The Body and Blood of Christ

WE BECOME WHAT WE EAT

Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a; 1 Corinthians 10:16-17; John 6:51-58

Readings for the Body and Blood of Christ

We give a lot of thought to the food we eat. And that’s good because our diets significantly affect our lives and the planet. In many ways, we become what we eat.

We need to pay attention to our spiritual diets because these affect us even more. Our minds gnaw at the stressors in our lives and soon we find we’re consumed by them. The media constantly bombards us with quick-fix ads, hateful speech, and violent entertainment; social media could give us even more negativity. It’s so easy for us to become angry, bitter, and materialistic. In the spiritual sense, it’s even more true – we become what we eat.

The readings on the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ highlight the importance of spiritual nourishment. 

Jesus’ teaching in the Gospel takes place at the beginning of the feast of unleavened bread, which recalled how God nourished the people with manna and with his word in the desert (cf. first reading). While reiterating that memory, Jesus emphasizes that the bread he gives is different from the manna in the desert!

- The manna that was not eaten within the day had to be thrown away; it was no longer any good. After Jesus fed the five thousand, twelve baskets of fragments were gathered and saved; this indicates that this bread lasts.

- The manna was limited and only for the Jews. The bread which Jesus gives is for always and for all people. 

- The manna nourished the people only during the journey to the Promised Land. The bread of life nourishes us with eternal life. 

Jesus emphasizes that whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood has eternal life. We become what we eat!

St Paul, in the second reading, reminds the people of Corinth about the significance of the Eucharist. By participating in the Eucharist, we become the body of Christ; we become one. We become—or we ought to become—what we eat.

Jesus nourishes us for always by giving us his word, and his body and blood.

Am I satisfied with the junk food the world offers or do I feast on Jesus the Word and the Living Bread? 

Do I live in communion with those around me or is the Eucharist only a ritual act I perform?