So what does it mean: The Gospel according to St. John starting at 6:52

The Protestants have many Bible commentaries.  They ask themselves, well what does it mean to you?  Luther started the precedent, hence the name Protestant.  We have one commentary that forms our doctrine. We wrote the Gospels I think we know what they mean.  We do not ask ourselves what does this mean to us?  We know what it means, Saints Polycarp, whom St. John himself ordained to take his place as bishop of Smyrna, and St. Ireanus still a boy witnessed St. John writing the story that he spoke to the faithful at our early Masses.   We do not question the mystery of the Eucharistic -- transubstantiation -- the transformation of the simple wine and bread into the real presence of Our Lord Jesus.  We just partake.  Why?  Because that is what Jesus commanded us to do.  St. Peter who always spoke for the 12, we have documented our doctrine of Petrian primacy throughout the Gospels said it best once and for all of we members of the Christian Church Universal -- The Catholic Church -- when he said "to whom shall we go Lord You have the words of eternal life."


The Jews then disputed among themselves saying, "How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" So Jesus said to them, "Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you: he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed.  He who eats my flesh and drinks my blood abides in me an I in him. As the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so he who eats me will live because of me. This is the bread which came down from heaven not such as the fathers ate and died; he who eats this bread will live forever."  this he said in the synagogue as he taught in Capernaum.  Many of his disciples, when they heard of this, said, "This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?"  But Jesus, knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at it, said to them, "Do you take offense at this?  Then what if you were to see the Son of man ascending where he was before?  It is the spirit that gives life, the flesh is of no avail; the words that I have spoken to you are spirit and life.  But there are some of you that do not believe." For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that should betray him.  And he said, "This is why I told you that no one can come to me unless it is granted him by the father.  After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer followed him.  Jesus said to the twelve, "Will you also go away?"  Simon Peter answered him, "Lord to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life, and we have believed and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God."  Jesus answered them, "Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?"  He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he one of the twelve was to betray him.

It means

6:53 Once again Jesus stresses very forcefully that it is necessary to receive him in the blessed Eucharist in order to share in divine life and develop the lie of grace received in Baptism.  No parent is content to bring children into the world; thy have to be nourished and looked after to enable them to reach maturity. "We receive Jesus in Holy Communion to nourish our souls and to give us an increase in grace and the gift of eternal life" (St. Pius X, Catechism, 289).

6:54

Jesus clearly states that his body and blood are a pledge of eternal life and a guarantee of resurrection of the body.  St. Thomas Aquinas gives this explanation: "The Word made flesh nourishes our bodies. In this sacrament is contained the Word not only in his divinity but also in humanity; therefore it is the cause not only of glorification of our souls but also that of our bodies" (Comm. on St. John in loc.)

Our Lord uses a stronger word than just eating (the original verb could be translated as chewing) which shows that Communion is a real meal.  there is no room for saying that he was speaking only symbolically, which would mean that Communion was a metaphor and not really eating and drinking the body and blood of Christ. "All these invitations, promises and threats sprang from the great desire which (Jesus) had of giving himself in the holy sacrament of the altar. But why should Jesus si ardently desire us to receive him in holy communion?  It is because love always sighs for, and tends to a union with the object beloved.  True friends wish to be united in such a manner as to become only one.  the love of God for us being immense, he destined us to possess him not only in heaven, but also here below, by the most intimate union, under the appearance of bread in the Eucharist.  It is true we do not see him; but he beholds us, and is really present; yes he is present in order that we may possess him and he conceals himself, that we may desire him, and until we reach our true homeland Jesus Christ wishes in this way to be entirely ours, and to be perfectly united to us" (St. Alphonsus Ligouri, the Love of Our Lord Jesus Christ. chap 2).

