19th Sunday of the Year
1 Kings 19:4–8; Ephesians 4:30–5:2; John 6:41–51

A Dream Come True
Jesus tells us his disciples about eternal life and what they must do to acquire it.

At first glance it doesn’t seem that a 16th-century explorer,
some 20th-century senior citizens, and an ancient Chinese emperor would have much in common. But they do.

The 16th-century explorer was the Spaniard Ponce de Leon.

Shortly after Columbus discovered America, rumors spread that the new world contained a fountain of youth. Ponce de Leon outfitted a ship and sailed to America to search for this legendary fountain.

That brings us to the senior citizens.
They are the old people in the movie Cocoon.

Those old people experienced a return to their youth when they bathed in a swimming pool secretly used by aliens from another planet.

Their exciting experience prompted them to accept an invitation from the aliens to go back with them to their planet.
The senior citizens were told that once they reached the alien planet, they would live forever.

And finally, we come to the ancient Chinese emperor.
His name is Chin.
chin is the emperor who built the Great Wall of China.
Extending over 2,000 miles, the Great Wall is the only
man-made structure on earth that the astronauts could identify from outer space.

According to National Geographic magazine,
Emperor Chin had a great fear of dying. One day his magicians told him about an island paradise in the Eastern Sea. It’s inhabitants had discovered the secret of eternal life.

Chin loaded several ships with priceless gifts and dispatched them to the island’s inhabitants, hoping to trade the gifts for their secret.

Reportedly the ships found the islands,  but the islanders wouldn’t exchange their secret for such paltry gifts.

What does all of this boil down to?
What point does it make?

It is this: From the beginning of time people have dreamed about never dying. They have dreamed about living forever.
They have dreamed about eternal life.

With such death of a loved one, that dream became more and more of an obsession with people.

And so when Jesus showed up in Palestine and began talking about eternal life, people flocked to hear what he had to say.

Jews, especially, were interested. Since the time of Abraham and Moses, they were in the dark about what happened to the dead.
They believed there was a “world of the dead,”
but they had no idea what theat world was like.
And so any light Jesus could throw on the mystery was welcome.

One of the most remarkable things Jesus said about eternal life is what he says in today’s gospel. Listen again to his remarkable words.

“I am the bread of life . . .
that comes down from heaven. . . .
If you eat this bread, you will live forever. The bread that
I will give you is my flesh, which I give so that the world may live.”

Jesus reveals that life in this world isn’t the end of things.
There’s another life to come. And that life will never end.
It is an eternal life; it is an everlasting life.

Is it any wonder that many Jews shook their heads at Jesus,
especially when he said, “I am the bread . . .
that comes down from heaven”?

Is it any wonder that they grumbled among themselves, saying, “This man is Jesus son of Joseph, isn’t he?
We know his father and mother. How, then, does he now say
he came down from heaven?” John 6:41–42

Only when Jesus rose from the dead did many of these Jews reconsider his words and take them seriously.

That brings us to this gathering in this church today.

We have gathered together to hear the word of Jesus about eternal life. We have gathered together to be nourished by the Body of Jesus, the bread of eternal life.

What Ponce de Leon searched for in America,
what the senior citizens looked for in Cocoon,
and what Emperor Chin sought in the paradise islands of the Eastern Sea is with us in this church today.

Jesus Christ, the Son of God, the fountain and wellspring of eternal life,  is present with us right now.

He is with us in his spirit.
He said to his followers,
“Where two or three come together in my name,
I am there with them.” Matthew 18:20

Jesus is with us in his word. What he said 2,000 years ago to the people is what he said to us a few minutes ago in today’s gospel.

Jesus is with us in his representative,
the priest. Speaking to his representatives, Jesus said,
“Whoever listens to you listens to me.” Luke 10:16

And finally, Jesus is with us in the sacrament of eternal life.
It was concerning this sacrament that he said in today’s gospel, “I am the bread of life. . . .
If you eat this bread, you will live forever.” John 6:51

In the light of all this, is it any wonder that Jesus said to us:
“How fortunate you are to see the things you see!
I tell you that many prophets and kings wanted to see what you see, but they could not, and to hear what you hear,
but they did not.” Luke 10:23–24

All we can do in the face of such a great mystery is pray:

God our Father, you have given us so much. Forgive us if we ask for one more thing.

Give us the faith to recognize the spirit of your Son in the hearts of our brothers and sisters in this church right now.

Give us the faith to recognize the voice of your Son in the word we have just read and heard explained to us.

