Sunday Connection

Gospel Reading
John 6:51-58
Jesus says, “I am the living bread.”

Making the Connection (Grades 1, 2, and 3)

Help younger children understand the significance of the Eucharist.

Materials Needed

• Host and chalice

Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

1. Ask children to name some of their favorite meals. Ask: Why do we eat food? (to have energy and life, to grow healthy and strong, to nourish our bodies)

2. Say: In today’s Gospel, Jesus tells us about a different kind of food. Listen carefully.

3. Read about today’s Gospel, John 6:51–58.

4. Ask: Who is the Bread of Life? (Jesus) Say: Bread gives us life and nourishes our bodies. Jesus is the living bread who saves us from sin and gives us life forever with God in heaven.

5. Show children the host and chalice. Ask: When do we celebrate a special meal with bread and wine? (at Mass, during the Eucharist, at Holy Communion) Say: The sacraments give us God’s grace. Jesus gives us a special gift in the Sacrament of the Eucharist. The bread and wine become the Body and Blood of Jesus. The Eucharist nourishes our souls and strengthens our faith. Jesus is truly with us in this sacrament.

6. Pray: Jesus, the Bread of Life, you are truly with us in the Eucharist. We love you and believe in you. Thank you for the gift of your loving presence. Pray together the Lord’s Prayer.

Gospel Reading
John 6:51-58
Jesus says, “I am the living bread.”

Making the Connection (Grades 4, 5, and 6)

As children’s familiarity with the Mass increases, their knowledge and experience of Christ’s Real Presence in the Eucharist deepens. We invite children to this communion with the Lord when we reflect with them on the importance of the gift of the Eucharist in our lives.

Materials Needed

• None

Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

1. Invite the group to identify as many different types of bread as they can. (white bread, wheat bread, bagels, English muffins, pita, tortilla, and so on)

2. Ask the group: Why do we eat bread? What does bread do for us? (Bread is nourishing. Bread sustains us. Eating bread satisfies our hunger.)

3. Say: Bread is a staple of our diet today, as it was for the people of Jesus’ time. In order to understand the Gospel that we will hear today, we must know a little bit about the story that precedes it. A crowd of people had gathered to hear Jesus. Jesus had blessed five barley loaves and two fish, and there was enough to feed over five thousand people. Many people came to believe that Jesus came from God because of this miracle. The next day the crowd continued to follow Jesus, and many wanted to see him perform another miracle. Jesus talks with them about the miracle, the sign, he had performed. Many people who heard him were not sure how to receive his words.

4. Say: Let’s listen to the Gospel for today and see what it tells us about the bread that Jesus gives.

5. Invite a volunteer to read today’s Gospel, John 6:51-58.

6. Ask: What kind of bread does Jesus say he will give? (living bread) Where does this living bread come from? (from heaven) What will this bread do for those who eat it? (It will bring them eternal life. Jesus will come to live in those who eat this bread.) What else does Jesus say about this bread? (Jesus says that this living bread is his flesh for the life of the world.) What do you think Jesus is talking about? (Eucharist)

7. Say: In today’s reading, Jesus is telling us about the special gift he gives us in the Eucharist. In the Eucharist, the bread and the wine become the Body and Blood of Christ. When we share in the Eucharist, Jesus is present to us, and through our communion we will share eternal life.

8. Conclude in prayer together, thanking God for the gift of the Eucharist. Pray together the Lord’s Prayer or today’s Psalm.

Gospel Reading
John 6:51-58
Jesus says, “I am the living bread.”

Making the Connection (Grades 7 and 8)

By the seventh and eighth grade, the young people should understand the Church teaching that Christ is truly present in the bread and wine once it is consecrated. They should also begin to comprehend that they, too, form the Body and Blood of Christ.

Materials Needed

• Bowl
• Sheaf of wheat from a craft store
• Baguette or other crispy bread

Preparation for Sunday Scripture Readings

1. First check to insure that none of the young people have wheat allergies or celiac disease/gluten sensitivity.

2. Explain to the students that this Sunday is the second solemnity that we celebrate after the Easter season ends. Say: Last week we celebrated the Trinity, three Persons in one God. This Sunday we celebrate the Solemnity of the Body and Blood of Christ. We recognize that Christ left us the gift of himself in the Eucharist.

3. Show the students the wheat stalks. Let them handle them and break off individual grains that are typically ground into flour.

4. Say: In Jesus’ day wheat was ground between two stones in order to form flour. Take the grains you have in your hands and grind them between your thumb and forefinger until you have flour.

5. After each student has some flour in his or her hands, pass around the bowl.

6. Say: As the bowl comes to you, place your flour in it, naming someone you want God to watch over this week.

7. Explain: In Jesus’ day, bread was made with this type of rough flour along with other ingredients that came from God’s creation: water, spices, yeast, honey. The dough—made from flour and carrying our prayers—rises, is baked, and becomes something else. The materials the baker started with changed into something else.

8. Next, pass around the loaf of bread. Invite each student to break off a piece of bread.

9. Say: Before you consume this bread—this new creation—say some words of thanks to God for a gift that you have been given.

10. After all have eaten, say: In the making of this bread, its ingredients changed form. Our hearts were also transformed by our communal prayer. This is what happens in the Eucharist. Through the action of the Holy Spirit, the “work of our hands” is transformed into the presence of Jesus Christ.

11. Explain: The Holy Spirit transforms not only the bread and wine but also the assembly. We too are the living Body of Christ.

12. Have the students read the Gospel, John 6:51-58.

13. Say: God taught us to pray for our daily bread. How will you think of the phrase daily bread from now on? Offering one another the sign of peace helps us remember that we are made one in Christ.

14. Pray the Lord’s Prayer and have the students offer one another the sign of peace.

Gospel Reading
John 6:51-58
Jesus says, “I am the living bread.”

Family Connection

Our faith teaches us that when we gather to celebrate Mass, Jesus is present to us. The bread and wine truly become the Body and Blood of Christ. This is what we mean by the word transubstantiation: Jesus makes himself present to all who receive the Body and Blood of Christ.

If there are children in your family who have already celebrated their First Holy Communion, invite them to share their memories of this special day. If there are family photos taken on this occasion, bring them out and share them together. Adults in the family may also share memories or photos that they have of their First Communion. Then read together today’s Gospel, John 6:51–58. Reflect together on what Jesus means when he calls himself the “living bread.” Recall that every time we receive the Eucharist, Jesus keeps the promise he made in today’s Gospel—those who eat his flesh and drink his blood will remain forever connected to him. Perhaps family members can share what it means for them to receive Jesus in the Eucharist. Together thank God for this gift of Holy Communion. Pray together the Lord’s Prayer or today’s Psalm.