, the same Psalm calls the royal Messiah a Priest: He is a Priest forever in the manner of Melchizedek (cf. Ps 110:4). Melchizedek was both king and Priest of the Most High God. Unlike the priests of the Old Covenant, he offered to God not the blood of immolated animals, but bread and wine.

3. The multiplication of the loaves in the desert is, therefore, a prophetic message: Christ knows that He Himself will one day fulfil the prophecy contained in the sacrifice of Melchizedek. As the Priest of the New Covenant - of the Eternal Covenant - Jesus will enter the eternal sanctuary, having accomplished the work of the Redemption of the world by His own blood. To the Apostles in the Upper Room he gave in essence, once again, the same command: "Feed him yourselves! - Do this in memory of me!" There are different categories of hunger, which torment the great human family. There was the hunger that turned entire cities and towns into graveyards. There was the hunger of the death camps, produced by totalitarian systems. In various parts of the globe there is still the hunger of the third and 'fourth' world: there starve men, mothers and children, adults and the elderly. The hunger of the human organism is terrible, the hunger that exterminates. But there is also the hunger of the soul, of the spirit. The human soul does not die on the paths of present history. The death of the human soul has another character: it takes on the dimension of eternity. It is the "second death" (Rev 20:14). By multiplying the loaves for the hungry, Christ placed the prophetic sign of the existence of another Bread: 'I am the living bread, come down from Heaven. If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever" (Jn 6:51).

4. Here is the great mystery of faith. The same people for whom Christ multiplied the loaves, those who "ate and were filled" (Lk 9:17), were, however, unable to believe his words when he spoke of the food that is his Flesh, and the drink that is his Blood. For this, the same people later asked for his death on the cross. So it came to pass. And when all was fulfilled, the mystery of the Last Supper was revealed: 'This is my body, which is for you . . . This cup is the new covenant in my blood" (1 Cor 11: 24-25). Out of the Upper Room came the Priest "in the manner of Melchizedek". He now walks with his people through history.

5. Such is the content that the Solemnity of Corpus Christi intends to express, and which we wish to proclaim with this Eucharistic procession through the streets of Rome, from the Basilica of the Most Holy Saviour in the Lateran to the Marian Basilica on the Esquiline Hill. "Ave verum Corpus natum de Maria Virgine". The way we walk becomes a concrete image of the many other ways of the Church in today's world. The Bishop of Rome, servant of all servants of the Eucharist, follows with thought and heart all those who bear witness to this Mystery today, from north to south, from sunrise to sunset. Everywhere where the People of God of the New Covenant are found, there is also Him, "the living bread, come down from heaven".

Everywhere. "If anyone eats of this bread, he will live forever."

[Pope John Paul II, Corpus Christi homily 18 June 1992]

In the Gospel for today’s Liturgy, Jesus continues preaching to the people who had seen the prodigy of the multiplication of the loaves. And he invites those people to make a qualitative leap: after having recalled the manna with which God had fed the forefathers in the long journey through the desert, he now applies the symbol of the bread to himself. He states clearly: “I am the bread of life” (Jn 6:48).

What does bread of life mean? We need bread to live. Those who are hungry do not ask for refined and expensive food, they ask for bread. Those who are unemployed do not ask for enormous wages, but the “bread” of employment. Jesus reveals himself as bread, that is, the essential, what is necessary for everyday life; without Him it does not work. Not one bread among many others, but the bread of life. In other words, without him, rather than living, we get by: because he alone nourishes the soul; he alone forgives us from that evil that we cannot overcome on our own; he alone makes us feel loved even if everyone else disappoints us; he alone gives us the strength to love and, he alone gives us the strength to forgive in difficulties; he alone gives that peace to the heart that it is searching for; he alone gives eternal life when life here on earth ends. He is the essential bread of life

I am the bread of life, He says. Let us pause on this beautiful image of Jesus. He could have offered a rationale, a demonstration, but – we know – Jesus speaks in parables, and in this expression: “I am the bread of life”, he truly sums up his entire being and mission. This will be seen completely at the end, at the Last Supper. Jesus knows that the Father is asking him not only to give food to people, but to give himself, to break himself, his own life, his own flesh, his own heart so that we might have life. These words of the Lord reawaken in us our amazement for the gift of the Eucharist. No one in this world, as much they might love another person, can make themselves become food for them. God did so, and does so, for us. Let us renew this amazement. Let us do so as we adore the Bread of Life, because adoration fills life with amazement.

