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His Body and Blood – Jesus meant it literally

Monday, May 12, 2014

Deacon Robert Banet

You Catholics have got it all wrong.

What do you mean?

I mean about your idea of Communion. You think Jesus was speaking literally when He said, I am the bread of life.

He surely was saying that.

If you read John 6 you’ll see that He was speaking only figuratively, not literally. The bread was just a symbol of His Body.

Where does it say that?

When Jesus said, Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink His blood, you have no life in you.

Well, doesn’t that show that He meant it literally?

It might seem so. But a little while later He says, My words are Spirit and life. That shows He meant the bread to be only a symbol.

It looks like it. But wait a minute. I’ve got the chapter of the Gospel of John right here. And right after He said, My words are Spirit and life, the Bible says, “Many of His disciples drew back and no longer walked with Him.” Why do you think they no longer walked with Him?

I never thought of that. Why do you think they no longer walked with Jesus?

Because the saying was too hard for them. That’s why they walked away. And there’s more.

Go ahead. You’ve got me interested.

Jesus did not call them back. He did not say that He was not speaking literally. If He had been speaking symbolically, He would have clarified it. Peter did not turn away. Jesus turned to Peter and asked if he too were going to walk away.

And what did Peter say?

He said, “Lord, to whom should we go. You have the words of eternal life.” Maybe you Catholics are on to something there. Maybe Peter, the one you call the first Pope, was right.

Jesus is truly present in the Blessed Sacrament: body, blood, soul and divinity.

Maybe I’d better ask my preacher about it.

Good idea.

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