First Reading
Deuteronomy 8:2-3, 14b-16a

1. “Do not forget the Lord, your God, … who guided you through the vast and terrible desert … and fed you … with manna.” Can we in this time of racial inequality, gun violence in schools, wars, and climate crisis relate to the Israelites in the desert? What is the manna God gives us now?

2. Are there situations which require blind trust on your part? With that in mind, discuss this line from the First Reading:

The Lord, your God, … brought forth water for you from the flinty rock and fed you in the desert with manna, a food unknown to your fathers.

Second Reading
1 Corinthians 10:16-17

1. “Because the loaf of bread is one, we, though many, are one body, for we all partake of the one loaf.” Does it sound like the Eucharist is a prize just for good people, or for us all, weak included, that helps us to move forward?

2.“When we eat, we incorporate our food into ourselves. The opposite is true with regard to the Eucharist. When we partake of that bread we are transformed into it.” (Dianne Bergant, CSA, Preaching the New Lectionary: Year A). In your own words, explain what this means.

Gospel
John 6:51-58

1. When Jesus gives us himself in the Eucharist, does he give us just his presence, or does he give it in the action of the whole Paschal Mystery (passion, death, resurrection)? Discuss.

2. We are his body now. What does Pope Francis say Jesus would be doing today with his eyes, ears, heart, arms, legs, and brain to show his love? Implications?

The Lord, offering himself to us in the simplicity of bread, also invites us not to waste our lives in chasing the myriad illusions that we think we cannot do without, yet that leave us empty within. The Eucharist satisfies our hunger for material things and kindles our desire to serve. It raises us from our comfortable and lazy lifestyle and reminds us that we are not only mouths to be fed, but also his hands, to be used to help feed others.

It is especially urgent now to take care of those who hunger for food and for dignity, of those without work and those who struggle to carry on. And this we must do in a real way, as real as the Bread that Jesus gives us. Genuine closeness is needed, as are true bonds of solidarity. In the Eucharist, Jesus draws close to us: let us not turn away from those around us!

Pope Francis homily for Most Holy Body and Blood
June 14, 2020