In the Gospel, however, rather than being amazed, the people are scandalized, they rend their clothing. They think: “We know this Jesus, we know his family. How can he say,’ I am the bread which came down from heaven’?” (cf. vv. 41-42). Perhaps we too might be scandalized: it might make us more comfortable to have a God who stays in heaven without getting involved in our life, while we can manage matters here on earth. Instead, God became man to enter into the concrete reality of this world; to enter into our concrete reality, God became mand for me, for you, for all of us, in order to enter into our life. And He is interested in every aspect of our life. We can tell him about what we are feeling, our work, our day, our heartache, our anguish, so many things. We can tell Him everything because Jesus wants this intimacy with us. What does he not want? To be relegated to being considered a side dish – he who is Bread –, to be overlooked and set aside, or called on only when we need him.

I am the bread of life. At least once a day we find ourselves eating together; perhaps in the evening with our family, after a day of work or study. It would be lovely, before breaking bread, to invite Jesus, the bread of Life, to ask him simply to bless what we have done and what we have failed to do. Let us invite him into our home; let us pray in a “homey” style. Jesus will be at the table with us and we will be fed by a greater love.

May the Virgin Mary, in whom the Word became flesh, help us to grow day after day in friendship with Jesus, the bread of Life.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 8 August 2021]

Bread of the Life. Mysticism of Vision and Faith

(Jn 6:35-40)

At the end of the first century, churches felt the risk of collapse. The obtuse gaze of the environment around the first fraternities tended to close the Mystery.

But contrary to the First Testament (Ex 33:22-23) by Faith one now ‘sees’ God ‘and’ lives, without fear (Ex 3:6).

He who «sees» the Son «has» the same Life as the Eternal (v.40).

The Vision of Faith, the Vision of the Son, the Vision of the glorious outcome of the One who was rejected by the religious authorities and considered accursed by God, makes one become One with Him.

It is resurrection today, even in the fast and heavy experience of dispersive existence.

The Image that was considered impossible and could not be held, gives way to a process of interpretation, action, rearrangement, which attracts the future.

It gives path to the completeness of God's humanizing and diverse world.

The shift in gaze breaks the web of appearances, of banal, inherited or à la page beliefs.

In short: ‘grasping’ Him becomes the engine of salvation, the foundation that surpasses the pre-human.

Perceiving Him becomes Encounter; in the proper and perennial dimension. Principle of blissful eternity.

According to believers in Jesus, the Source of full and indestructible life [«Life of the Eternal»: v.40 Greek text] is not material bread.

Already on this earth, for each one all-encompassing Food does not lie in any trivial certainty.

Rather, it’s necessary to «See the Son» (v.40): to grasp in the Master a story that does not end in failure.

Despite the rejection of the leaders, the outcome of His-our story is the indestructible Glory.

And «Believing in Him» ​​(v.40) does not depend on a shared cultural background or social standing, but on an unrepeatable elaboration.

‘Seeing’ and having Faith is to trust in the luminous [it seems absurd] Vision that is communicated in the most intimate fibres and from the very first 'Birth'. Certain of the full attunement and realisation in that super-eminent Figure.

It is a Faith-Vision that reads the meaning and enables direct appropriation: it flies over insurmountable obstacles.

A Faith-Gesture that gushes out, a Faith-Action that becomes a ferment of expansion, because it has already aroused acumen, global attention, intimate consensus.

We do not adhere because of enthusiasm or initiatives [the “Church of events”].

