Homily: Saturday of the 3rd Week of Easter - To Whom Shall We Go?

This week we've been reading through the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel.  This chapter is pivotal in its revelation of the mystery of the Eucharist.

In yesterday’s reading, Jesus flat out declares his presence in the Eucharistic species.  Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you do not have life within you.”

In today’s reading, the disciples remark that Jesus’ words are a “hard saying.”  Yet, Jesus does not soften his words or water down his teaching to make it more palatable to our fallen sensibilities.  He’s asking our trust that surpasses our senses, he’s asking for our trust in Him!  We must profess our Faith even when we do not understand.  Most of the time, “faith proceeds understanding.”  You must first believe that Jesus does have the words of eternal life, before you will understanding those words.

It is interesting to note that the Eucharist was a pivotal point for even Jesus’ earliest disciples.  Those who did not accept this teaching returned to their former way of life.  Does that not continue to happen in our own day? 

It is a sad pattern: first, one begins to make excuses about not coming to Mass.  But when one is removed from the Catholic culture of liturgical worship one’s behaviors then begin to mimic those of the other culture.  Becoming ever more distant to the culture of truth, many fallen away Catholics begin to claim that the True Presence of Christ in the Eucharist is a false teaching, and they begin spouting errors like, “you don’t need to go to Mass in order to be a good Christian.” It is not long before the fallen away Catholic begins to live his life as if God did not exist.

It doesn’t happen like that every time, but it happens like that a lot of the time.

If you know of family, friends, or any one who has fallen away from the faith, who have fallen away from the Church, pray for them, fast for them, talk with them, invite them back to the Sacraments, give them reason to believe in Jesus, to trust in him, to follow him once again.

Jesus’ query of the disciples about staying or leaving also applies to us.  Peter speaks for all of us, “Lord, to whom shall we go?  You have the words of eternal life.”  We have chosen to stay because Jesus gives ultimate meaning to our lives. May our lives witness our faith in him for the glory of God and salvation of souls.