I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE.
I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE.
"The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven,”
"and they said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother? Then how can he say, ‘I have come down from heaven’?”
"Jesus answered and said to them, “Stop murmuring among yourselves. No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him, and I will raise him on the last day. It is written in the prophets:
" They shall all be taught by God.
"Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me. Not that anyone has seen the Father except the one who is from God; he has seen the Father.
"Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.
"I am the bread of life. Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died; this is the bread that comes down from heaven so that one may eat it and not die.
"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 world.” (John 6: 41 - 51).
What does Jesus mean that He is the bread of life?
Jesus gives us Himself as our nourishment in the Eucharist. What does the Church teach about the Bread of life?
"It [Eucharist] refers directly to the Bread of Life, the Body of Christ, the "medicine of immortality," without which we have no life within us......The Eucharist is our daily bread. The power belonging to this divine food makes it a bond of union. Its effect is then understood as unity, so that, gathered into his Body and made members of him, we may become what we receive. This also is our daily bread." (CCC 2837)
In the Eucharist, we receive who we are, the Body of Christ. Now we must become what we receive, the Body of Christ, St Augustine teaches.
How do we become Jesus whom we receive in the Eucharist? This is the journey of a life time but it begins with the 7-Way Plan:
1. Daily Prayer.
2. Daily word of God.
3. Frequent Holy Communion.
4. Frequent Confession.
5. Daily Examination of Conscience.
6. Daily Spiritual Reading.
7. Daily Ministry /Faith Sharing.
Jesus also says in the Gospel of today: "Amen, amen, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life." (John 6: 47).
Eternal life starts right here and right now with BELIEF in Jesus. In the Eucharist we are challenged to exercise the highest kind of faith in human experience. The holy bread you see looks, tastes and smells like ordinary bread. Once the words of consecration are pronounced over it, it becomes the Flesh of Jesus Christ. Same with the wine when it is consecrated, it becomes the Blood of Jesus. Can you now understand why most of His disciples abandoned Him when Jesus unveiled this doctrine.
Many Protestants mock Catholics for believing in the True and Real Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist. Jesus Himself says "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 world.”
August is the Month dedicated to the Immaculate Heart of Mary. Mary says: "In the end. My Immaculate Heart will triumph."
For Prayers of Consecration to the Immaculate Heart of Mary, Litany, Promises of Mary to those who say the Holy Rosary, etc click the link below:
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