From: John 6:44-51

The Discourse on the Bread of Life (Continuation)

(Jesus said to the Jews,) [44] "No one can come to Me unless the Father
who sent Me draws him; and I will raise him up on the last day.
[45] It is written in the prophets, `And they shall all be taught by
God.' Every one who has heard and learned from the Father comes to Me.
[46] Not that any one has seen the Father except Him who is from God;
He has seen the Father. [47] Truly, truly, I say to you, he who
believes has eternal life. [48] I am the bread of life. [49] Your
fathers ate the manna in the wilderness, and they died. [50] This is
the bread which comes down from Heaven, that a man may eat of it and
not die. [51] I am the living bread which came down from Heaven; if
any one eats of this bread, he will live for ever; and the bread which
I shall give for the life of the world is My flesh."

Commentary:

44-45. Seeking Jesus until one finds Him is a free gift which no one
can obtain through his own efforts, although everyone should try to be
well disposed to receiving it. The Magisterium of the Church has
recalled this teaching in Vatican II: "Before this faith can be
exercised, man must have the grace of God to move and assist him; he
must have the interior help of the Holy Spirit, who moves the heart and
converts it to God, who opens the eyes of the mind and makes it easy
for all to accept and believe the truth" ("Dei Verbum", 5).

When Jesus says, "They shall all be taught by God", He is invoking
Isaiah 54:13 and Jeremiah 31:33ff, where the prophets refer to the
future Covenant which God will establish with His people when the
Messiah comes, the Covenant which will be sealed forever with the blood
of the Messiah and which God will write on their hearts (cf. Isaiah
53:10-12; Jeremiah 31:31-34).

The last sentence of verse 45 refers to God's Revelation through the
prophets and especially through Jesus Christ.

46. Men can know God the Father only through Jesus Christ, because only
He has seen the Father, whom He has come to reveal to us. In his
prologue St. John already said: "No one has ever seen God; the only
Son, who is in the bosom of the Father, He has made Him known" (John
1:18). Later on Jesus will say to Philip at the Last Supper: "He who
has seen Me has seen the Father" (John 14:9), for Christ is the Way,
the Truth and the Life, and no one goes to the Father except through
Him (cf. John 14:6).

In other words, in Christ God's revelation to men reaches its climax:
"For He sent His Son, the eternal Word who enlightens all men, to dwell
among men and to tell them about the inner life of God (cf. John
1:1-18). Hence, Jesus Christ, sent as `a man among men', `utters the
words of God' (John 3:34), and accomplishes the saving work which the
Father gave Him to do (cf. John 5:36; 17:4). To see Jesus is to see
His Father (cf. John 14:9)" (Vatican II, "Dei Verbum", 4).

48. With this solemn declaration, which He repeats because of His
audience's doubts, (cf. John 6:35, 41, 48), Jesus begins the second
part of His discourse, in which He explicitly reveals the great mystery
of the Blessed Eucharist. Christ's words have such a tremendous
realism about them that they cannot be interpreted in a figurative way:
if Christ were not really present under the species of bread and wine,
this discourse would make absolutely no sense. But if His real
presence in the Eucharist is accepted on faith, then His meaning is
quite clear and we can see how infinite and tender His love for us is.

This is so great a mystery that it has always acted as a touchstone for
Christian faith: it is proclaimed as "the mystery of our faith"
immediately after the Consecration of the Mass. Some of our Lord's
hearers were scandalized by what He said on this occasion (cf. verses
60-66). Down through history people have tried to dilute the obvious
meaning of our Lord's words. In our own day the Magisterium of the
Church has explained this teaching in these words" "When
Transubstantiation has taken place, there is no doubt that the
appearance of the bread and the appearance of the wine take on a new
expressiveness and a new purpose since they are no longer common bread
and common drink, but rather the sign of something sacred and the sign
of spiritual food. But they take on a new expressiveness and a new
purpose for the very reason that they contain a new `reality' which we
are right to call "ontological". For beneath these appearances there
is no longer what was there before but something quite different [...]
since on the conversion of the bread and wine's substance, or nature,
into the body and blood of Christ, nothing is left of the bread and the
wine but the appearances alone. Beneath these appearances Christ is
present whole and entire, bodily present too, in His physical
`reality', although not in the manner in which bodies are present in
place.