6:55

In the same way as bodily food is necessary for life on earth, Holy communion is necessary for maintaining the life of the soul, which is why the Church exhorts us to receive th sacrament frequently: "Every da as is desirable, and in the greatest possible numbers, the faithful must take an active part in the sacrifice of the Mass, avail themselves of the pure holy refreshment of Holy Communion and make a suitable thanksgiving in return for this gift of Christ the Lord.  Here are words they should keep in mind: Jesus Christ and the Church desire all Christ's faithful to approach the sacred banquet every day.  The basis of this desire is that they should be united to God by the sacrament and draw strength from it to restrain lust, to wash away the slight faults of daily occurrence and to take precautions against more serious sins to which human frailty is liable" (Decree of the S.C. of council,  20 December 1905)" (Paul VI, Mysterium fidei) "The savior  has instituted the most august sacrament of the Eucharist, which turly contains his flesh and his blood, so that he who eats this bread may live forever; whosoever, therefore, makes use of it often with devotion so strengthens the health and life of his soul, that it is almost impossible for him to be poisoned by any kind of evil affection. We cannot be nourished with this flesh of life, and live with the affections of death ... Christians who are dammed will be unable to make any reply when the just Judges shows them how much they are to blame for dying spiritually, since iot was so easy for them to maintain themselves in life and in health by eating his Body which he had left them for this purpose.  Unhappy souls, he will say, why did you die, seeing that you had at your command the fruit and the food of life?" (St. Francis de Sales, Introduction to the devout Life, 2, 20,1)

6:56 The most important effect of the Blessed Eucharist is intimate union with Jesus Christ.  The very word communion suggests sharing in the life of our Lord and becoming one with him; if our union with Jesus is promoted by all the sacraments through the grace which they give us, this happens more intensely in the Eucharist, for in it we receive not only grace: "Really sharing in the body if the Lord in the breaking of the Eucharistic bread, we are taken up into communion with him and with another.  Because the bread is one body, we, though many, are on body, all of us who partake of the on bread (1 Cor 10:17)" (Vatican II, Lumen gentium, 7). Precisely because the Eucharist is the sacrament which best signifies and effects our union with Christ, it is there the whole Church manifests and effects unity: Jesus Christ instituted in his Church the wonderful sacrament of the Eucharist, by which the unity of the Church is both signified and brought about" (Vatican II, Unitas redintegratio, 2).

6:57

In Christ, the incarnate Word sent to mankind the whole fullness of deity dwells bodily" (Col 2:9) through the ineffable union of his human nature in the Person of the Word. By receiving in this sacrament the body and blood of Christ indissolubly united in his divinity, we share in the divine life of the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. We will never be able to appreciate enough the intimacy with God himself - Father, Son and Holy Spirit - that we are offered in the Eucharist banquet.  "We can therefore do nothing more agreeable to Jesus Christ than to go to Communion with the disposition suitable to so great an action, since we are then united to Jesus Christ, according to the desire of this all-loving God. I have said with suitable and not worthy disposition, for who could communicate if it was necessary to be worthy of so great a Savior? No on but a God would be worthy to receive God but by this word suitable  or convenient, I mean such a disposition as becomes a miserable creature, who is clothed with the unhappy flesh of Adam. Ordinarily speaking, it is sufficient that we communicate in a state of grace and with an anxious desire in the Love Ou Jesus Christ" (St. Alphonsus Ligori,  The Love of Our Lord Jesus Christ, chap 2).

6:58

For the third time (cf. 6:331-32 and 6:49) Jesus compares the true bread of life, his own body, with the manna God used to feed the Israelites every day for so many years! Anybody else would be a saint by now, you told me, 'and I ... I'm always the same! 'son I replied, 'keep up your daily Communion and think: what would I be if I had not gone'" (St. Josemaria Escriva, The Way, 534).

6:60-62.

Many of his listeners find the Eucharist mystery completely incomprehensible.  Jesus Christ requires his disciples to accept his words because it is he who spoke them.  That is what the supernatural act of faith involves -- that act "whereby inspired and assisted by the grace of God, we believe that the things he has revealed are true; not because of intrinsic truth of the things , viewed by our natural light of reason, but because of the authority of God himself who reveals them, and who can neither be deceived nor deceive" (Vatican I, De Filius, Cahp. 3). As on other occasions, Jesus speaks about future events to help his disciples believe: "I have told you before it takes place, so that when it does take place you may believe"(Jn 14:29).

6:63.

Jesus says that we cannot accept this mystery if we think of it in too human a way, in other words, by just seeking to indulge our senses or having too earthbound a view of things.  Only someone who listens to his words and receives them as God's revelation, which is "spirit and life", is in a position to accept them.

Pax Christi,

Fred