Daily Gospel Reflection
Join the Notre Dame family of faith. Receive God’s Word and a unique reflection in your inbox each day.
June 14, 2020
Jesus said to the Jewish crowds, “I am the living bread that came down from heaven. Whoever eats of this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my Flesh for the life of the world.”
The Jews then disputed among themselves, saying, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
So Jesus said to them, “Very truly, I tell you, unless you eat the Flesh of the Son of Man and drink his Blood, you have no life in you. Those who eat my Flesh and drink my Blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day; for my Flesh is true food and my Blood is true drink.
“Those who eat my Flesh and drink my Blood abide in me, and I in them. Just as the living Father sent me, and I live because of the Father, so whoever eats me will live because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven, not like that which your ancestors ate, and they died. But the one who eats this bread will live forever.”
The long coronavirus quarantine had a significant impact on my attendance at Mass and reception of the Eucharist. Before the pandemic, I had never missed Mass more than once or twice in a year. Of course, during the pandemic I did not “miss” Mass as if I just decided to skip it and go out for brunch instead. I watched Mass online, I prayed for spiritual communion, and I was very aware of the dispensation from attending Mass offered by the Church. But I certainly did “miss” Mass in so far as I longed for it. Not attending Mass made me aware of something absent in my life, something missing. At the heart of this absence was the ability to receive Christ in the Eucharist.
The quarantine made me reflect on what spiritual communion really meant. It was very comforting to think that, even though I could not receive the sacrament, I could still receive Jesus spiritually. This made me realize that all sacramental reception is always both spiritual and physical.
Before my extended absence from Mass, I probably would have reflected on this reading by noting that Catholics have the courage to believe that Jesus is truly present in the Eucharist: the flesh and blood of the Son of Man, as the reading says. This is both important and true. But after practicing spiritual communion for extended period, I see that I was perhaps leaning too heavily on physical reception in the past. Since I could receive the sacrament and participate fully, I did not need to reflect on its spiritual effects. Effects such as deeper faith, stronger discipleship, renewed hope, and commitment to charity.
When I receive the Eucharist today on the Feast of Corpus Christi, I will be profoundly grateful for the substantial presence of Christ in the sacrament and I will have a greater appreciation for the spiritual effects of the sacrament in my life.
Prayer
O God, on this Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ, we stand with those who mourn the loss of loved ones and cling to Jesus’ promise that “those who eat my Flesh and drink my Blood have eternal life, and I will raise them up on the last day.” May we come to appreciate the Eucharist as not only food for life’s journey, but also a pledge of the life to come. Amen.
Saint of the Day
St. Methodius or Methodios was one of the early patriarchs of Constantinople. He was born in Syracuse, Sicily, sometime around the year 790 AD. Methodios was the heir to a wealthy family. He was sent to Constantinople, the capital of the empire, to receive a top-notch education and hopefully land a position in the emperor's court.
But Methodios was drawn, not to the splendor of the court of the empire, but to the monastic vocation. He became a monk and eventually was appointed the abbot of his monastery.
During the ninth century, the iconoclast controversies raged throughout the Christian communities in the East. Due to the influence of the quickly spreading Islam, the question of whether or not Christians were allowed to make and venerate icons swiftly became a fiercely debated topic. Iconoclasts insisted that images of God were pagan and should be forbidden. Iconophiles, who were led by many saints, including St. John Damascene, continued to profess the Christian belief that since God became man it was right for Christians to make images to praise him and remember him.
Leo the Armenian, an iconoclast emperor, reigned from 813-820, During his reign, Methodios served as a member of the staff of the Patriarch Nicephoros. Leo removed the orthodox, iconophilic, Patriarch Nicephoros and replaced him with an iconoclast, Theodotus. Methodios fled and returned after Leo the Armenian died.
Michael the Stammerer, who ascended to the imperial throne after Leo, was a more benevolent iconoclast who softened the penalties against the orthodox Christians. Eventually, however, potentially due to political pressure, Michael resumed the fierce persecution of orthodox iconophiles. Methodios was imprisoned. Michael's son, Theophilus, set Methodios free. Methodios continued to preach orthodoxy without troubling Theophilus, until Theophilus was defeated in an important war with his Arab neighbors. Theophilus blamed Methodios, insisting that God was punishing him for allowing an "icon-worshipper" to remain in his court. Methodios was tortured and exiled to the island of Antigonos.
When Theophilus died, the Empress Theodora ruled for her son. The Empress ordered that all who were imprisoned for icon veneration be set free. She appointed Methodios the patriarch of Constantinople. In 842, a local synod in Constantinople restored icon veneration and instituted a yearly celebration of "the Triumph of Orthodoxy" each year.
Methodios died on June 14, in the year 846 or 847. His feast day continues to be celebrated on June 14 by both the Eastern and Western Churches.
St. Methodios I of Constantinople, ecumenical patriarch who defended true Christian teaching—pray for us!
Image Credit: Our featured image of St. Methodios I of Constantinople is used with permission from Catholic Online. Last accessed March 18, 2025.