I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world. It is easy to imagine the wheels turning in the minds of that first audience: “Wait, what? Did he just say what I think he said?” And then, just to make sure he was being clear, Jesus says: Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the last day. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. It is possible that our familiarity with this passage can lead us to gloss over what a bold statement this must have seemed to his original hearers and still to many to this day. Eat a man’s flesh, drink his blood? How can this man say this?

First, Jesus can say this and do this because he is no ordinary man. From an ordinary man, these words would indeed seem crazy. But, as Peter confesses a few verses later in this same chapter and as we today echo: We have come to believe and are convinced that you [Jesus] are the Holy One of God (John 6:69). At every Mass we profess that Jesus is the Son of God, the Word made flesh. He is the one through whom all things came into being and in whom all things exist. In him, the second person of the Holy Trinity dwelt among us; through him, our human nature was redeemed, reconciled to the Father, and freed from the slavery of sin and death. He is the risen one who now stands before the throne of God, interceding on our behalf. And he is the one who gives us his flesh and blood on the altar for us to partake and become one with him, and through him, one with each other.

But the words flesh and blood are vivid and it is understandable if we sometimes find ourselves a bit confused about what Jesus meant. We know Jesus didn’t mean we should become cannibals or vampires. We also know that he didn’t mean that the bread was just a symbol meant to remind us of him in some vague way. Just as we have come to believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God, we have come to believe, to know, that that same risen Christ is truly and substantially present in the consecrated bread and wine. The words flesh and blood, together with soul and divinity, speak to the fullness of who Christ is, the fullness of who it is we receive. The King of kings and Lord of lords, who humbled himself to take on human flesh, humbles himself to come to us in the simple gifts of bread and wine, becoming one with us. What a gift!

As we celebrate this great Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, let us receive this sacrament with gratitude and faith.

(Fr. Michał Pająk, OMI, June 7, 2026)