From: Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14-16
Israel’s Character Forged in the Desert (Continuation)
God Not To Be Forgotten in the Time of Plenty (Continuation)
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Commentary:
8:1-6. The Israelites are reminded about the way they were tested in the wilder-
ness and how God gave them special protection and fatherly care; and they are
once again exhorted to fidelity. This context needs to be borne in mind when con-
sidering v. 4: it need not be taken literally as some rabbinical fables did, which
took it to mean that in those desert years the Israelites’ clothes did not wear out
and their children’s clothes increased in size as they grew up.
“Man does not live by bread alone” (v. 3): Jesus will quote these words when re-
jecting Satan’s first temptation in the desert (cf. Mt 4:4).
The relationship between Israel and God, which is compared to that of father and
son (v. 5) was central to Jesus’ thinking and teaching. Some other Old Testament
passages, though not many, speak of this relationship (cf., e.g., Hos 11:1); a
greater number of passages apply this idea to the relationship between the Lord
and the King (cf., e.g., 2 Sam 7:14-15; Ps 2:7; 89:27).
8:7-20. This passage is more profound than might appear at first reading, because
the sacred writer is using the theme of the Land to show the salvific dimension of
God’s actions. Israel’s “departure from Egypt” marked the beginning of God’s sal-
vific action on behalf of his chosen people. The “wilderness”, described as “terri-
ble”, helped to make that people realize that they needed God and helped them
to hope in him. The “promised land”, a “good land”, particularly when compared
with the wilderness, shows God’s kindness towards Israel: in it they will find rest,
peace and happiness. The only thing they need to guard against is glorying in it,
as if they merited this good fortune. If ever they did give in to that temptation, they
would be lost. Clearly, this theological-moral lesson should be taken to heart by
everyone in his relations with God, whatever his or her circumstances.
The Canaanites went in for coarse and disgusting fertility rites to win the favor of
the gods that protected agriculture and livestock. The Israelites must do no such
thing. They should show their gratitude to the Lord who sends rain, sun and dew,
by offering sober and sensible sacrifices from field and flock. The Deuteronomic
Code (chapts. 12-26) in fact deals with agriculture-based festivals such as
“Weeks” (Deut 16:9-12), “unleavened bread” (16:3-4), “tithes” (14:22-29), etc. It
is through this, and above all, though living up to the moral demands of the Law,
that Israel will show its fidelity to Yahweh.
The ease with which men (and nations) forget God once they become rich and
prosperous is something readily proved from history. And when that happens the
threat contained in Deuteronomy in vv. 19-20 inevitably becomes a reality, for
“without a creator there can be no creature. [...] Besides, once God is forgotten
the creature is lost sight of as well” (Vatican II, “Gaudiumn Et Spes”, 36); hence
the need not to put one’s heart on material things. “You need to realize,” St Gre-
gory of Nyssa urges, “the origin of your life, your mind, your wisdom and, what
is more important still, the fact that you know God, your hope in the kingdom of
heaven and your expectation of seeing God [...], being a son of God, a co-heir
of Christ and (dare I say it) becoming divinized: where do all these things come
from; who causes them to happen?” (”De Pauperum Amore”, 23).
Christian writers often apply the benefits the Israelites received during the Exo-
dus to the graces of Baptism and the Eucharist (cf, e.g., 1 Cor 1.0:1-11). And
the Church’s liturgy, after recalling, the pillar of fire, the voice of Moses on Sinai,
the manna and the water that flowed from the rock, prays that our Lord should
be for us, through his Resurrection, the light of life, the word and bread of life (cf.
Liturgy of the Hours, Prayer, Lauds, Tuesday of Week 6, Eastertide).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.
(I had to copy this from another day — it has a missing verse at the beginning and an extra verses at the end. No Gospel at the Narvarre site that I usually use.)
