Working with the Word

Focusing the Gospel

Key words and phrases: Bread that came down from heaven, whoever eats this bread will live forever, Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him

To the point: Jesus’ declaration that he is the "bread that came down from heaven" grounds his further declaration that those who eat "this bread will live forever." Jesus is the divine Word made flesh—a flesh and blood now given to us for food and drink so that we live in communion with him. The core of the mystery of Eucharist is the Son's self-giving that is our eternal Life.

Connecting the Gospel …

… to First Reading: The perishable bread God sends from heaven sustains the people who will themselves eventually perish. The promise of the Eucharist is that Jesus feeds us with imperishable food that is his very self so that we remain in him and live forever.

… to experience: We take in food for the sake of nourishment and plea- sure—we receive sustenance and delight. The food Jesus gives us, however, is for more than sustenance and delight—it is an invitation to receive so that we might give as he does.

**From Saint Louis University