The Bread of Life

I am the Bread of Life. The Gospel of John for the next three weeks is known as the Bread of Life Discourse when Jesus instructs his disciples about the Sacrament of the Eucharist which he will institute at the Last Supper. In today's readings Jesus says "do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you." He then tells them that the manner Moses gave them was not from Moses but "my Father gives you true bread from heaven." In the following weeks again Jesus speaks to His disciples, " I am the living bread that came down from heaven; who ever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." And finally the Jews quarreled among themselves saying "How can this man give us flesh to eat?" Jesus replies "Amen, amen I say to you unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you don not have life within you. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life and I will raise him up on the last day." In giving Himself to the world Christ has provided our souls the spiritual nourishment that the world cannot give us. The Eucharist is the source and summit of the Christian's spiritual life as the Church tells us. Feed yourself with the Bread of Life. God Bless