Body and Blood

A Reflection on the Gospel for Sunday, August 18th, 2024:
Twentieth Sunday in Ordinary Time

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John
​6.51-58

Jesus said to the people: “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give for the life of the world is my flesh.”

The people then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”

So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise them 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 abides in me, and I in them.

“Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”

Pause. Pray. Reflect.

As I sit to write this reflection, a week has passed since the National Eucharistic Congress took place in Indiana, where millions of Catholics came together to revere Jesus in the form of his true Body and Blood in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. Throngs of men and women from all over the United States worshipped and celebrated Jesus by getting on their knees in the presence of the King of the Universe during Eucharistic Adoration and Holy Mass. 

Just last night I watched a video from the Congress in which Jonathan Roumie was speaking on the Bread of Life discourse, which is the topic of the Gospel passage for this Sunday. Because I work at a non-denominational Christian school, I am aware that for our Protestant brothers and sisters the Eucharist is only a symbol of the Body and Blood of Christ. Millions of Christians all over the world fail to see the truth behind Jesus’ words when He proclaims, “My flesh is true food and my blood is true drink.” They find it hard to grasp the reality of Jesus coming to us in the Eucharist every time we are gathered together as His one Body. The Bread of Life discourse is a major bone of contention between Protestants and Catholics.

Though a cradle Catholic, I admit that I, myself, was pretty oblivious to the reality of the True Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. I feel that most Catholics who are unaware of the True Presence are so because of a lack of knowledge and not because of indifference. Knowing something with your head is totally different from knowing something with your heart. I’m sure I was catechized about the Eucharist, but I came to believe only after I truly experienced Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament at Adoration one night in 2017. This experience helped me to let go of the control I was trying to keep and to surrender my uncertain future to the God of certainty.

Given the society we live in, it is of utmost importance that we come together as a people who not only believe but who also proclaim the risen Christ’s True Presence in the Eucharist. I feel truly blessed to be living in the Archdiocese of Halifax-Yarmouth, where we will host our first ever Archdiocesan Eucharistic Congress in October 2024. It is a privilege for us, as believers, to experience a revival of sorts. So let us pray, promote, and participate in our Eucharistic Congress!

Lord, let us not forget to look at You, truly present in the Blessed Sacrament, with eyes of wonder. Every time we queue up for communion, let us remember Who is coming to be a part of us, and help us never to stray from “the living bread” that leads us to eternal life. Amen. 



​Rebecca Dmello

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