The mythical fountain of youth is an object that has inspired a lot of adventure stories of people who believe that they can live forever if they manage to find it and have a drink of its precious water.

In today’s Gospel passage, we indeed see the continuation of the discourse on the Bread of Life from last Sunday. Who is the Bread of Life? Jesus himself.

There was a company, which was working in the forest and looking for a woodchopper. One day, two woodchoppers applied for the job. The manager said that they would only accept one. So, he invited both of them to a test.

The Lord Jesus, in the Gospel passage today, inaugurates the victory over evil by organising his “crew,” that is to say, the apostles, into specific modes of acting in order to be victorious over the forces of evil and anything which is not of God. Jesus gathers his followers together and gives very clear instructions.

"For it is when I am weak that I am strong." St Paul in today’s second reading makes this extra ordinary statement which sounds a bit weird to the modern ear.

To borrow again a story from my friend, Fr Bel San Luis, there was a very devout man who is in his house when there was a huge deluge in town. The flood waters were already at the first floor so he went up.

My dear brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. Today’s Gospel tells us about how Jesus calmed the storm. It began when Jesus took His disciples to the other side of the Sea of Galilee, after teaching many people all day.

To borrow a joke from one of my favourite preachers Fr Bel San Luis, SVD, there was a young man who was praying to God. This was his prayer, “Lord, grant me the gift of patience … I want it NOW!!!” 

Today, Jesus is in fact inviting us to listen to Him and act accordingly. Thus, we will be able to do the Will of God on this earth.

This year’s readings for the feast of the Body and Blood of Christ – previously called Corpus Christi – give us a glimpse into the origins of the nature of sacrifice in the ancient religious world, when the emphasis was on the blood of ritually slaughtered animals sealing the divine / human covenant.