St. Mary's Catholic Church of Tomahawk, WI

Dear Brothers and Sisters:

We are on the tenth Sunday in ordinary time, celebrating the feast of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ. The first reading tells us about God providing Manna and Water for the people of Israel while they were in the desert for forty years. This was a part of the test where people who endured hunger would truly follow God’s commandments. Their hunger served as a reminder that just as God’s provision of food is life-giving, so is ‘every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord’.

The second reading continues the theme of divine provision found in the first reading. It emphasizes the sacrificial nature of the Eucharist through the use of liturgical language, about the cup of blessing and the breaking of the bread. We hear these words at Mass whenever we participate. Thus, when we receive Holy Communion, we are not simply taking part in the sharing of bread. It is a real ‘participation in the body of Christ’.

The gospel is from the Bread of Life discourse in John’s gospel. Our Lord himself teaches us that He is ‘the living bread’ from heaven. Like in the first reading, here Jesus clearly states that His body is the real food from heaven, given by God for our pilgrimage on earth. Whoever partakes of His body will live forever and that He gives His body for the life of the world. Do we long for this real Bread of Life and how do we prepare to receive it?

Fr. Aloysius Royan Anthony