The Entire Thought

Drawn to the Bread of Life

The continuous presence of Jesus with his Church militant until the end of the world is the source of incalculable benefits to us. All the gifts and blessings of the incarnation and the redemption are thereby made unceasingly available to souls in a measure that is proportionate to their
eagerness to receive them. In describing the wonderful effects of the Eucharist it is customary to compare them to the effects of bodily nourishment, which is taken as a symbol of the transformation wrought in the soul by the “bread of life". . .
Our primary attention must always be centered on him who is the bread of life and on his
divine person, who in all of his dealings with us never ceases to exercise his office of Redeemer. . . According to Saint Thomas, Christ bestows upon each individual person the same life of grace which he brought to the world by his visible coming. Indeed, if we but had faith as then, the miracles of the Gospel could again become daily occurrences. Jesus passing through our midst in an invisible, but not less efficacious manner, would again cure the sick, raise the dead to life, and go about doing good to all. The same cause continues to operate, and the same effects could once more follow. As formerly when the crowds of Palestine touched the hem of his garments, so upon contact with Christ in the host the same great power of redemption would again come to us to cure our sorrows and infirmities. The Christ of Tiberias would again rise up majestically to face the waves and calm the tempest of our souls. All men would hearken to the one voice of the Savior. Christ’s invitation to them still stands: “Come to me, all you who labor and are burdened.” No one is excluded. We have his assurance that “him who comes to me I will not cast out.” All that is needed is to approach and allow ourselves to be saved. Christ, the source of life, addressed his clear call to all generations: “If anyone thirst, let him come to me and drink.” Only one condition is laid down: to thirst.

Father M.M. Philipon, O.P.
Magnificat, August, 2009

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