The Shocking Reality of the Eucharist

this is right is this okay hi my name is father mike schmitz and this is ascension presents so we kind of are continuing this little series we're doing for the national eucharistic gravity used to hi my name is father mike schmitz and this is ascension presents so we kind of are starting this kind of us maybe once a month every so often series for the national eucharistic revival which is you know going to be incredible these next three years um the church is returning again and again to the reality of the greatest gift god has ever given us i mean we we know this right that the scripture the scripture here is the bible in my lab here's scripture this is god's word given to us so good we know that the sacraments all the sacraments all seven are god's work in the world but one of those sacraments the eucharist it's god's very presence it's god himself in the world which is incredible so the church is saying okay catholics wake up to this reality the whole world wake up to this reality that jesus christ our lord and god has given himself body blood soul and divinity he's truly present in the eucharist in every single mass that's he's truly present so what happened is a previous video we talked about how in john chapter 6 jesus makes it absolutely clear that when he says later on in matthew mark and luke's gospel this is my body in saint paul's letter to the corinthians when saint paul is recounting at the last supper when jesus says this is my body this is my blood that that this truly became his body this truly became his blood that the bread and wine became jesus christ body blood soul and divinity so we established this why by looking at what by looking at abe the lord's words this is my body he didn't say this is like my body or this looks like my body or this is a symbol of my body but also because of john chapter six where jesus has the what they call the bread of life discourse where he makes it absolutely clear he says if you want to live forever essentially if you want to in the kingdom of heaven you must eat my flesh and drink my blood and again remember the jews remembered about this and then so jesus did he made it very clear he wasn't talking figuratively or symbolically he was speaking literally and in john chapter 6 beginning with verse 52 and then 53 jesus reiterates again and again amen amen i say to you unless you eat the flesh of the son of man and drink his blood you have no life within you my flesh is true food my blood is true drink it iterates that five times so then after this it says in verse 60 says then many of his disciples this is the next teaching then many of his disciples who are listening said this saying is hard who can accept it now part of that is is establishing or clarifying that they didn't interpret jesus to be speaking symbolically or figuratively because it's not a hard saying for jesus to say hey eat some bread and think of me drink some wine and think of me like that's not a hard saying it's a weird saying but it's not a hard saying the disciples who were listening said remember the disciples are different than the crowd these are people who left everything to follow after jesus and they're saying that this teaching that jesus is going to give them in us his flesh and blood his body and blood as food that we must eat to have eternal life that's a hard saying jesus's response is he asked the question he says does this shock you which i think the answer is yes quite shocking jesus this is a very shocking teaching he goes on to say what if you were to see the son of man ascending to where he was before question we all ask where was he before answer heaven right basically jesus is making it very clear he's saying okay so i'm giving you this really hard teaching it's a difficult teaching i get it but also do you know who i am this is really critical do you know that i am the one who made the stars like all gajillion 100 billion per solar system right like all of them i made all of them i made everything i can take some bread and some wine and transform it into my body and blood so jesus just i mean he doubles down triples down he is not backing down the next line though is one that christians who don't accept this teaching is one they point to a lot jesus asks the question does this shock you what if you were to see the son of man ascending torres to where he was before and the next statement he says is it is the spirit that gives life while the flesh is of no avail and a lot of times you'll have christians who are not catholic will point to that and say see jesus is even saying the spirit gives life the flesh is of no avail the flesh is meaningless the flesh is powerless the flesh doesn't do anything now it's important we highlight this why does the catholic church for the last 2000 years teach and when jesus says it is the spirit that gives life while the flesh is a no avail why does the church consistently for 2000 years 100 of christians up till 500 years ago said that that doesn't undercut what jesus had just said why well because there's a word for the flesh or there's a meaning of the term the flesh saint paul talks about the flesh saint john talks about the flesh when jesus here says that it is the spirit that gives life but the while the flesh is of no avail jesus says the flesh meaning fallen human nature is powerless right fallen human nature is powerless to raise itself up because we need god's grace absolutely the spirit gives life while fallen human nature is of no avail absolutely absolutely helpless without god's grace every time previously in john chapter 6 when jesus is talking about flesh he says my flesh so my flesh is true food my blood is true drink now clearly in john chapter 6 verse 63 where jesus says it is the spirit that gives life while the flesh is of no avail there's a distinction between him saying you must eat my flesh and drink my blood to have eternal life my flesh is true food and the flesh which is fallen human nature being of no avail now i hope that makes sense now but it's not just this it's not just um the term my versus the term the it's not just here is jesus saying you must eat my flesh and during blood and the flesh is no avail how do we know without a shadow of a doubt that jesus is not saying that his flesh is of no avail because every christian acknowledges what is it that saved us what is it that can what what is it that that brought about the redemption of the world it's the incarnation what's the incarnation the incarnate right incarnate spanish the enfleshment the enmitment of god and the fact that in his flesh jesus christ lived he suffered he died he rose in the flesh every christian acknowledges it was that it is that that incarnation jesus taking on flesh living loving healing suffering dying and rising ascending to heaven in that flesh that's what gives us life that's what gives us redemption that's what saved us so it would make no sense for jesus to say my flesh is no avail because every christian knows beginning i mean not beginning with but all the way back to the first century there's a guy named tertullian and he says this he says the flesh is the hinge of salvation not referring to the fallen human nature but referring to the flesh of christ is the hinge of salvation because it's his body his blood his soul divinity given up for us on the cross but also given up for us at the last supper and at every mass that saves us so in response to our brothers and sisters who would look at that verse 63 in john chapter 6 and say jesus is undercutting he's backpedaling by saying it is the spirit that gives life while the flesh is a no avail we know there's a difference between jesus saying my flesh and him saying the flesh there's also there's also this recognition that it is truly the flesh of christ the body of blood sold divinity of jesus christ in the incarnation that has redeemed the world yeah and that's what we get to receive at every mass that's that's incredible anyway for all this your distance presents my name's father mike god bless [Music]

Channel: Ascension Presents

Views: 205,000

Keywords: eucharist, true presence, real presence, not a symbol, is the eucharist just a symbol, eat my flesh, drink my blood, body blood soul divinity, eucharistic revival, usccb eucharist, the true presence, John 6, catholic teaching on the eucharist, Fr. Mike, Fr. Mike Schmitz, Ascension Presents, Ascension, Ascension Youtube, Ascension Press, Father Mike Schmitz, Fr. Mike advice, Father Mike advice, fr. mike schmidt, holy communion, the eucharist, my flesh is true food

Id: UQPTfyxZLKI

Length: 8min 26sec (506 seconds)

Published: Wed Jul 27 2022