y
all understood the import of His language precisely as it is explained by
the Catholic Church. They believed that our Lord spoke literally of His
body and blood. The Evangelist tells us that the Jews "disputed among
themselves, saying: How can this man give us His flesh to eat?" Even His
disciples, though avoiding the disrespectful language of the multitude,
gave expression to their doubt in this milder form: "This saying is hard,
and who can hear it?"(368) So much were they shocked at our Savior's
promise that "after this many of His disciples went back and walked no
more with Him."(369) They evidently implied, by their words and conduct,
that they understood Jesus to have spoken literally of His flesh; for, had
they interpreted His words in a figurative sense, it would not have been a
hard saying, nor have led them to abandon their Master.

But, perhaps, I shall be told that the disciples and the Jews who heard
our Savior may have misinterpreted His meaning by taking His words in the
literal acceptation, while He may have spoken in a figurative sense. This
objection is easily disposed of. It sometimes happened, indeed, that our
Savior was misunderstood by His hearers. On such occasions He always took
care to remove from their mind the wrong impression they had formed by
stating His meaning in simpler language. Thus, for instance, having told
Nicodemus that unless a man be born again he cannot enter the kingdom of
heaven, and having observed that His meaning was not correctly apprehended
by this disciple our Savior added: "Unless a man be born again of water
and the Holy Ghost he cannot enter the kingdom of heaven."(370) And again,
when he warned His disciples against the leaven of the Pharisees, and
finding that they had taken an erroneous meaning from His word, He
immediately subjoined that they should beware of the doctrine of the
Pharisees.(371)

But in the present instance does our Savior alter His language when He
finds His words taken in the literal sense? Does He tell His hearers that
He has spoken figuratively? Does He soften the tone of His expression? Far
from weakening the force of His words He repeats what He said before, and
in language more emphatic: "Amen, amen, I say unto you, Unless ye eat the
flesh of the Son of man, and drink His blood, ye shall not have life in
you."

When our Savior beheld the Jews and many of His disciples abandoning Him,
turning to the chosen twelve, He said feelingly to the