Today, however, they are spot on and show that they have indeed understood what Jesus was teaching. In fact, so clear and crisp is their grasp of Jesus’ teaching on the Eucharist that many turned back and no longer followed him. In fact, as if in unison they declared in protest, “This is intolerable language; how could anyone accept it?”
The Catechism of the Catholic Church sheds light on this reaction: ‘The first announcement of the Eucharist divided the disciples, just as the announcement of the Passion scandalised them: ‘This is a hard saying, who can listen to it?’ The Eucharist and the Cross are stumbling blocks. It is the same mystery, and it never ceases to be an occasion of division. ‘Will you also go away?’ The Lord’s question echoes through the ages, as a loving invitation to discover that only he has the words of eternal life and that to receive in faith the gift of the Eucharist is to receive the Lord himself.’ (CCC. 1336).
The Holy Spirit helps us comprehend the miracle of the Eucharist. Perhaps we receive the Eucharist week after week without pondering and reflecting on the awesome privilege it is to receive Christ in this way? What is truly shocking and scandalous about the Eucharist is that the gift held out to us is that of the whole Christ. The body and blood, soul and divinity of Our Lord Jesus Christ and, therefore, the whole Christ, is truly, really and substantially made present to us. In other words, Jesus is made real and present in the most full and complete sense. Jesus’ presence in the Eucharist is substantial in that he himself in wholly and entirely present. What a gift! What a blessing! What a grace!
