It is a very special day as we meditate on the mystery of
the Body and Blood of Christ. The first reading tells us how God led the foundation
of this mystery when He fed the Israelites with manna in the desert. The manna
was given as ‘food for the journey.’ Moses viewed their hunger and distress in
the desert through the lens of the manna. From the perspective of the manna,
their hunger and distress became, no longer punishment or obstacle to cut short
their joy of the journey, but a humbling gesture that prepared them to receive
the manna and grow in their knowledge of God. He said that God did this, “That
He might make you know that man does not live by bread alone, but that man
lives by everything that proceeds out of the mouth of the Lord. And that you
shall remember the Lord your God…”
The signification of the manna, which is fully revealed in
the Eucharist, has become for us now a blessing and participation in the Body
and Blood of Christ. That means the Eucharist brings transformation to our
lives, ‘mingling’ our bodies with the Body of Christ. At a personal level, each
believer is nourished and his body becomes a worthy dwelling place of the Holy
Spirit. At a collective level, St Paul says, “Because there is one bread, we
who are many are one body, for we all partake of the one bread.”
In the gospel, Jesus declares categorically, “I am the
living bread which came down from heaven; if any one eats of this bread, he
will live forever; and the bread which I shall give for the live of the world
is my flesh.” Here we see the fulfilment of what was signified in the first
reading. Human life alone can easily be wounded and broken; there are insurmountable obstacles along the different aspects of our journey of life. Human hunger for
love, peace, peace and life itself will remain in the desert of agony, for
every effort to satisfy them by solely human strength creates more hunger.
Jesus feeds us with Himself and nourishes us with His Blood that He might share
life with us and become our satisfaction. “He who eats my flesh and drinks my
blood abides in me, and I in him.”
Thus, in the Eucharist, Jesus is present in an extra
ordinary way in the form of Bread and wine. He says, “For my flesh is food indeed,
and blood is drink indeed.” Now we can view our lives from the perspective of
the Eucharist since it has taken a central stage in our lives. Meditate on the
difference it makes and the deep meaning it gives when we view our lives from
this mountain of grace, just as Moses did. Then, our hunger meets satisfaction,
our weakness is conquered by strength, our wounds are touched by healing, courage
displaces fear, peace and unity grows stronger, love dispels the darkness of
hate, and life overcomes death. We see why Jesus says, “He who eats me will
live because of me.” Amen
Fr Jude Chinwenwa Nwachukwu, C.Ss.R
Saints Peter and Paul Catholic Church,
Tedi-Muwo, Ojo, Lagos.
Sunday June 11, 2023.
