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Let us ask ourselves, then, brothers and sisters: Do I hunger and thirst for salvation, not just for myself, but for all my brothers and sisters? When I receive the Eucharist, which is the miracle of mercy, do I stand in awe before the Body of the Lord, who died and rose again for us?
These were the Pope’s questions as he concluded his brief address on the Eucharist, before praying the midday Angelus.
He called the faithful to two attitudes before the Eucharist: Wonder and gratitude.
Firstly: wonder, because Jesus’ words surprise us. But Jesus always surprises us, always! Also today, in the lives of each one of us, Jesus keeps surprising us. The bread from heaven is a gift that exceeds all expectations. Those who do not grasp Jesus’ way remain suspicious: It seems impossible, even inhuman, to eat the flesh of another (cf. v. 54). Flesh and blood, however, are the humanity of the Saviour, His very life offered as a nourishment for our own.
And this brings us to the second attitude: gratitude. First: wonder. Now, gratitude, because we recognize Jesus where He makes Himself present for us and with us. He makes Himself bread for us. “Whoever eats my flesh remains in me and I in him” (cf. v. 56). Christ, the true man, knows well that one must eat to live. But He also knows that this is not enough. After multiplying the earthly bread (cf. Jn 6:1-14), He prepares an even greater gift: He Himself becomes true food and true drink (cf. v. 55). Thank you, Lord Jesus! Let us say “Thank you, thank you” with all our heart.
Hunger for hope
Pope Francis said that the “heavenly bread” which is the “Son Himself made flesh for us” is the most necessary food because it “satisfies the hunger for hope, the hunger for truth, and the hunger for salvation that we all feel not in our stomachs, but in our hearts. Every one of us needs the Eucharist!”
And Jesus responds to this great need we all have:
Jesus takes care of the greatest need: He saves us, nourishing our lives with His own, and He will do this forever. And it is thanks to Him that we can live in communion with God and with each other. The living and true bread is not, therefore, something magical, no. It is not something that will immediately solve all problems, but it is the very Body of Christ, that gives hope to the poor and overcomes the arrogance of those who gorge themselves at their expense.
The Pope concluded with an invitation to pray to Our Lady, “that she may help us to welcome the gift of heaven in this sign of the bread.”
And today we celebrate...