hello I'm Jeff Cavins and today we're
looking at the readings for the 18th
Sunday in ordinary time there's one
chapter in the Gospel of John that a lot
of people look at when they want to talk
about the Eucharist as Catholics we
believe that the Eucharist the what
looks like bread and wine is actually
the body of Christ in the blood of
Christ
it tastes like bread it tastes like wine
but we believe that it's actually the
body and blood not all people believe it
but we do believe that and that's what
the early church taught some way somehow
through the words of institution that is
this is my body this is my blood said by
the priest in Mass the bread and the
wine indeed become the body and blood of
Jesus Christ we call this
transubstantiation not all groups
believe that some believe in
consubstantiation that Jesus is somehow
with the bread and somehow with the wine
when other denominations will actually
teach that it's just a symbol but I want
to show you here today that it's not
just a symbol but it is actually the
body and blood of Jesus Jesus talks
about unless you eat my body and drink
my blood you have no life in you we're
not talking about symbols here we're
talking about about reality now when I
had children that were very young they
oftentimes would want to eat cotton
candy or they want to go out and get
pizza and they want to get popcorn and
if you leave kids to themselves we'll
say five ten dollars and say get
yourself something to eat you know what
they're gonna go after but you also know
what you're gonna say to your kids
you're gonna say eat your vegetables and
eat your fruits and so forth and that's
because you know what is best for them
may not exactly like that but it is best
for them in the spiritual life when it
comes to the Eucharist there has to be a
point where we believe with all of our
hearts that the Good Shepherd Jesus
Christ knows exactly what we need in our
lives we are hunger expiry and just like
physically you go to the refrigerator
and you open it up and you look for
something to eat at eleven o'clock at
night
you survey the back of the frigerator
the left and the right door and you shut
it knowing there's nothing in here this
evening you go back and you watch TV in
20 minutes later you come back to the
fridge and you check it once again
knowing there in the last 20 minutes
nobody has put anything in there there's
a hunger that you have spiritually
speaking that's the same as well people
go from church to church looking for
some experience or something that's
gonna fulfill that hunger deep inside my
friend it is the Eucharist it is the
body and blood soul and divinity of
Jesus that is the only thing that is
going to satisfy that deep hunger and
give you that diet yeah I mean diet of
the body and blood of Christ that you
need you need that grace you see the
church teaches us that the Eucharist is
the very center of our faith and it is
the greatest source of grace in your
life you don't need just a good time or
have your emotions lifted up for a few
minutes what you need is you need deep
feeding in your soul and that's what the
Eucharist is about it says in John 6 so
when the people saw that Jesus was not
there nor his disciples they themselves
got into the boats and went to Capernaum
seeking Jesus when they found him on the
other side of the sea they said to him
rabbi when did you come here and jesus
answered them truly truly I say to you
you seek me not because you saw signs
but because you ate your fill of the
loaves do not labor for the food which
perishes but for the food which endures
to eternal life which the Son of Man
will give to you for on him as God the
Father set his seal and then they said
to him what must we do to be doing the
works of god and jesus answered them
this is the work of God that you believe
in him whom he has sent
and so they said to him then what sign
do you do that we may see and believe
what work do you perform our fathers ate
the manna in the wilderness as it is
written he gave them bread from heaven
to eat in fact that's the the first
reading this week from Exodus 16 Jesus
then said to them truly truly I say to
you it was
not moses who gave you the bread from
heaven my father gives you the true
bread from heaven for the bread of God
is that which comes down from heaven and
gives life to the world
they said to him Lord give us this bread
always and Jesus said to them I am the
bread of life he who comes to me shall
never hunger and he who believes in Me
shall never thirst
now I encourage you to read all of
chapter 6 of John and you'll see that
over and over Jesus instructs his
disciples to eat this bread that he's
offering them which is his body and
later in the chapter you'll even see
people departing from Jesus because they
say this is too hard of a statement and
he doesn't correct him he doesn't stop
him and say hey guys it's just metaphor
metaphor come on back they leave and
then Jesus looks at the disciples and
said are you gonna leave too Peter says
where are we to go
you have the words of everlasting life
those words the words of institution
said by the priest this is my body this
is my blood what happens on that altar
will feed your soul and it will give you
what you are searching for you must have
faith and you must trust the Good
Shepherd to feed you
you