I’m sure you’ve heard about the Grand Jury’s report on six dioceses throughout Pennsylvania that was made public earlier this week. I haven’t read the entire 900-page report but, like you, I’m still reeling from reading the portions of the report that I have found in the newspapers. I’m still processing all of this material; some of the incidences recounted in the report were truly horrific. When I think of my fellow clergy who have done such terrible things, I think of what our Lord once said: “It would be better for him to have a great millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.” I hope you have read the Vatican’s response. With the Holy See, I condemn the sexual abuse of minors and find the abuses described in this report morally reprehensible. And, like our Holy Father, Pope Francis, I understand well how much these crimes can shake the faith and the spirit of all of us believers. I’ve included a copy of the official response from our Archdiocese in today’s Parish Bulletin. I encourage you to take it home and read it; it outlines how our Archdiocese has responded to the Grand Jury report against it several years ago. And, I ask that you join me in praying for the victims and their families.
It is especially in times like these – times of darkness and lies and deception – that we need to turn to the gospel, the Good News our Lord offers in the midst of even the greatest trouble, for he is Light of the World, the Way the Truth and the Life. And, this is where we need to be, gathered together around the Lord’s Table, where we receive his life-giving word and are nourished by his own Body and Blood. In today’s gospel, we continue to hear John’s discourse on the Eucharist. You may recall that it began three weeks ago with his feeding of the five thousand. Since then, we’ve heard Jesus teach that, unlike the bread that we eat every day that is perishable, the bread that he offers us will last forever; that he is the bread of life, the living bread that has come down from heaven. Today, we hear Jesus invite us to eat his body and drink his blood. In fact, he says that “unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.”
We also hear the Jews quarreling among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” And, next week, we will hear some of them say, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” And, we hear that, as a result of his teaching, many of his disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.
The reason some of his followers left his side was because they reduced his teaching to chemistry and physics and couldn’t understand how he could change bread and wine into his body and blood. But, to try to comprehend Jesus’ teaching about bread and wine, flesh and blood with scientific categories is like memorizing French vocabulary to improve your grasp of Chinese. Jesus was speaking in the language of heart and soul, not chemistry and physics. He was trying to use concepts the people of his day could understand to speak of a mystery that, even today, is beyond our full comprehension. Just as God – through Moses – had given the ancient Israelites manna in the desert to nourish them on their journey to the Promised Land of Canaan, so God – through Jesus – has given us sacred bread and wine to nourish us on our journey to the eternal Promised Land – heaven.
Jesus himself gave us a good explanation of this mystery when, at the Last Supper, he taught that “I am the vine and you are the branches.” With these two examples, Jesus bids his followers – then and now – to allow his life to flow through us. He uses these two metaphors to teach us of the very intimate relationship he has established between us and God. With the image of the vine and branches, he teaches us that, just as the branches grow out of the vine and only have life while they are attached to the vine, when we take and eat his body and blood – when we receive Holy Communion – his very life becomes our own. Jesus speaks of bread and wine as the medium of his presence. In fact, the reason he took on flesh and blood was so that he could be for us the vine that gives us life. He has taken on mortality so that everyone who feeds on him could live forever. It is this mystery that we celebrate and share every time we gather around our Lord’s Table.
The Eucharist draws countless people to Mass, to adoration and to the Catholic Church every day. Sadly, like some of the people of Jesus’ time, there are those today who find this saying too hard. Many people who have left the Catholic Church today cite one of the reasons being that they no longer believe what Jesus teaches about his Real Presence in the Most Blessed Sacrament. Others have left the Church because of the ongoing scandal this latest Grand Jury report has spotlighted, once again. But, the Church is not led by the clergy; we are just as flawed and sinful as everyone else. The true leader of our Church is Jesus Christ, who calls us all to continual conversion and repentance.
We who believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist turn to him now for strength, especially during these very trying times. Why? Jesus answered that question for us when he said: “Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you do not have life within you.” We want to share in the true life that only our Lord can give us. And ultimately, we want to go to heaven. Jesus has given us the Eucharist to strengthen us with the peace of his life in this world and the promise of eternal peace in heaven.
Our first reading from the Book of Proverbs tells us to “forsake foolishness that you might live.” And, St. Paul teaches us, as he taught the community in Ephesus, “watch carefully how you live, not as foolish persons but as wise.” Where some consider it foolish to believe in God, in God’s Son or in the Eucharist, for the person of faith who is open to the Word made flesh it would be foolish not to believe. The world tells us this is myth, we say “no, it is mystery.”
In the midst of these troubling times, we look forward to the peace that we will find only in heaven. And so, we acknowledge the truth of Jesus’ words to eat his flesh and drink his blood, and to do so worthily. Then, we will have life – eternal life – because of him. The early followers of Christ asked the question: “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” The answer is simple yet profound – because he is God. God has made us in his image and likeness and for himself. He longs to re-establish the close relationship we enjoyed with him before Adam and Eve turned away to follow the lies of the devil. And, God has re-established this close relationship through his Son, who gives us his life-giving body and blood that nourishes us through this life to eternal life in the heavenly banquet. Remember, when we receive the Body of Christ, we become the Body of Christ. What a great gift we have in the Eucharist!