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Today we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ. The majority of our Christian brothers and sisters of other denominations don’t believe in the true Presence of Christ in the Eucharist. They believe that when Jesus said (in today’s Gospel) “Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him.” that Jesus was talking metaphorically.
Sadly, there are many Catholics who don’t believe in the Eucharist either. But this is the Truth. That’s why Mass is so important to attend every single Sunday—because it is our opportunity to receive Jesus Christ in a very real way into our bodies. We become walking tabernacles. It’s beautiful.
But Deepu, Jesus always spoke in parables, how does the Church know He wasn’t speaking in parables this time?
First off, ‘always’ is an unfair statement. Secondly, one of the reasons the Church knows it’s not a parable comes from a passage that wasn’t included in today’s Gospel reading. In the following verses, the disciples doubt Jesus, Jesus challenges them by basically telling them about His Ascension into heaven (which is not a parable as He does indeed ascend into heaven later on). And then, in verses 66-67, it says, “As a result of this, many of His disciples returned to their former way of life and no longer accompanied Him. Jesus then said to the Twelve, “Do you also want to leave?” Jesus doesn’t stop those disciples who refused to accept His teachings from leaving. He didn’t say, “Hold up guys, it’s just a metaphor—I am not really asking you to eat my flesh and drink my blood…come on back!” Jesus doesn’t ask the Twelve if they understood what He really meant by what He said. He basically tells them, either you believe these words and accept them as Truth, or you can leave. This, aside from Jesus telling us to do so, is a part of the reason why it’s considered a sin to not attend Mass on Sunday. It’s not just some rule the Church made up. Because by us choosing to do something else, we are giving that something else priority. We are saying, “Jesus, my [tournament, competition, job, party, celebration, homework, etc.] is more important than You. It is more important than receiving you into my body. It is more important than spending an hour thanking you. I know you want me to thank you in a specific way for your sacrifice, but I’m going to do it later and in my own way.”
Deepu, that’s kind of harsh. I don’t think about it like that. I have responsibilities and commitments.
And this is what the devil wants—for you to not be as committed to God as you should be. I’m not saying that your job or sports or whatever that something else is is from the devil or even bad. But it does become an evil when we let it consume us, instead of allowing Christ to consume us. It becomes evil when we allow it to become a god before God.
My purpose is not to offend anyone. My purpose is to help people realize the importance of the Mass. We are called to spread the Gospel to the ends of the earth. That is our mission. So if you believe someone else needs to read this, share it with them. And it doesn’t have to be a, “Read this and start going to Mass.” It can (and should) be a, “Please read this, and tell me what you think.” Then have a discussion.