For this reason the Fathers have had to issue frequent warnings to the
faithful, when they consider this august Sacrament, not to be satisfied
with the senses which announce the properties of bread and wine. They
should rather assent to the words of Christ: these are of such power
that they change, transform, `transelement' the bread and the wine into
His body and blood. The reason for this, as the same Fathers say more
than once, is that the power which performs this action is the same
power of Almighty God that created the whole universe out of nothing at
the beginning of time" (Paul VI, "Mysterium Fidei").

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 manifestation 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 sacrifice 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 sufferings 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).

Source: "The Navarre Bible: Text and Commentaries". Biblical text
taken from the Revised Standard Version and New Vulgate. Commentaries
made by members of the Faculty of Theology of the University of
Navarre, Spain. Published by Four Courts Press, Kill Lane, Blackrock,
Co. Dublin, Ireland.

Office of Readings -- Awakening Prayer

Office of Readings

If this is the first Hour that you are reciting today, you should precede it with the Invitatory Psalm.

O God, come to my aid.
O Lord, make haste to help me.
Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen. Alleluia.

A suitable hymn may be inserted at this point.

Psalm 88 (89)
A lament at the ruin of the house of David
But you have spurned and rejected him; you are enraged against your anointed. You have repudiated the covenant of your servant, you have trampled his crown in the dust. You have demolished his walls and laid his fortifications in ruins. Anyone who passes can despoil him; he is a mockery among his neighbours. You have strengthened the arm of those who oppress him, you have gladdened the hearts of his enemies. You have turned back the sharp edge of his sword; you have deprived him of your help in battle. You have put an end to his splendour, and cast his throne to the ground. You have cut short the days of his youth; you have covered him from head to foot in shame. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 88 (89)

A lament at the ruin of the house of David

But you have spurned and rejected him;
you are enraged against your anointed.
You have repudiated the covenant of your servant,
you have trampled his crown in the dust.
You have demolished his walls
and laid his fortifications in ruins.
Anyone who passes can despoil him;
he is a mockery among his neighbours.

You have strengthened the arm of those who oppress him,
you have gladdened the hearts of his enemies.
You have turned back the sharp edge of his sword;
you have deprived him of your help in battle.
You have put an end to his splendour,
and cast his throne to the ground.
You have cut short the days of his youth;
you have covered him from head to foot in shame.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Psalm 88 (89)
How long, O Lord, will you hide yourself? For ever? Will your anger always burn like fire? Remember how short is my time. Was it truly so pointless, your creation of man? Who is the man who can live and not die, who can save his life from the grasp of the underworld? Where are the kindnesses you showed us of old? Where is the truth of your oath to David? Remember, Lord, how your servants are taunted, the taunts I bear in my bosom, the taunts of the nations – the insults of your enemies, Lord, the insults that follow the steps of your anointed! Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 88 (89)

How long, O Lord, will you hide yourself? For ever?
Will your anger always burn like fire?
Remember how short is my time.
Was it truly so pointless, your creation of man?
Who is the man who can live and not die,
who can save his life from the grasp of the underworld?

Where are the kindnesses you showed us of old?
Where is the truth of your oath to David?
Remember, Lord, how your servants are taunted,
the taunts I bear in my bosom, the taunts of the nations –
the insults of your enemies, Lord,
the insults that follow the steps of your anointed!

