August Holy Hour Reflection

Jn 6:41-51

The Jews murmured about Jesus because he said,
“I am the bread that came down from heaven, ”
and they said,
“Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph?
Do we not know his father and mother?
Then how can he say,
‘I have come down from heaven’?”
Jesus answered and said to them,
“Stop murmuring among yourselves.
No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:
They shall all be taught by God.
Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

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Reflection by Amy Tribble:

I am left in awe by these words of Jesus; words that describe the most profound mystery of our faith. “I am the bread of life.” “…the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world.” Both the gift that we are offered, and the humility with which our Lord offers it, are staggering.

I am reminded of my first encounter with Jesus in Adoration of the Blessed Sacrament. It was about a year and a half before my return to the church, and I went to the chapel just looking for a quiet place, where I would not be noticed, to say a quick prayer. I came with absolutely nothing – I hadn’t even thought about God for years, I was not in a state of grace, and my life was falling apart. But what I left with was, in a word – everything. That moment in the presence of God radically changed my life. It was only a year later that I finally understood that Christ is really, substantially present in the host. If I had known at the time that he was there, I doubt that I would have dared to walk into that room!

This is what God does for us – he makes himself so tiny, so unassuming and humble that even at our worst we will not hesitate to come to him. We come to Jesus with nothing, we come only because the Father has called, and He offers us his very flesh as the food that we may eat to live forever. “Whoever believes has eternal life.”

And what is more, he does this for each of us personally. When the Jews murmur against Jesus, they say “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph? Do we not know his father and mother?” It is hard to believe, even when the reward is so great. But we take comfort in their very objection. Yes we do know him – and he knows us. St. Therese of Lisieux asks, “Do you realize that Jesus is there in the tabernacle expressly for you – for you alone? He burns with the desire to come into your heart…go without fear to receive the Jesus of peace and love…”

And when we come before Jesus in the Blessed Sacrament, we are able to act as the mystical body of Christ, sharing God’s love with others. Pope John Paul II said that, “Through adoration, the Christian mysteriously contributes to the radical transformation of the world and to the sowing of the Gospel. Anyone who prays to the Savior draws the whole world with him, and raises it to God. Those who stand before the Lord…are presenting to Christ all those who do not know him or are far from Him.” How amazing, that, just by being here tonight, we are given the opportunity to bring Christ into the world!