Day 100: This Is My Body

Today's readings: John 4-6 and Proverbs 5:7-14.

I. John 4 has a really good story of Jesus and the Samaritan woman at the well and the healing of a government official's son in Capernaum.

In the next chapter, Jesus heals a paralytic man but is criticized for doing so on the Sabbath. He responds to them of His authority and witnesses to who He is.

John 6 has the miraculous feeding of the 5,000, Jesus walking on water, and the bread from heaven discourse (the Eucharist).

The BIY Companion, Vol I, has some good commentary on this last one:

Jesus makes it clear in John 6:51 that he is the living bread that has come down from heaven and that anyone who eats of this bread will live forever. Here, Jesus makes a connection with the Lamb of God. When the people ate the flesh of the lamb, they were given freedom and life - and if they eat the bread of heaven, which is his flesh, they will have freedom and life... For more than 1,500 years, every Christian believed in the Eucharist as the true Body and Blood of Christ. If this teaching is wrong, then every Christian was guilty of idolatry, and Catholics and Orthodox Christians are guilty of idolatry today. Recall how quickly God put a stop to the worship of the golden calf on Mount Sinai. Would God have allowed Christians to idolatrously worship mere bread and wine since the beginning of the Church? (p. 214)

II. Proverbs 5:7-14 is, as the Ignatius Bible notes (verse numbers removed):

Involvement with a "loose woman" ultimately brings social disgrace, financial loss, and painful regret. However, fidelity to one's "wife" brings opportunity for lasting happiness and love. The chapter combines practical advice with a marked esteem for marital chastity (CCC 2339, 2349). (p. 967-68)

That's it for today!