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Psalm 89 (90)
Let the Lord's glory shine upon us
Lord, you have been our refuge from generation to generation. Before the mountains were born, before earth and heaven were conceived, from all time to all time, you are God. You turn men into dust, you say to them “go back, children of men”. A thousand years in your sight are like yesterday, that has passed; like a short watch in the night. When you take them away, they will be nothing but a dream; like the grass that sprouts in the morning: in the morning it grows and flowers, in the evening it withers and dries. For we are made weak by your anger, thrown into confusion by your wrath. You have gazed upon our transgressions; the light of your face illuminates our secrets. All our days vanish in your anger, we use up our years in a single breath. Seventy years are what we have, or eighty for the stronger ones; and most of that is labour and sadness – quickly they pass, and we are gone. Who can comprehend the power of your wrath? Who can behold the violence of your anger? Teach us to reckon our days like this, so that our hearts may be led at last to wisdom. Turn to us, Lord, how long must we wait? Let your servants call on you and be answered. Fill us with your kindness in the morning, and we shall rejoice and be glad all the days of our life. Give us joy for as long as you afflicted us, for all the years when we suffered. Let your servants see your great works, and let their children see your glory. Let the glory of the Lord God be upon us: make firm the work of your hands. Make firm the work of your hands. Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit, as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be, world without end. Amen.

Psalm 89 (90)

Let the Lord's glory shine upon us

Lord, you have been our refuge
from generation to generation.
Before the mountains were born,
before earth and heaven were conceived,
from all time to all time, you are God.

You turn men into dust,
you say to them “go back, children of men”.
A thousand years in your sight
are like yesterday, that has passed;
like a short watch in the night.

When you take them away, they will be nothing but a dream;
like the grass that sprouts in the morning:
in the morning it grows and flowers,
in the evening it withers and dries.

For we are made weak by your anger,
thrown into confusion by your wrath.
You have gazed upon our transgressions;
the light of your face illuminates our secrets.

All our days vanish in your anger,
we use up our years in a single breath.
Seventy years are what we have,
or eighty for the stronger ones;
and most of that is labour and sadness –
quickly they pass, and we are gone.
Who can comprehend the power of your wrath?
Who can behold the violence of your anger?
Teach us to reckon our days like this,
so that our hearts may be led at last to wisdom.

Turn to us, Lord, how long must we wait?
Let your servants call on you and be answered.
Fill us with your kindness in the morning,
and we shall rejoice and be glad all the days of our life.
Give us joy for as long as you afflicted us,
for all the years when we suffered.

Let your servants see your great works,
and let their children see your glory.
Let the glory of the Lord God be upon us:
make firm the work of your hands.
Make firm the work of your hands.

Glory be to the Father and to the Son and to the Holy Spirit,
as it was in the beginning, is now, and ever shall be,
world without end.
Amen.

Reading	Apocalypse 9:13 - 21 ©
The sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice come out of the four horns of the golden altar in front of God. It spoke to the sixth angel with the trumpet, and said, ‘Release the four angels that are chained up at the great river Euphrates’. These four angels had been put there ready for this hour of this day of this month of this year, and now they were released to destroy a third of the human race. I learnt how many there were in their army: twice ten thousand times ten thousand mounted men. In my vision I saw the horses, and the riders with their breastplates of flame colour, hyacinth-blue and sulphur-yellow; the horses had lions’ heads, and fire, smoke and sulphur were coming out of their mouths. It was by these three plagues, the fire, the smoke and the sulphur coming out of their mouths, that the one third of the human race was killed. All the horses’ power was in their mouths and their tails: their tails were like snakes, and had heads that were able to wound. But the rest of the human race, who escaped these plagues, refused either to abandon the things they had made with their own hands – the idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood that can neither see nor hear nor move – or to stop worshipping devils. Nor did they give up their murdering, or witchcraft, or fornication or stealing.

Reading

The sixth angel blew his trumpet, and I heard a voice come out of the four horns of the golden altar in front of God. It spoke to the sixth angel with the trumpet, and said, ‘Release the four angels that are chained up at the great river Euphrates’. These four angels had been put there ready for this hour of this day of this month of this year, and now they were released to destroy a third of the human race. I learnt how many there were in their army: twice ten thousand times ten thousand mounted men. In my vision I saw the horses, and the riders with their breastplates of flame colour, hyacinth-blue and sulphur-yellow; the horses had lions’ heads, and fire, smoke and sulphur were coming out of their mouths. It was by these three plagues, the fire, the smoke and the sulphur coming out of their mouths, that the one third of the human race was killed. All the horses’ power was in their mouths and their tails: their tails were like snakes, and had heads that were able to wound. But the rest of the human race, who escaped these plagues, refused either to abandon the things they had made with their own hands – the idols made of gold, silver, bronze, stone and wood that can neither see nor hear nor move – or to stop worshipping devils. Nor did they give up their murdering, or witchcraft, or fornication or stealing.

