Love feeds. Jesus, Love incarnate, fed the hungry physically and spiritually. A mother gives of herself to nurse her infant. Fathers and mothers work hard to feed their children. Love gives of itself and love feeds. Jesus fed the multitudes out of love (Mk 6:34ff).
How incredible then that Jesus gave of Himself so completely to us, and then found a way to feed us at the same time. He did this by giving us His very flesh to feed us in the Eucharist. The mother gives of herself to nurse her infant, but her nursing does not kill her nor consume her (though surely she feels that way at times). Yet Jesus feeding us with His Body and Blood is linked with His death. He died to give us life — and to feed us by giving us His flesh. "This is My body, to be given up for you" (see 1 Cor 12:24). We respond, recalling His death for us, "We proclaim Your death, O Lord, and profess Your Resurrection until You come again" or "When we eat this bread and drink this cup, we proclaim Your death, O Lord, until You come again."
God gave everything to feed us. Today's Communion antiphon reads: "Because of that great love of His with which God loves us, He sent His Son in the likeness of sinful flesh." What He desires in return from us is to eat and rejoice. Can you satisfy His desires? "Eat His flesh" (see Jn 6:53).
| PRAYER: | Jesus, this is my body, to be given up for You. May I die to self so others can live for You. |
| PROMISE: | "God's love was revealed in our midst in this way: He sent His only Son into the world that we might have life through Him." –1 Jn 4:9 |
| PRAISE: | St. John Neumann was a diocesan priest who later joined the Congregation of the Most Holy Redeemer (the Redemptorists). He learned twelve languages to aid in ministering to immigrants. He promoted Forty Hours Eucharistic Adoration in the U.S. |
Reprinted with permission from Presentation Ministries, a lay association of the Catholic Church that focuses on evangelization and discipleship through Bible teaching, daily Mass, the charisms of the Holy Spirit, and Small Christian Community. Their ministries include:
· One Bread, One Body
· Daily Bread Radio Program
· Annual Bible Institute
· Discipleship Retreats
· Guadalupe Bible College