Call Us: 617-846-7400

Address: 320 Winthrop St, Winthrop, MA 02152

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube
  • About
    • Ministers and Staff
    • Facilities
    • History
    • Links
  • News & Events
  • Donations
    • Donate Now
    • Planned Gifts
    • Holiday Meal Donations
    • Holiday Flowers
    • Grand Annual Collection
    • Commitment to Parish Life
    • Planned Gifts
  • Ministries
    • Community Help
    • Baptism
    • Parish Ministries
      • Bereavement Group
      • Collections
      • Eucharistic Ministers
      • Kenyan Community
      • Lectors
      • Liturgy Committee
      • Music Ministry and Choirs
      • RCIA
    • Committees
      • Commitment to Parish Life Committee
      • Buildings and Property Committee
      • Communications and Technology
      • Finance Committee
    • CYO Basketball
    • Weddings
      • Marriage Prep Program
  • Religious Education
    • Confirmation
      • Service – Why is it important?
      • Choosing your Sponsor
      • Choosing a Confirmation Name
  • Contact

Call Us: 617-846-7400

Address: 320 Winthrop St, Winthrop, MA 02152

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube

St. John the Evangelist Church

St. John the Evangelist Church

  • About
    • Ministers and Staff
    • Facilities
    • History
    • Links
  • News & Events
  • Donations
    • Donate Now
    • Planned Gifts
    • Holiday Meal Donations
    • Holiday Flowers
    • Grand Annual Collection
    • Commitment to Parish Life
    • Planned Gifts
  • Ministries
    • Community Help
    • Baptism
    • Parish Ministries
      • Bereavement Group
      • Collections
      • Eucharistic Ministers
      • Kenyan Community
      • Lectors
      • Liturgy Committee
      • Music Ministry and Choirs
      • RCIA
    • Committees
      • Commitment to Parish Life Committee
      • Buildings and Property Committee
      • Communications and Technology
      • Finance Committee
    • CYO Basketball
    • Weddings
      • Marriage Prep Program
  • Religious Education
    • Confirmation
      • Service – Why is it important?
      • Choosing your Sponsor
      • Choosing a Confirmation Name
  • Contact

Bishop Barron’s Gospel Reflection

Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ
John 6:51-58
Friends, in today’s Gospel Jesus promises eternal life to those who eat his Flesh and drink his Blood. Many of the Church Fathers characterized the Eucharist as food that effectively immortalizes those who consume it.

They understood that if Christ is really present in the Eucharistic elements, the one who eats and drinks the Lord’s Body and Blood becomes configured to Christ in a far more than metaphorical way. The Eucharist Christifies and hence eternalizes.

If the Eucharist were no more than a symbol, this kind of language would be so much nonsense. But if the doctrine of the Real Presence is true, then this literal eternalization of the recipient of Communion must be maintained.

But what does this transformation practically entail? It implies that the whole of one’s life—body, psyche, emotions, spirit—becomes ordered to the realm of God. It means that one’s energies and interests, one’s purposes and plans, are lifted out of a purely temporal context and given an entirely new spiritual valence.

The Christified person knows that his life is not finally about him but about God; the Eucharistized person understands that her treasure is to be found above and not below.

Share:
Prev
Next

Latest Reflections

Gospel Reflection from Notre Dame

Robert McAuliff ’95 Who are the ones...

Daily Inspiration from JesuitPrayer.org

Mk 1: 14-20 Now after John was arrested, Jesus...

Bishop Barron’s Gospel Reflection

Mark...

Gospel Reflection from Notre Dame

Peter Brambilla ’02 M.S. The aspect of...

© Copyright 2012-2021 by St John the Evangelist All Rights Reserved

  • Twitter
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Youtube