Monday of the Third Week of Easter

http://www.usccb.org/bible/readings/042312.cfm

Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me
not because you saw signs
but because you ate the loaves and were filled.
Do not work for food that perishes
but for the food that endures for eternal life,
which the Son of Man will give you.

Among Catholics, despite all the changes since the Second Vatican Council – and there are many – the Eucharist remains our single most important ceremony. In fact, in the popular mind, it has grown more important. Since 1965 many public devotions to Mary and the saints disappeared, replaced by evening and impromptu Masses. There were days in the 1970’s when every committee and sub-committee in the parish wanted to begin with the celebration of the Mass!

From what I hear lately, the word spiritual -- as in spiritual communion or spiritual relationship with Jesus -- is rapidly disappearing into nonsense. It means nothing and costs nothing; it's what former Christians claim when they lose the faith. Meanwhile the ritual of eating real bread and drinking real wine grows more important. When we consider the cost of discipleship and the demands of membership, we need something to sink our teeth into and Eucharist gives us that.

The practice of the Eucharist is anchored in the signs of Saint John’s Gospel. Jesus did not perform the signs to be seen by a single generation of people and then recorded among legends of the prehistoric past. Rather, they are living and effective signs, like the word of God, as vital today as they were in the first century A.D. The Lord is as present in the Eucharist today as he was to his disciples in Jerusalem; and the surest sign of that is the Eucharist. 

The controversy seems to be around the question, “How intensely present is the Lord in this sacrament? “ Or perhaps, “Which is more real, spiritual or physical presence?” Catholic liturgy celebrates his Real Presence. Even if the priest and the congregation are inattentive and unworthy – a situation not  entirely hypothetical – God is truly and fully present. Just because the invited guests didn’t show up doesn’t mean the dinner was not prepared. In the Eucharist we see God’s self-emptying gift, both adorable and dreadful; adorable, because it is so beautiful; dreadful, for we stand judged before it. Grace is measured by God’s infinite goodness and not by our reluctance.

In today's gospel Jesus demonstrates impatience with the disciples who want earthly food from him. They saw the miracle but missed the sign:

Do not work for food that perishesbut for the food that endures for eternal life,which the Son of Man will give you.

Tomorrow we will hear the crowd asking, Lord give us this food always!