But above all, give us the faith to recognize the Body of your Son in the bread we now prepare to break and share.

We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, through whom
with whom, and in whom we will one day live with you and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.

Series II
19th Sunday of the Year
1 Kings 19:4–8; Ephesians 4:30–5:2; John 6:41–51

Bread of Life
Belief in the real presence is at the heart of our faith.

Steve Garwood is a building contractor in South Carolina.
He is also an Extraordinary Minister of the Eucharist in his parish.

The first Sunday after his child was born, he brought the Body of Christ home to his wife. She was still recuperating from giving birth.

When Steve opened the door, he saw that friends had dropped in to see the new baby. So he reverently placed the small gold receptacle, containing the Body of Christ, on a shelf in his living room.

Visitors streamed in and out all day. By the time the last visitor left, he had not yet had time to be alone with his wife,
who had just fallen asleep.

As Steve passed through the darkened living room,
he felt compelled to kneel in reverence before the Body of Christ in the small gold container on the shelf.

As he knelt there, with head bowed, it suddenly struck him
that he was not alone in the room. The Lord was with him.
This sudden realization overwhelmed him. He wrote later:

“Blood pounded in my ears and all the hairs of my body stood on end. I thrust my face to the floor and spread my hands out in supplication before me.

“ ‘Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God,’ I said, ‘have mercy on me, an ungrateful sinner. You are here before me, in my house,
and you have blessed me so much.’ ’’
And You, Who Do You Say I Am?
That moving story fits in beautifully with today’s gospel reading. It does so for two reasons.

First, it underscores a central mystery of our faith, namely, that we Catholics believe that the risen Jesus lives among us,
just as truly as he lived among his disciples in biblical times.

Spelling out this mystery more in detail,
the Second Vatican Council said:

“Christ is always present in his Church, especially in the actions of the liturgy. He is present in the sacrifice of the Mass, in the person of the minister . . .
and most of all under the eucharistic species.’’

The Council continues:

“Christ is present in the sacraments by his power, in such a way that when someone baptizes, Christ himself baptizes.

“He is present in his word, for it is he himself who speaks
when the holy Scriptures are read in the Church.

“Finally, he is present when the Church prays and sings,
for he himself promised: ‘Where two or three are gathered in my name, I am there in their midst.’ ’’ Constitution on the Sacred Liturgy

Of all the ways Jesus is present among us, his presence in the Eucharist has always been special to us Catholics.
And today’s gospel recalls why.

It’s because he’s present there as the “bread of life.’’

Commenting on this special presence,
Jesus said to his disciples:

“I am the bread of life . . .
the living bread that came down from heaven. If you eat this bread, you will live forever. The bread that I will give you is my flesh, which I give so that the world may live.” John 6:48, 51

And so the story of Steve Garwood underscores a central mystery of our faith, namely, that the risen Jesus lives among us in the Eucharist just as truly as he lived among his disciples
in biblical times.

This brings us to the second reason why the story fits in with today’s gospel. It’s because it dramatizes the reverence
that Catholics have traditionally accorded Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist.

Like the apostle Thomas, who fell on his knees before the risen Jesus and said, “My Lord and my God!’’ (John 20:28),
Steve fell on his knees before eucharistic Jesus and said,
“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me,
an ungrateful sinner. You are here before me, in my house,
and you have blessed me so much.’’

This brings us to the practical application of all of this to our daily lives.

Steve’s story makes us aware that we tend to take Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist for granted.

It makes us aware that we need to be reminded from time to time of what a great gift it is to have Jesus present among us in the Eucharist.

It makes us aware that we, too, should fall on our knees
from time to time and say to Jesus in the Eucharist
what the disciple Thomas said: “My Lord and my God!’’

It makes us aware that we, too, should fall on our knees
from time to time and say to Jesus in the Eucharist what Steve said:

“Lord Jesus Christ, Son of God, have mercy on me, an ungrateful sinner. You are here before me, in my house,
and you have blessed me so much.”

This is the great mystery that we contemplate in today’s gospel. This is the great mystery that we celebrate in today’s liturgy.

It is the incredible mystery that Jesus lives among us in the Eucharist just as truly as he lived among the people of biblical times.

In the face of such a mystery,
all we can do is fall on our knees and pray:


God our Father, you have given us so much.
 Forgive us if we ask you for one thing more.

Give us the faith to recognize the presence of your Son in the hearts of our brothers and sisters in this church right now.

Give us the faith to recognize the voice of your Son in the words of Sacred Scripture.