Life of the Eternal within us begins in the eye of the soul; an echo of primordial Dream.

It enters into grasping the Father's trajectory. He wants for His minimums a fullness of imprint and character, without conformity.

Only thanks to the Gift in which we recognize ourselves from our roots and in essence, we perceive joyful consonances that identify desires, words, actions and the journey’s type of the Risen One Himself, pulsating inside us.

The Person of Christ is the only Food without homologation.

Sustained by the Bread-Person we can avoid both the search for false security and the craving for supports, preferring Broken Bread.

The nourishment of the earth preserves physical life, but it cannot make us revive through uniques personal Genesis, nor open a way trough death.

This gives value to each moment.

To internalize and live the message:

What does it mean for you ‘to see’ the Son and ‘believe’ in Him?

[Wednesday 3rd wk. in Easter, May 7, 2025]

That which gives value to every moment

(Jn 6:35-40)

Jesus' words imply the clear dissimilarity between ordinary food and Bread that does not perish.

The distinction is taken from Deut 8:3 - with reference to the Manna-Word of the Lord (wisdom food that liberates and imparts life).

Wis 16:20-21, 26 recognises the manna of the wilderness to be food prepared by angels, but what really keeps one alive is the Word.

Those heavenly fruits, though delicious and able to satisfy every taste, do not satiate - they do not nourish completely.

Cultural paradigms that identified manna with wisdom also enter into the symbolic language used by Christ.

He thus reveals himself in the discourse on the Bread of Life.

Coming to the Lord is not within our reach. Doing the works of the law, perhaps yes - with effort - but doing the Work of God is not unnatural.

It does not depend on a thought, a choice or a disciplinary practice.

In short, the Subject of the walk in the Spirit is God Himself, working in us. 

Human action is at every juncture a response to his self-revelation and his own action [cosmic and in one's soul; convergent or not].

The Coming from above is critical: it arouses the relationship of Faith. Personal relationship, which is not mere assent and fulfilment, but reading and seeing.

Forward action and the discovery of resurrection - in particular, of shadow sides that become resources.

Thus Faith-love expands life, because it has its input from divine generosity, from Grace.

It thus becomes decision, occupation, responsibility; inescapable and diriment duty - despite this, personal.

Christ is Food that must be eaten, minced, by means of Faith.

The evocation becomes Eucharistic, realisation of the "Life of the Eternal" (v.40 Greek text), even apart from sought-after manners; here and now.

By dying, without any delay Jesus delivers the Spirit (Jn 19:30) that suddenly arouses the sacramental experience (Jn 19:34).

The Life of the Eternal is not a pious hope in the afterlife: the term designates God's own intimate life, which unfolds and bursts into history [sometimes unceremoniously] in a multifaceted manner.

Energy, Food, New Lucidity: it reaches women and men who see and believe in the Son.

It is a Faith-Vision that reads the meaning, and enables direct appropriation: it overcomes insurmountable obstacles.

A Faith-Gesture that gushes forth; a Faith-Action that becomes a ferment of dilation, because it has already aroused acumen, global attention, and intimate consent.

It sharpens and expands the transformative resources of souls and events themselves.

It bestows in the first person overall generative abilities - external and internal, indestructible; which lose nothing [no longer doomed to death: v.39].

The dull gaze around the first fraternities already sealed the Mystery.

But contrary to the First Testament (Ex 33:22-23), by Faith one now sees God and lives, without fear (Ex 3:6).

He who "sees" the Son "has" the same Life as the Eternal (v.40).

The Vision of Faith, the Vision of the Son, the Vision of the glorious outcome of the one who was rejected by the religious authorities and considered cursed by God, makes one become One with Him.

It is actual resurrection, even in the swift and heavy experience of dispersive existence.

The Image considered impossible and which could not be held, gives way to a process of interpretation, action, rearrangement, which attracts future.

It gives way to the completeness of God's humanising and different world.

