Daily Gospel Reflection for April 19, 2024

Join us as we reflect, ponder, and pray together inspired by today's Gospel.

Today's Gospel: John 6:52-59

In today’s Gospel alone, Jesus says three times that we must eat His Flesh and drink His Blood, plus says that His Flesh and Blood are true food and drink:

"Whoever eats my Flesh and drinks my Blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my Flesh is true food, and my Blood is true drink."

Yesterday's Gospel was the beginning of this shocking teaching, and tomorrow we’ll see the aftermath of what Jesus says here.

As a Church, we take this difficult teaching at face value. We believe in the True Presence because Jesus told us it’s real. And the Church stakes everything on this, so much so that the United States Conference of Catholic Bishops began a Eucharistic Revival in the United States that is lasting from the Feast of Corpus Christi in June of 2022 until the Feast of Pentecost in 2025.

Jesus wants to be close to each of us, and the closest we can be is when we partake in the Eucharist. It is then that we take Jesus in as true food and true drink. But in between, we also have an opportunity to spend time in Adoration, where we can sit in His presence and pray. If your parish doesn’t have an official Adoration schedule, you can always sit near the tabernacle. If you have a busy schedule (as most parents do, especially when their children are young), see if you can spend even just a few moments in prayer before Christ in the tabernacle.

Ponder:

What does the Eucharist mean to me? When was the last time I really thought about the miracle that happens at each Mass?

Pray:

Lord, help me to approach You in the Eucharist as if each Mass is my first, last, and only Holy Communion.

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As a Church, we take this difficult teaching at face value. We believe in the True Presence because Jesus told us it’s real. #DailyGospel

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