I have a chemist friend who is agnostic but I think would make a great Catholic. She can describe for her child how a healthy diet allows his body to use what he eats as elemental building blocks to make strong bones and muscle. She would appreciate Jesus today telling the crowd that He is the living bread who will give life to the world. My friend could imagine the very molecules of Jesus in our bread and wine becoming part of us – building blocks for our bodies but also allowing him, Word made flesh, to become truly part of us as we strive to be people for others and make his presence felt in the world. When the Eucharistic Jesus becomes part of me, does it show in my actions? Can Jesus use me to give his Flesh for the life of the world? Food for thought and action.
—Jim O’Donnell is a long-serving deacon at Gesu Church, University Heights, OH. He is also a University Hospitals physician specializing and leading a research team in nuclear medicine.