From the Gospel according to John 6:44–51

Jesus said to the crowds:
“No one can come to me unless the Father who sent me draw him,
and I will raise him on the last day.
It is written in the prophets:

They shall all be taught by God.

Everyone who listens to my Father and learns from him comes to me.
Not that anyone has seen the Father
except the one who is from God;
he has seen the Father.
Amen, amen, I say to you,
whoever believes has eternal life.
I am the bread of life.
Your ancestors ate the manna in the desert, but they died;
this is the bread that comes down from heaven
so that one may eat it and not die.
I am the living bread that came down from heaven;
whoever eats this bread will live forever;
and the bread that I will give
is my Flesh for the life of the world.”

To Believe and to Live

How simple the Lord makes it for us — and yet how we complicate things. Today He tells us once again: “Whoever believes has eternal life.” We need only believe; it is that simple. To believe is not to understand — to believe is to accept: to accept without doubting, without asking for explanations. The Lord says to us, “Trust in Me.”

And so that we may never forget, Christ chose to remain with us in the Holy Eucharist. He came down from Heaven and has stayed here, truly present, so that we may have a foretaste of eternal life at any moment. He gave Himself completely on the Cross, and He remains with us so that we may be closer to Him.

In marriage too, Christ becomes present in the spouses in every act of self-giving and welcome.

Brought into Married Life

Mary: Hurry up, James — as always, we’re going to be late for the Eucharist. Can you leave that for later?

James: I’m going as fast as I can. I had to send that email urgently.

Mary: There’s always some excuse. What’s truly urgent is not being late for the most important appointment of the day.

James: You said it yourself — we go to Mass every day. It’s a gift from the Lord.

Mary: That’s true, but sometimes it seems that for you there are more important things.

James: Here we go again with the hints… Look, we’ve arrived on time in the end — it wasn’t such a big deal.

(After Mass that day — they have been attending daily together for some time)

Mary: Forgive me, James. I put a lot of pressure on you, focusing only on my own priorities, without considering everything you do.

James: There’s nothing to forgive. I didn’t rise to the occasion either. I left until the last minute something I could have done much earlier, and I made excuses instead of giving priority to what matters most.

Mary: It’s incredible how the Eucharist transforms us — receiving the Lord every day. Thank you for insisting so much and helping me to see how important it is.

James: It’s not really me — it’s the Lord who has led me to it. Some time ago, He made me realise how important the Eucharist is and what a great opportunity it is to be able to go every day. But something was missing — you. So I began to insist.

Mary: Just look at how I came to Mass today — burdened with temptations — and now I leave filled with grace, even more in love with you. I love you.

James: The greatest gift the Lord has given me is that He remains present in the Eucharist — and that I can live it daily with you. It is truly bringing us closer together. I love you very much too.

Mother,

You are present at every Eucharist alongside your Son. Help us to live that moment with an eternal perspective.

Blessed and praised be God.