Hope... Even After We Have Lost Count

 *From the Gospel of today, Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ (John 6:51–58)*

Jesus said to them, "Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you" (Jn 6:53).

### The Very Hard Teaching to Accept

I must confess that offering a comment on this verse is one of the most difficult reflections for me in these Daily Bread reflections.

This is because it is a very hard message to accept. But I remember what Paul told Timothy in our First Reading yesterday, and so I am doing just that. We heard Paul telling Timothy: "Proclaim the message and, welcome or unwelcome, insist on it. Refute falsehood, correct error, give encouragement—but do all with patience and with care to instruct" (2 Tim 4:2).

So Jesus used these words to begin His response to the dispute that arose among the Jews when He said that the bread which He was to give for the life of the world was His flesh (see Jn 6:51).

Let me remind you of what John tells us happened after Jesus gave this response, which forms our Gospel today.

When Jesus finished speaking, many of His disciples said: "**This teaching is difficult; who can accept it?**" (Jn 6:60). The Gospel continues: "Jesus, being aware that his disciples were complaining about it, said to them, '**Does this offend you?**'" (Jn 6:61).

In fact, many of His disciples stopped following Him (Jn 6:66), just as the rich man whom Jesus loved became sad and walked away when invited into a deeper discipleship (Mk 10:22).

Jesus, having lost the crowd and many of His disciples, responded in a way we might not expect. We read: "So Jesus asked the Twelve, '**Do you also wish to go away?**'" (Jn 6:67).

### But How Did We Arrive Here?

At the beginning of this chapter, Jesus offered the ultimate solution to all our material hungers: hunger for food, attention, understanding, security, clothing, and so many other things.

This solution does not come through buying and selling, nor through hoarding what we possess. Rather, it comes through placing everything we have into God's hands, trusting Him like that little boy who offered his loaves and fish. Whenever we live according to this logic, we find that there is enough, and even more than enough (see Jn 6:1–15).

But the people did not want to embrace this way of life. They wanted a Messiah who would simply solve their problems for them. So they continued seeking Jesus for the wrong reasons.

When they asked Him, "Rabbi, when did you come here?" (Jn 6:25), Jesus answered:

> "Very truly, I tell you, you are looking for me, not because you saw signs, but because you ate your fill of the loaves. Do not work for the food that perishes, but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you" (Jn 6:26–27).

The people preferred remaining at the level of material and perishable food.

Yet to be truly satisfied and fulfilled as human beings, we must enter into communion with Jesus. Every human heart longs for a union that no earthly reality can completely provide. In the Eucharist, Christ gives Himself entirely to us and invites us into the deepest possible communion with Him.

This communion is not merely a heart-to-heart relationship through God's word alone. We are invited into union with the Word made flesh. We are invited to receive His flesh, a sign of His total self-giving and vulnerability, and to share in His blood, the blood of the new and eternal covenant.

This eating of the Body and drinking of the Blood that Jesus speaks about is not merely symbolic. The Catholic faith professes that in the Eucharist we truly receive the Body and Blood of Christ under the appearances of bread and wine. Throughout history, the Church has also recognized various Eucharistic miracles which many believers see as confirmations of this mystery.

### Why Must We Eat Him to Have Life?

I believe we now have the necessary background to understand this verse.

The First Reading of today describes our journey through life very well. Moses said to the Israelites:

> "He humbled you by letting you hunger, then by feeding you with manna, with which neither you nor your ancestors were acquainted, in order to make you understand that one does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes from the mouth of the LORD" (Deut 8:3).

How can we forget God's instruction that the Israelites should gather only enough manna for one day at a time? This command was given to test whether they would trust and obey Him (see Ex 16:4).

And how did they respond?

> "And Moses said to them, 'Let no one leave any of it over until morning.' But they did not listen to Moses; some left part of it until morning, and it bred worms and became foul" (Ex 16:19–20).

This reveals the futility of placing our trust in material things. Not only did the manna spoil, but those who became attached to it failed to learn the lesson God was teaching.

The same temptation remains with us today.

We try to satisfy our deepest hunger with self-righteousness, recognition, pride, wealth, marriage, success, work, pleasure, guilt, sorrow, anger, and sometimes even by pretending that we are not hungry at all.

Yet none of these can finally satisfy the human heart.

The thirsty Samaritan woman was with her sixth man when Jesus met her. Most of us have lost count of the things we have pursued in the hope that they would satisfy our deepest hunger. Yet the cycle continues, often leaving us emptier and more wounded than before.

Christ offers another way.

He offers Himself.

The choice remains ours.

Happy Corpus Christi.

*Ifeanyichukwu, Sunday, 7 June 2026.*