HEAVENLY FOOD
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December 23, 2023“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.” (Jn. 6, 51).
In the Old Testament, the bread that came down from heaven is called manna. After their escape from Egypt, the Israelites journeyed through the desert to the Promised Land. As time went on, however, they ran short on food and began to go hungry. They grumbled and complained to Moses. The next morning, in fulfillment of the Lord’s promise, the desert was covered with white grains. They wondered what they were. When they gathered as much as they needed and tasted it, it was so sweet, like wafer made with honey.
The Book of Exodus says that God rained down grain from heaven every single day for forty years until they reached the Promised Land. It is proof of how God sustains His people in their journey, from the very beginning until the end. Indeed, God’s love for his people never wavers.
Jesus himself gives a new meaning to this story. He tells the Jews, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven.” Christmas is God coming down from heaven and pitching his tent among us. He proclaims of his Kingdom and invites us to enter into it. But as his Kingdom is way greater than the Promised Land, the journey to reach it will be long and arduous.
Out of a loving desire for us to reach our eternal destination, he gives us his flesh and blood as food and drink for the journey. The destination is not just any land but the Kingdom of God. Nothing in this world can sustain us in the journey; only the living flesh and blood of God himself. Thus, only the Eucharist can bring us to our salvation. To deprive ourselves of the Eucharist is to make it impossible for us to reach the new Promised Land - Heaven.
I invite you and your family to rediscover the beauty and necessity of the Eucharist. When we ourselves are solid in our faith, we can create ripples, and then waves, that will send the world to a true Eucharistic Revival.
Together with the priests, deacons, and staff of our beloved St. Paul the Apostle Church, I wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Bountiful New Year. Thank you for your love and support!
