Fr. Paul D. Scalia: The Authority of the Body

Over the past three Sundays, we have heard our Lord’s Bread of Life Discourse. Today the scene comes to a dramatic conclusion with the crowd’s rejection of his teaching. (John 6:60-69) Their reaction touches on two timeless and therefore timely controversies: authority and the body.

First, authority. “Then many of his disciples who were listening said, ‘This saying is hard; who can accept it?’” What makes Jesus’ teaching hard is not any lack of clarity. There’s no indication that the crowd didn’t understand what he was teaching. Indeed, on several occasions Jesus confirmed that they rightly understood that he was teaching that his flesh is real food and his blood real drink. …

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