Listen - You either believe Jesus is God or you don’t…But if you do - All you have to do is read his words - “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” - It can’t be any clearer than that!

Today we hear in the Gospel of John how Jesus very directly affirms the reality of the Eucharist, how it is not a “symbol” but it is his very flesh for us to consume…How can we somehow “miss” this?….Is it we just chose not to hear and / or construct a “religion” of our own liking?…….”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”…….The Blessed Sacrament when consumed in the state of grace is referred to by the Church as viaticum, which is a latin word meaning “food for the journey"……Why would the Eucharist be referred to in this way?…..Because we need it to sustain us - period full stop!…Because the road to heaven is narrow and the way of the cross is difficult - period full stop!…..Just like we eat food to strengthen our bodies each day and without food we would die…Without the “bread of life” there is no way a person can live as Jesus asks us to live…As we all know, ALL human beings are flawed and ALL human beings are subject to sinful behavior…Jesus who is God but also was fully man (except he never sinned) knows our human condition very well…That is why he established a Church…That is why he instituted the Sacraments…From Baptism, which washes away our original sin and instills in us the Holy Spirit…..To the Blessed Sacrament, which is Jesus’s very body, which gives us grace and strength to live up to our Catholic calling….To the Sacrament of Reconciliation, which heals us of our sins when we fall - and we ALL fall again and again…….To think we do not need these things is not a wise decision to make - I’m sorry but I am just telling you the truth here….If we care to read the words of Christ himself, there is no way around it…Jesus created one Church and that Church is Sacramental…..Its as plain as the nose on your face

“I am the living bread that came down from heaven, says the Lord; whoever eats this bread will live forever”

The Sacraments of the Catholic Church are taken for granted because we have not encountered the living God….As “sophisticated” Americans we prioritize many things…How can we not prioritize the very thing that will animate our very existence?…The answer - Because when you get right down to it, we do not believe Jesus is fully present in the Blessed Sacrament…Because if we did, the Churches would be packed!…..How do we remedy this?……The world must “see” with their own two eyes Catholics “fully alive”…Catholics animated by living Sacramental lives….Telling people something is one thing, showing them something by your life’s witness is something all together different…..The example of a holy person literally stops traffic!….You can recite the entire bible to the world, lay out the most flawless arguments for why Jesus is God…Tell of countess miracles that have taken place for over 2000 years…All that will accomplish NOTHING if we do not live as God called us to live and we cannot do that without the Sacraments…However, when we live as authentic Catholics, our witness will penetrate the darkest of hearts…You will baffle the world, leaving it speechless by your witness….There is no argument for a holy life!…..And such a life is very possible

“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.”

St John today in the Gospel tells us very clearly that Jesus’s very flesh is nourishment for us to consume….When you get right down to it…If you believe that Jesus is God…That there is a heaven and you want to go to heaven…Then you have to believe everything Jesus said - Right?….Well, Jesus today once again affirms the need to consume his flesh, which is “the life for the world”…..Creating a “church" or a “path” to salvation of our liking does not cut it - Its a road to no where!….Again, Jesus told us very clearly…..“Amen, amen, I say to you, I am the gate for the sheep. All who came [before me] are thieves and robbers, but the sheep did not listen to them. I am the gate. Whoever enters through me will be saved, and will come in and go out and find pasture. A thief comes only to steal and slaughter and destroy; I came so that they might have life and have it more abundantly”…..Listen - You either believe Jesus is God or you don’t…But if you do - All you have to do is read his words - “For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink” - It can’t be any clearer than that!