Reading	From the treatise Against Heresies by Saint Irenaeus, bishop
The Eucharist, pledge of our resurrection
If our flesh is not saved, then the Lord has not redeemed us with his blood, the eucharistic chalice does not make us sharers in his blood, and the bread we break does not make us sharers in his body. There can be no blood without veins, flesh and the rest of the human substance, and this the Word of God actually became: it was with his own blood that he redeemed us. As the Apostle says: In him, through his blood, we have been redeemed, our sins have been forgiven. We are his members and we are nourished by creatures, which is his gift to us, for it is he who causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall. He declared that the chalice, which comes from his creation, was his blood, and he makes it the nourishment of our blood. He affirmed that the bread, which comes from his creation, was his body, and he makes it the nourishment of our body. When the chalice we mix and the bread we bake receive the word of God, the eucharistic elements become the body and blood of Christ, by which our bodies live and grow. How then can it be said that flesh belonging to the Lord’s own body and nourished by his body and blood is incapable of receiving God’s gift of eternal life? Saint Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians that we are members of his body, of his flesh and bones. He is not speaking of some spiritual and incorporeal kind of man, for spirits do not have flesh and bones. He is speaking of a real human body composed of flesh, sinews and bones, nourished by the chalice of Christ’s blood and receiving growth from the bread which is his body. The slip of a vine planted in the ground bears fruit at the proper time. The grain of wheat falls into the ground and decays only to be raised up again and multiplied by the Spirit of God who sustains all things. The Wisdom of God places these things at the service of man and when they receive God’s word they become the eucharist, which is the body and blood of Christ. In the same way our bodies, which have been nourished by the eucharist, will be buried in the earth and will decay, but they will rise again at the appointed time, for the Word of God will raise them up to the glory of God the Father. Then the Father will clothe our mortal nature in immortality and freely endow our corruptible nature with incorruptibility, for God’s power is shown most perfectly in weakness.

Reading

From the treatise Against Heresies by Saint Irenaeus, bishop

The Eucharist, pledge of our resurrection

If our flesh is not saved, then the Lord has not redeemed us with his blood, the eucharistic chalice does not make us sharers in his blood, and the bread we break does not make us sharers in his body. There can be no blood without veins, flesh and the rest of the human substance, and this the Word of God actually became: it was with his own blood that he redeemed us. As the Apostle says: In him, through his blood, we have been redeemed, our sins have been forgiven.
We are his members and we are nourished by creatures, which is his gift to us, for it is he who causes the sun to rise and the rain to fall. He declared that the chalice, which comes from his creation, was his blood, and he makes it the nourishment of our blood. He affirmed that the bread, which comes from his creation, was his body, and he makes it the nourishment of our body. When the chalice we mix and the bread we bake receive the word of God, the eucharistic elements become the body and blood of Christ, by which our bodies live and grow. How then can it be said that flesh belonging to the Lord’s own body and nourished by his body and blood is incapable of receiving God’s gift of eternal life? Saint Paul says in his letter to the Ephesians that we are members of his body, of his flesh and bones. He is not speaking of some spiritual and incorporeal kind of man, for spirits do not have flesh and bones. He is speaking of a real human body composed of flesh, sinews and bones, nourished by the chalice of Christ’s blood and receiving growth from the bread which is his body.
The slip of a vine planted in the ground bears fruit at the proper time. The grain of wheat falls into the ground and decays only to be raised up again and multiplied by the Spirit of God who sustains all things. The Wisdom of God places these things at the service of man and when they receive God’s word they become the eucharist, which is the body and blood of Christ. In the same way our bodies, which have been nourished by the eucharist, will be buried in the earth and will decay, but they will rise again at the appointed time, for the Word of God will raise them up to the glory of God the Father. Then the Father will clothe our mortal nature in immortality and freely endow our corruptible nature with incorruptibility, for God’s power is shown most perfectly in weakness.

A concluding prayer may follow here.