The shift of gaze breaks the web of appearances, of banal, inherited or à la page convictions.

In short: perceiving Him becomes an engine of salvation, a foundation that surpasses the pre-human.

Perceiving it becomes Encounter; in its own and perennial dimension. Principle of blissful eternity.

At the end of the first century, the churches feel the risk of collapse.

The gradual departure from pagan religion in general, and Judaizing devotion in particular, entailed a wide-ranging debate with customary and internal, even liturgical implications.

The battle with Pharisaic purism sparked all kinds of controversies, even about whether or not foreigners should be segregated.

Differences of opinion even arose over the canon of Scripture itself (for Christians, already long since in Hellenistic Greek).

According to believers in Jesus, the Source of full and indestructible life ["Life of the Eternal": v.40 Greek text] is not material bread.

Already on this earth, the all-embracing Food does not lie in any trivial certainty.

One must rather "See the Son" (v.40).

It means grasping in the Master a story that does not end in failure, because despite the rejection of the leaders, the outcome of his-our story is the divine condition. Indestructible glory.

And "Believing in Him" (v.40) does not depend on cultural background or social position, but on an unrepeatable elaboration.To see and have Faith is to trust in the luminous [seemingly absurd] Vision that is communicated in the most intimate fibres and from the very first 'Birth'. Certain of full harmony and realisation in that sovereign Figure.

We do not adhere out of enthusiasm or initiative [the "Church of events", as Pope Francis says].

The life of the Eternal in us begins in the eye of the soul; an echo of the primordial Dream.

It comes in grasping the Father's trajectory. He wants for His least ones a fullness of imprint and character, without conformity.

Only thanks to the Gift in which we recognise ourselves from our roots and in essence, do we perceive joyful consonances that identify desires, words, actions and the kind of path of the Risen One Himself, pulsating within us.

The Person of Christ is the only Food without homologation.

Supported by the Father-Person, we can avoid both the search for false security and the craving for support. E.g. acquaintances, financial backers, notable institutions that guarantee privileges; and so on.

He prefers the broken Bread.

The nourishment of the earth preserves physical life, but cannot revive us through unique personal Genesis, nor open a way through death.

This gives value to every moment.

To internalise and live the message:

What does it mean for you to see the Son and believe in Him?

Do not project onto God the image of the servant-master relationship

The multiplication of the loaves and fishes is a sign of the great gift that the Father has given to humanity and that is Jesus himself!

He, the true "bread of life" (v. 35), wants to satiate not only bodies but also souls, giving the spiritual food that can satisfy a deep hunger. This is why he invites the crowd to get not the food that does not last, but the food that remains for eternal life (cf. v. 27). It is a food that Jesus gives us every day: his Word, his Body, his Blood. The crowd listens to the Lord's invitation, but does not understand its meaning - as happens so often to us too - and asks him: "What must we do to do the works of God?" (v. 28). Jesus' listeners think that He asks them to observe the precepts in order to obtain other miracles such as the multiplication of the loaves. It is a common temptation, this, to reduce religion only to the practice of laws, projecting onto our relationship with God the image of the relationship between servants and their master: servants must perform the tasks the master has assigned, in order to have his benevolence. This we all know. So the crowd wants to know from Jesus what actions they must do to please God. But Jesus gives an unexpected answer: "This is the work of God: that you believe in him whom he has sent" (v. 29). These words are also addressed to us today: God's work does not consist so much in 'doing' things, but in 'believing' in Him whom He has sent. This means that faith in Jesus enables us to do the works of God. If we allow ourselves to be involved in this relationship of love and trust with Jesus, we will be able to do good works that smell of the Gospel, for the good and needs of our brothers and sisters.

The Lord invites us not to forget that if it is necessary to worry about bread, it is even more important to cultivate a relationship with Him, to strengthen our faith in Him who is the "bread of life", who came to satisfy our hunger for truth, our hunger for justice, our hunger for love.

[Pope Francis, Angelus 5 August 2018].