Tuesday of the 3rd Week of Eastertide
Acts 7:51-8:1
Jn 6:30-35
“Sir, give us that bread always”… Jesus answered: “I am the bread of life.”
The Sacrament of the Holy Eucharist. How many of us forget that as practicing Catholics, we have this privilege of receiving Christ in Holy Communion every day? Are we aware that the Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian life? Perhaps, this lack of awareness or ignorance, maybe forgetfulness, causes many of us take this ultimate gift (on earth) for granted.
For those who have children, this can feel like a child badgering you to buy him/her a present at their favourite store Toys R Us. But upon receiving the gift, play with it a little and then leave it aside to collect dust — soon forgetting about its existence, or even how much they wanted it at first. Sometimes even as soon as receiving the long-awaited toy, the child might proceed to ignore the very gift-giver who is seated at the same meal table. Has that ever happened to you? If you aren’t a parent, might you have witnessed this happening to a family at a meal table beside yours?
The readings today challenge us to re-examine our relationship to Jesus Christ whom we profess to be our Lord and Saviour; our Comforter and Prince of Peace. In the Gospel passage the people who were tagging along with Jesus to witness his ministry, bugged him with questions: “What sign will you give to show us that we should believe in you? What work will you do? Our fathers had manna to eat in the desert; as scripture says: He gave them bread from heaven to eat.” To which Jesus replied and declared “I am the bread of life.” He revealed that it was not Moses who commanded manna in the desert, but God the Father who was the Provider of true sustenance — both the physical meal and the true bread from heaven.
Yet as history reveals, history tends to repeat itself. Rather, human nature down generations is repeatedly sinful and forgetful. Likewise, in the first reading, “Stephen said to the people, the elders and the scribes: ‘You stubborn people, with your pagan hearts and pagan ears. You are always resisting the Holy Spirit, just as your ancestors used to do. Can you name a single prophet your ancestors never persecuted’?” How often have we grieved our Father in Heaven by ignoring His call, His gift, His revelations?
As Catholic Christians, we have been given the great gift of tradition in the Catholic Faith. Even more precious than tradition, we have the immense gift of the Holy Eucharist handed down for generations (through and despite countless persecutions). This is no mere unleavened bread. This is the true presence of Christ’s body, transubstantiated in the physical appearance of humble bread and wine.
“In the celebration of the Eucharist, bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ through the power of the Holy Spirit and the instrumentality of the priest. The whole Christ is truly present — body, blood, soul, and divinity — under the appearances of bread and wine, the glorified Christ who rose from the dead. This is what the Church means when she speaks of the “Real Presence” of Christ in the Eucharist.” (Source: https://www.usccb.org/eucharist) ”It is called: Eucharist, because it is an action of thanksgiving to God.” (CCC no. 1328)
The reminder in the Scriptures cuts close to my heart. In the many months leading up to last year’s Palm Sunday, I was feeling dry and parched in my own spiritual desert. I wandered through various spiritual routines of rosary, fasting, and tried to persist in contemplative prayer. Yet, I could not shrug off the disconnect I felt between how I desired intimacy with God and still felt distant when I was in His presence. In desperation, I prayed to God and begged that He speak to me in whichever way He wished, while on my part, I would relinquish my own preconceived ideas of what forms and sensations that spiritual intimacy would look like. With a proper Confession and receiving the Sacrament of Reconciliation, I was able to lay down my tinted lens. Then, I experienced a joy and lightness and sweetness in Holy Communion that I had not felt in years.
It was more than a fleeting feeling, it became a deep knowing that Christ is truly present in the Host — He was with me and in me! Throughout our entire lives as Catholic Christians, we will definitely experience seasons of spiritual wilderness and be lost or numb. May we continue to seek to believe and accept the true presence of Christ in the Eucharist, and in our daily lives. May we try to receive Him in Holy Communion more often than just on Sunday.
After all, Christ is truly our daily bread, so why wait?
(Today’s OXYGEN by Debbie Loo)
Prayer: Lord Jesus, please reveal your True Presence in the Eucharist to those who seek You and those who are ignorant about Your Holiness. We pray never to lose sight of this great Truth.
Thanksgiving: Abba Father, You are the Giver of the Good and Eternal Gift of your Son, the Covenant of Salvation. We thank You for Your Gift of the Eucharist, our daily bread.
OXYGEN 
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