The pastor of the parish where I first taught was a wise and kind man named Father Ray. In the Invitation to Communion, Father Ray would insert the words, “This is re-e-e-ally Jesus.” He did this, I’m sure, to emphasize the Real Presence of Christ in the Eucharist we would soon receive. And this didn’t only happen at the school Masses at which he presided. He did this at all Masses—for children and adults alike.
In Sunday’s Gospel, Jesus says, “[T]he bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world” (John 6:51). How easy it is for us to let such words go in one ear and out the other, especially if we’ve heard and read them many times in our lives. Yet how very shocking and incredible these same words must have sounded to those who heard Jesus say them.
We pray that you—and we—may stay tuned in to the words of Jesus and the amazing gift of his Body and Blood in Holy Communion.
Photo credit: Catholic Diocese of Saginaw/CC BY-ND 2.0 via Flickr.com, cropped from larger original