From: John 6:52-59
The Discourse on the Bread of Life (Continuation)
(Jesus said to the Jews,) [52] The Jews disputed among themselves, saying,
“How can this Man give us His flesh to eat?” [53] So Jesus said to them, “Tru-
ly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His
blood, you have no life in you; [54] he who eats My flesh and drinks My blood
has eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day. [55] For My flesh is food
indeed, and My blood is drink indeed. [56] He who eats My flesh and drinks My
blood abides in Me, and I in him. [57] As the living Father sent Me, and I live be-
cause of the Father, so he who eats Me will live because of Me. [58] This is the
bread which came from Heaven, not such as the fathers ate and died; he who
eats this bread will live for ever.” This He said in the synagogue, as He taught
in Capernaum.
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Commentary:
49-51. The manna during the Exodus was a figure of this bread—Christ himself—
which nourishes Christians on their pilgrimage through this world. Communion
is the wonderful banquet at which Christ gives Himself to us: “the bread which I
shall give for the life of the world is My flesh”. These words promise the manifes-
tation of the Eucharist at the Last Supper: “This is My body which is for you” (1
Corinthians 11:24). The words “for the life of the world” and “for you” refer to the
redemptive value of the sacrifice of Christ on the cross. In some sacrifices of the
Old Testament, which were a figure of the sacrifice of Christ, part of the animal
offered up was later used for food, signifying participation in the sacred rite (cf.
Exodus 11:3-4). So, by receiving Holy Communion, we are sharing in the sacri-
fice of Christ: which is why the Church sings in the Liturgy of the Hours on the
Feast of Corpus Christi: “O sacred feast in which we partake of Christ: His suf-
ferings are remembered, our minds are filled with His grace and we receive a
pledge of the glory that is to be ours” (”Magnificat Antiphon”, Evening Prayer II).
52. Christ’s hearers understand perfectly well that He means exactly what He
says; but they cannot believe that what He says could be true; if they had un-
derstood Him in a metaphorical, figurative or symbolic sense there would be no
reason for them to be surprised and nothing to cause an argument. Later, Jesus
reaffirms what He has said—confirming what they have understood Him to say
(cf. verses 54-56).
53. Once again Jesus stresses very forcefully that it is necessary to receive Him
in the Blessed Eucharist in order to share in divine life and develop the life of
grace received in Baptism. No parent is content to bring children into the world:
they have to be nourished and looked after to enable them to reach maturity.
“We receive Jesus Christ in Holy Communion to nourish our souls and to give
us an increase of grace and the gift of eternal life” (”St. Pius X Catechism”, 289).
54. Jesus clearly states that His body and blood are a pledge of eternal life and
a guarantee of the resurrection of the body. St. Thomas Aquinas gives this expla-
nation: “The Word gives life to our souls, but the Word made flesh nourishes our
bodies. In this Sacrament is contained the Word not only in His divinity but also
in His humanity; therefore, it is the cause not only of the glorification of our souls
but also of that of our bodies” (”Commentary on St. John, in loc.”).
Our Lord uses a stronger word than just “eating” (the original verb could be trans-
lated as “chewing”) which shows that Communion is a real meal. There is no
room for saying that He was speaking only symbolically, which would mean that
Communion was only a metaphor and not really eating and drinking the Body
and Blood of Christ. “All these invitations, promises and threats sprang from the
great desire which (Jesus) had of giving us Himself in the holy Sacrament of the
altar. But why should Jesus so ardently desire us to receive Him in Holy Com-
munion? It is because love always sighs for, and tends to a union with, the object
beloved. True friends wish to be united in such a manner as to become only one.
The love of God for us being immense, He destined us to possess Him not only
in Heaven, but also here below, by the most intimate union, under the appearance
of bread in the Eucharist. It is true we do not see Him; but He beholds us, and is
really present; yes, He is present in order that we may possess Him and He con-
ceals Himself, that we may desire Him, and until we reach our true homeland Je-
sus Christ wishes in this way to be entirely ours, and to be perfectly united to us”
(St. Alphonsus Liguori, “The Love of Our Lord Jesus Christ Reduced to Practice”,
Chapter 2).
