He must be a "night owl." How many times has Our Lord’s Holy Spirit shaken you awake in the middle of the night; nudged you to wake up from a sound sleep. Then whispered into your drowsy mind an interesting thought, an idea or an insight.

And you say to yourself, "Wow, I never thought of that! That’s interesting. It is more than interesting - - it’s fascinating! I’ve got to remember that!" Then, you roll over and go back to sleep.

Come morning and you think, "What a great idea I had last night! Let’s see now . . . " And it’s gone! Lost! You can’t for the life of you remember what it was that seemed so fascinating.

The Divine Night Owl shook me awake not long ago. Earlier in the evening I had been reading for the "Nth" time the sixth chapter of John’s Gospel. I was caught up once more in the incredible and mysterious and wonderful revelation of how necessary it is, how absolutely essential it is, that we eat Christ’s body and drink His blood.

I myself am the living bread come down from heaven.

If anyone eats this bread he shall live forever;

the bread I will give is my flesh for the life of the world (51).

Let me solemnly assure you if you do not eat the flesh of

the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.

. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

The man who feeds on my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him (56).

. . . The man who feeds on me will have life because of me (57).

John tells us that Jesus gave this instruction in the synagogue in Capernaum. Can you not imagine the shock, the consternation, the rumble of disgust and the murmured protests: "This sort of talk is hard to endure! How can anyone take it seriously?" (60). From that time on many of his disciples would not remain in his company any longer.

Referring to what he had just said he asked, "Does it shake your faith? And to the Twelve, "Do you want to leave me, too?" It was faith-filled Peter who answered him, "Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life; we have come to believe; we are convinced that you are God’s Holy One" (68, 69).

Jesus did not call them back, the ones who turned away. He asked for an act of Faith. The same Faith that the Father asked of Abraham. Reread Genesis 22 where God put Abraham to the "test." "Take your son, Isaac, your only one, whom you love, and go to the land of Moriah. There you shall offer him up as a holocaust on a height that I will point out to you" (Gn 22:2ff). We can only wonder at Abraham’s shock and bewilderment. We can only wonder at his boundless trust, his unconditional surrender to Yahweh. He accepted God’s instruction that he offer up his only beloved son as a human sacrifice. We may well think what a sickening, savage demand! Yet he surrendered to God’s will because he believed. He could not, did not, understand but he trusted. As we know, at the moment of sacrifice the Lord’s messenger called out from heaven, "Do not lay a hand on the boy . . . Do not do the least thing to him. I know now how devoted you are to God, since you did not withhold from me your own beloved son" (12).

Jesus wanted that same kind of trust when he asked his followers to eat his body and drink his blood. Many of them failed the "test." They had witnessed hundreds of miracles and healings of every kind. But it was not enough! To them it seemed Jesus was asking them to become cannibals, eaters of human flesh. Their shock and disgust overpowered their withering faith. But the Twelve, and others too, I’m sure, trusted him as little children would trust a loving father.

It was not until the last supper that Jesus finally revealed what he meant. He used his divine power to perform his greatest of miracles - - the changing of the unleavened bread into his body; the wine into his blood. And for us who trust him, who believe his words, it is his greatest gift: Food for the journey. "The man who feeds on this bread will live forever" (Jn 6:58b). This is Christ’s gift of himself as the "bread of life" and the "cup of salvation" to his Apostles, to his "teaching body," to his Church. His gift was not "for them alone . . . but for those who will believe in me through their word" (Jn 17:20). We Catholics are among those who believe because of "their word." And their word is found infallibly in the "teaching body" established by Jesus, his Catholic Church now and forever. "And know that I am with you always, until the end of the world." (Mt 28:20b).

But why did He give us this mysterious gift of Himself?? This "why" is the insight The Divine Night Owl gave me. It’s a simple little thought. I don’t know why I didn’t think of it sooner. And I imagine that many of you did think of it.

It has to do with our immortal destiny; our purpose; the reason we were born. When Jesus wanted us to know the magnificence, the splendor, the majesty of what awaits us in His Kingdom, words simply could not do justice to the reality of our heavenly home. That’s why St. Paul could only say: "Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, nor has it entered the heart of man what God has prepared for those who love him" (1cor 2:9).

It is simply not possible for us to describe the exquisite beauty, of "oneness," of "unity" with the Trinity.

But to give us an inkling, a foretaste of what "unity" with the Trinity means, the Biblical writers were inspired to use the image of the bride and groom, ideally the sacredness and depth of the married union brings feelings of overpowering joy, of ecstasy and of blessed peace.

But there is a more down to earth, a more practical reason for Christ’s granting us unity with Him. 

When we receive communion at Mass we participate in Christ’s greatest miracle. We partake of his body, blood, soul and divinity. He becomes one with us. It is our way of knowing "unity" with Jesus while we are in this world. He gives us himself as "food for the journey"; spiritual food to sustain us on our way to his heavenly realm.

Of course, our dear friend, Blessed Padre Pio, knew this unity through Communion, through the Holy Eucharist, to a far, far greater degree than most of us ever will. His unity with Jesus was so complete; he was caught up in a spiritual experience that we can only wonder at. During his Mass he knew a bond of love and suffering that is far beyond anything we can even imagine. 

There is a fine line between ecstasy and suffering. Many times the Divine Spirit led him across that ecstatic line but especially when He consumed the Body and Blood of Christ and they became a part of his being. Little wonder then at the array of Gifts bestowed of him by Our Saviour.

So we, too, know oneness with Christ when we eat His Body, the consecrated host. And someday we will know the fullness of union with Him; we shall share in His Divinity.

Fr. Robert McQueeney, 1919 - 2002
Spiritual Director
The Padre Pio Foundation of America, 1982-2002