Today is the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. In reading 1 from Deuteronomy 8, Moses reminded the people that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God. Bread sustains only our physical life. To have life for all eternity, we need to live by every word that comes from the Lord. What Jesus said in today's Gospel reading from John 6 is especially important: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. 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. 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. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me an I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." After hearing these words, if you take eternal life seriously, you'd never take receiving the Holy Eucharist lightly anymore.
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