Daily Gospel Reflection for April 29, 2023

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

Reflection by Laurann Donahue

Today's Gospel: John 6:60-69

This passage comes after the so-called Bread of Life discourse, one of my favorite passages in the Bible. Jesus says we must eat His flesh and drink His blood in order to have eternal life. Many of His followers could not accept this teaching and left Him.

In the Jewish culture, this would have been madness--eating a man's flesh and drinking his blood? How could they follow Him after that? Jesus tells them why He came down from Heaven; He tells them what He came to do. They just cannot comprehend His meaning. His explanation is to tell them that the "flesh is of no avail." Jesus speaks of the natural world because that is what His followers comprehend. He is not contradicting what He said about eating His flesh. He is telling them that there is a supernatural truth in what He said. However, they cannot follow Him any longer on this path.

His inner twelve, though they also do not understand, stay with Him and will witness the implementation of this supernatural truth. Despite their ignorance, the twelve trusted Him as the Messiah, that He would reveal this truth to them. Many who call themselves Christians today don't believe His words in this passage. They miss out on the full intimacy of Christ in the flesh, as He comes to us every day in the Mass. God desires intimacy with us; Jesus Christ gave us the gift of Himself to make that intimacy possible.

Ponder:

Will I believe the truth of His supernatural teaching and receive the gift of His body and blood?

Pray:

Dear Jesus, help the unbelief of those who will not accept the truth of Your real body and blood, soul and divinity in the Eucharist. Thank You for the gift of intimacy with You.

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Jesus is not contradicting what He said about eating His Flesh. He is telling them that there is a supernatural truth in what He said. #DailyGospel

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