“Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me, and I in them.” (John 6:56)

      Many of his disciples, when they heard it, said, “This is a hard saying; who can listen to it?” (John 6: 60)

     After this many of his disciples drew back and no longer went about with him (John 6:66)

“But there are some of you that do not believe.” For Jesus knew from the first who those were that did not believe, and who it was that would betray him (John 6:64)

Jesus said to the twelve, “Do you also wish to go away?” Simon Peter answered him, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; and we have believed, and have come to know, that you are the Holy One of God.” Jesus answered them, “Did I not choose you, the twelve, and one of you is a devil?”  He spoke of Judas the son of Simon Iscariot, for he, one of the twelve, was to betray him (John 6: 68-71)

     John 6 foreshadows Judas’ ultimate betrayal of Jesus which began on Holy Thursday, the very day Jesus instituted the Eucharist as the “new covenant in my blood” (Luke 22:20). We Catholics have the unbelievable privilege of truly receiving the body and blood of Jesus at Holy Mass. And even though we may hear an echo of John 6:60 (“This is a hard saying; who can listen to it”) from voices not in harmony with the Church on this critical teaching concerning the real presence (Body, Blood, Soul and Divinity) of Jesus in the Eucharist, we must cling to this teaching of Jesus like Peter did when the Lord asked him if he also wanted to leave the Lord over this doctrine, saying, like Peter, “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the message of eternal life” (John 6:68).

Tom Mulcahy, M.A.