Above all, give us the faith to recognize the Body of your Son
in the bread that we now prepare to bless, break, and share.

We make our prayer through Christ our Lord, with whom,
 in whom, and through whom we will someday live with you and the Holy Spirit for ever and ever.

Series III
19th Sunday of the Year
1 Kings 19:4–8, Ephesians 4:30–5:2, John 6:41–51

Holy Communion
Holy Communion is receiving the same Jesus who was born in a cave outside Bethlehem.

Iam the living bread that came down from heaven.
If you eat this bread, you will live forever.” John 6:51

Not far from Munich, Germany, is the picturesque town of Dachau. For decades it was a popular spot for tourists and artists. Then in 1933 all that changed.

The Nazis took over Germany and built a concentration camp just outside Dachau.

During the next 12 years nearly one quarter of a million prisoners were confined there.

Official records certify that over 30,000 of these prisoners
were cruelly executed in the camp. But this figure does not include the thousands of prisoners who were put to death without being registered or who were sent elsewhere to be executed.

Today, tourists are returning to Dachau in greater numbers than ever before.

You see them walking prayerfully around the grounds of the camp. You see them moving slowly through the museum that has been built there.

Above all, you see them praying silently in one of the camp’s several memorial chapels.

In 1986, Father Albert Haase paid a visit to Dachau.
After returning to the United States, he wrote a book in which he describes a portion of his visit to Dachau. He writes:

One Wednesday afternoon in June 1986,
 I walked the grounds of Dachau concentration camp. . . .
I remember pausing to pray at the spot where Barracks 26 once stood. It was the prison dormitory that housed so many Roman Catholics. . . .

Every day Catholic prisoners at Dachau got one meal, which consisted of a chunk of bread the size of a dinner role,
and a cup of watered-down soup.

But each day, one Catholic prisoner would voluntarily sacrifice
his or her meager bread ration for the celebration of the Mass.

That chunk of bread would be consecrated by a priest and then secretly passed around as communion for prisoners. Swimming in the Sun (pages 141–42)

We can imagine what went on in the minds and hearts of those Catholic prisoners as they shared in what would be for them their “Last Supper.”

And we can imagine what went on in the mind and heart
of a prisoner who had just sacrificed his ration of bread—
the only meal he would have that day—to make the Mass possible for the rest of the prisoners.

And finally, we can imagine what went on in the minds and hearts of all the prisoners as they listened to these words of Jesus during the reading of the Gospel:

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven.
If you eat this bread, you will live forever.” John 6:51

As we listen to the story of the Catholic prisoners of Barracks 26, we find ourselves asking:

“What goes on in my mind and heart as I walk down the aisle at communion time with my brothers and sisters
to be nourished by the Body and Blood of the Lord?

“What goes on in my mind and heart at the moment I receive
the Body and Blood of the Lord?”

Most of us receive the Eucharist each time we go to Mass.
Moreover, we receive it without having to sacrifice our only meal for that day.

Unfortunately, because of the ready and convenient availability of the Eucharist, we can slip into the habit of receiving it routinely and unthinkingly.

This raises a question: How can we reverse that pattern
if we have, perhaps, slipped into the habit of receiving the Eucharist in this manner?

Permit me to make a suggestion that I, personally,
found helpful.

As you walk down the aisle to receive the Eucharist,
try to focus your mind and heart on what you are about to do.

It is not to meet, personally, with the president of the United States.
It is not to meet, personally, with some famous celebrity.
It is not even to meet, personally,
with the Holy Father himself.  
It is to meet, personally, with Jesus Christ, the Son of God.

And when the priest or deacon or the eucharistic minister holds up the Eucharist and says to you,
“The Body of Christ,” try to realize what you are doing when you say “Amen.”

You are saying, “I believe this is the same Christ who was born in a cave in a hillside outside Bethlehem.”

You are saying, “I believe this is the same Christ who restored health to the sick, sight to the blind, and life to Lazarus.”

You are saying, “I believe this is the same Christ who said to the hungry crowd on the mountainside”:

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven. If you eat this bread, you will live forever.” John 6:51

You are saying, “I believe this is the same Christ who was nailed to a cross and after three hours died for me, my family, and my friends, was raised from the dead, and will come again to judge the living and the dead.”

It is this great mystery of our faith that we celebrate each time we gather for the Eucharist.

It is this great mystery of our faith that gives us the hope of eternal life.

It is this great mystery of our faith that we now return to the altar to celebrate. Let us celebrate it with deep faith and profound gratitude.