Gospel: Jn 6:52-59 -
     The Jews were arguing among themselves, ”How can this man give us his flesh to eat?” So Jesus replied, ”Truly, I say to you, if you do not eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you. The one who eats my flesh and drinks my blood lives eternal life, and I will raise him up on the last day.
     My flesh is really food, and my blood is truly drink. Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood, live in me, and I in them. Just as the Father, who is life, sent me, and I have life from the Father, so whoever eats me will have life from me. This is the bread from heaven; not like that of your ancestors, who ate and later died. Those who eat this bread will live forever.”
Jesus spoke in this way in Capernaum when he taught them in the synagogue.

REFLECTION:
     Talks of eating human flesh and blood horrifies us. And in the history of our faith, we have been accused of cannibalistic practices especially in the first four hundred years of our existence. Even during the time of Jesus, horror and disgust at this type of conversation is already evident as our gospel today would show. This happens because some people were not privy to the mystery of our faith. They were not aware that the Jesus in front of them is the Son of the Father. He is not only human. He is also God. Hence His discourse is not on the literal physical plane only but more so on the symbolic and the spiritual as well. This type of conversation needs preparation on the part of the hearer. They need to be schooled in the teachings of Jesus. Hence those who first hear it were scandalized. But those who were already prepared profited much and without fear received the ”flesh and blood” of Jesus, the bread of life that comes from heaven.

Gospel: Jn 6:44-51 -
     Jesus said to the crowds: ”No one can come to me unless he is drawn by the Father who sent me; and I will raise him up on the last day. It has been written in the Prophets: They shall all be taught by God. So whoever listens and learns from the Father comes to me. For no one has seen the Father except the One who comes from God; he has seen the Father. Truly, I say to you, whoever believes has eternal life.

Gospel: Jn 14:6-14 -
     Jesus said, ”I am the way, the truth and the life; no one comes to the Father but through me. If you know me, you will know the Father also; indeed you know him, and you have seen him.”
    Philip asked him, ”Lord, show us the Father, and that is enough.” Jesus said to him, ”What! I have been with you so long and you still do not know me Philip? Whoever sees me sees the Father; how can you say, ‘Show us the Father‘? Do you not believe that I am in the Father and the Father is in me?  

Gospel: Jn 6:30-35 -
     The crowd said to Jesus, ”Show us miraculous signs, that we may see and believe you. What sign do you perform? Our ancestors ate manna in the desert; as Scripture says: They were given bread from heaven to eat.”
    Jesus then said to them, ”Truly, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave you the bread from heaven. My Father gives you the true bread from heaven. The bread God gives is the One who comes from heaven and gives life to the world.” And they said to him, ”Give us this bread always.”

Gospel: Mt 13:54-58 (or Jn 6:22-29) -
     Jesus went to his hometown and taught the people in their synagogue. They were amazed and said, ”Where did he get this wisdom and these special powers? Isn‘t he the carpenter‘s son? Isn‘t Mary his mother and aren‘t James, Joseph, Simon and Judas his brothers? Aren‘t all his sisters living here? Where did he get all these things?” And so they took offense at him.

Gospel: Lk 24:13-35 -
     That same day, two followers of Jesus were going to Emmaus, a village seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking to each other about all the things that had happened. While they were talking and debating these things, Jesus himself approached and began to accompany them, but their eyes were not able to recognize him.

Gospel: Jn 6:16-21 -
     When evening came, the disciples went down to the shore. After a while, they got into a boat to make for Capernaum on the other side of the sea, for it was now dark and Jesus had not yet come to them. But the sea was getting rough because a strong wind was blowing.

Gospel: Jn 6:1-15 -
     After this, Jesus went to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, near Tiberias, and large crowds followed him, because of the miraculous signs they saw, when he healed the sick. So he went up into the hills and sat down there with his disciples. Now the Passover, the feast of the Jews, was at hand.

Gospel: Jn 3:31-36 -
     He who comes from above is above all; he who comes from the earth belongs to the earth, and his words belong to the earth. He who comes from heaven speaks of the things he has seen and heard; he bears witness to these things, but no one accepts his testimony. Whoever does receive his testimony acknowledges the truthfulness of God.

Gospel: Jn 3:16-21 -
     Yes, God so loved the world that he gave his only Son that whoever believes in him may not be lost, but may have eternal life. God did not send the Son into the world to condemn the world; instead, through him the world is to be saved. Whoever believes in him will not be condemned. He who does not believe is already condemned, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God.
     "This is how Judgment is made: Light has come into the world, and people loved darkness rather than light, because their deeds were evil. For whoever does wrong hates the light, and doesn’t come to the light, for fear that his deeds will be seen as evil. But whoever lives according to the truth comes into the light, so that it can be clearly seen that his works have been done in God.

REFLECTION:
     Genuine love is so powerful that it can move us to acts of selflessness and great sacrifice. And our God is not immune to this power of love. He so loved the world that He gave up what is most precious to Him, His only begotten Son so that the world will be saved. Through this divine sacrifice, the world was redeemed and transformed. This tells us that love is not just a feeling. It is followed up by actions that are by nature sacrificial. Because to love is to forget oneself and put the good of the beloved as your own good.
    And so this sacrificial and salvific love of God demands a response. The gospel says that whoever believes in Jesus will be saved. It is because Jesus is the incarnated love of the Father in our midst. And if we believe in Him, we believe in the sacrificing and salvific love of the Father. We become caught up in that love. We can go back to being “in the image and likeness of God” as before.