55. In the same way as bodily food is necessary for life on earth, Holy Commu-
nion is necessary for maintaining the life of the soul, which is why the Church ex-
horts us to receive this Sacrament frequently: “Every day, as is desirable, and in
the greatest possible numbers, the faithful must take an active part in the sacri-
fice of the Mass, avail themselves of the pure, holy refreshment of Holy Com-
munion and make a suitable thanksgiving in return for this great gift of Christ the
Lord. Here are the words they should keep in mind: ‘Jesus Christ and the Church
desire all Christ’s faithful to approach the sacred banquet every day. The basis
of this desire is that they should be united to God by the sacrament and draw
strength from it to restrain lust, to wash away the slight faults of daily occurrence
and to take precautions against the more serious sins to which human frailty is
liable’ (Decree of the S.C. of the Council, 20 December 1905)” (Paul VI, “Myste-
rium Fidei”).
“The Savior has instituted the most august sacrament of the Eucharist, which tru-
ly contains His flesh and His blood, so that he who eats this bread may live for-
ever; whosoever, therefore, makes use of it often with devotion so strengthens the
health and the life of his soul, that it is almost impossible for him to be poisoned
by any kind of evil affection. We cannot be nourished with this flesh of life, and
live with the affections of death. [...]. Christians who are damned will be unable
to make any reply when the just Judge shows them how much they are to blame
for dying spiritually, since it was so easy for them to maintain themselves in life
and in health by eating His Body which He had left them for this purpose. Unhap-
py souls, He will say, why did you die, seeing that you had at your command the
fruit and the food of life?” (St. Francis de Sales, “Introduction to the Devout Life”,
II, 20, 1).
56. The most important effect of the Blessed Eucharist is intimate union with Je-
sus Christ. The very word “communion” suggests sharing in the life of our Lord
and becoming one with Him; if our union with Jesus is promoted by all the sacra-
ments through the grace which they give us, this happens more intensely in the
Eucharist, for in it we receive not only grace but the very Author of grace: “Real-
ly sharing in the body of the Lord in the breaking of the eucharistic bread, we are
taken up into communion with Him and with one another. ‘Because the bread is
one, we, though many, are one body, all of us who partake of the one bread’ (1
Corinthians 10:17)” (Vatican II, “Lumen Gentium”, 7). Precisely because the Eu-
charist is the sacrament which best signifies and effects our union with Christ,
it is there that the whole Church manifests and effects its unity: Jesus Christ
“instituted in His Church the wonderful sacrament of the Eucharist, by which the
unity of the Church is both signified and brought about” (Vatican II, “Unitatis Re-
dintegratio”, 2).
57. In Christ, the Incarnate Word sent to mankind, “the whole fullness of deity,
dwells bodily (Colossians 2:9) through the ineffable union of His human nature
and His divine nature in the Person of the Word. By receiving in this sacrament
the body and blood of Christ indissolubly united to His divinity, we share in the
divine life of the second Person of the Blessed Trinity. We will never be able to
appreciate enough the intimacy with God Himself—Father, Son and Holy Spirit—
that we are offered in the eucharistic banquet.
“We can therefore do nothing more agreeable to Jesus Christ than to go to Com-
munion with the dispositions suitable to so great an action, since we are then
united to Jesus Christ, according to the desire of this all-loving God. I have said
with ‘suitable’ and not ‘worthy’ disposition, for who could communicate if it was
necessary to be worthy of so great a Savior? No one but a God would be worthy
to receive a God. But by this word suitable, or convenient, I mean such a dispo-
sition as becomes a miserable creature, who is clothed with the unhappy flesh
of Adam. Ordinarily speaking, it is sufficient that we communicate in a state of
grace and with an anxious desire of advancing in the love of Jesus Christ” (St.
Alphonsus Liguori, “The Love of Our Lord Jesus Christ Reduced to Practice”,
Chapter 2).
8. For the third time (cf. 6:31-32 and 6:49) Jesus compares the true bread of life,
His own body, with the manna God used to feed the Israelites every day during
their forty years in the wilderness—thereby inviting us to nourish our soul fre-
quently with the food of His body.
“Going to Communion every day for so many years! Anybody else would be a
saint by now, you told me, and I...I’m always the same!’ Son, I replied, keep up
your daily Communion, and think: what would I be if I had not gone’” (St J. Es-
criva, “The Way”, 534).
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Source: “The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries”. Biblical text from the
Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries by members of
the Faculty of Theology, University of Navarre, Spain.
Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock, Co. Dublin, Ireland, and
by Scepter Publishers in the United States.