Jesse Romero's Online Blog!

I have always wondered why St. John said absolutely nothing about the Eucharist in his gospel. He has the washing of the feet; he has the Last Supper in great detail, but not the institution.  Why not? Because John was writing at the end of the century. Remember that St. Paul had considerable trouble with the church at Corinth. One of the troubles there was that the rich people ate at home. And the poor came, and there was little for them to eat outside of the broken, divine bread which they received. St. John wanted to emphasize that the Eucharist is not only a personal communion of the soul with Christ; it is, rather, the fact that we are one body and that we are bound to service to the whole Church and to the whole world. If, then, St. Paul complained about the eating of the meal rather selfishly, John the evangelist saw the need of reminding us, 'No, the Eucharist is related to the poor.' The foundation of our commitment to the world is the holy Eucharist. This is our body. And therefore John reminds us that Jesus said, 'You call me Lord, and indeed I am. But if I wash your feet, then wash one another's.' Feed the world.