Praised be Jesus, Mary, and
Joseph!
The difficulty of our Lord’s
teaching regarding the Eucharist has antagonized not only the Jews but his
disciples as well: “This is hard: who can accept it?” They found it too much to
bear that we should eat His body and drink His blood. The doctrine of the Real
Presence of Jesus in the Eucharist was too difficult to accept. What prevented
them from accepting what they called this “hard” teaching about the Eucharist?
The Jews last Sunday have expressed their difficulty: “How could this man give
us his flesh to eat?” They saw Jesus as no more than just a man. They did not
see Jesus as God. For while it is impossible for a mere man to give his flesh
to be eaten, for God, however, it can be done. God can assume human flesh and
he can give it for us to eat. Nothing is impossible to God.
“Many of his disciples returned
to their former way of life and no longer accompanied him.” The Eucharist is
the litmus test of a Christian’s faith in Jesus. A Christian cannot really say
that he believes that Jesus is Lord and God not until he believes that Jesus
gives his flesh as food to be eaten. Thus, I really question the faith of
“bible Christians” who claim that they have accepted Jesus as their personal
Lord and Savior. How can they say that they believe that Jesus is Lord and yet
not believe that his flesh is real food and his blood is real drink? They have
turned their back on Jesus simply because what he said was too difficult to
accept. And that is also why I am not at all surprised that in the 1960’s the
same Christian communities also abandoned the Christian stand against birth
control. If they could abandon Christ on account of the difficulty of the
Eucharistic dogma, they could also abandon Christ on account of the difficult
of the moral stand against birth control.
On the other hand, Jesus even
challenged his 12 apostles to leave him if they found the doctrine of the Real
Presence in the Eucharist unacceptable. Peter, the first Pope, answers the
Lord: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of everlasting life. We
have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” In
spite of the big number of disciples who have abandoned the Lord, this humble
band of apostles makes their stand on the side of Jesus. Thus, it comes as no
surprise that even if the whole world, fellow Christians included, should turn
its back to the Lord on issues like birth control, the Catholic Church will
still stand by the Lord. If the Church did not abandon the Lord in spite of the
difficulty of the Eucharistic dogma, she will not abandon the Lord now on
account of a smaller issue like birth control. Even if they say that thousands
of Catholics no longer listen to what the Pope and the bishops say…even if 190
Ateneo professors should abandon the Church’s stance against birth control,
still, the humble number of Christ’s real faithful would stand by him for what
is wrong and false remains to be wrong and false even if everybody does it and
what is right and true will always be right and true even if nobody does it
anymore. Like Joshua and the Israelites in the first reading, the small number
of real faithful continues to say: “Far it be from us to forsake the Lord for
the service of other gods…we also will serve the Lord, for he is our God.” Like
Peter, the first Pope, the Church continues to say, “Lord, to whom shall we go?
You have the words of eternal life. We have come to believe and are convinced
that you are the Holy One of God.” “Decide today whom you will serve…As for me
and my household, we will serve the Lord!”
Jesus, I trust in you. O Mary
conceived without sin, pray for us who have recourse to thee!
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