Continuing our discussion from the episodes, Bread from Heaven and Feeding of the 5,000, in this episode we discuss the meaning of John 6 (particularly, the Bread of Life discourse). In this passage, Jesus says, “Truly, truly, I say to you, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of man and drink his blood, you have no life in you; he who eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day. For my flesh is food indeed, and my blood is drink indeed." What does Jesus mean? Is this a metaphor? Does he mean to be taken literally? If so... what does it mean for us?

Serving as a "bridge" between our last episode, Bread from Heaven, and our discussion on the Bread of Life discourse (John 6); this week we take up the topic of the miracle of the feeding of the 5,000. From the 5 loaves of bread and 2 fish, Jesus multiplied the available food such that the crowd that was following him could "eat their fill." Yet, 12 baskets remained leftover. How is this possible? What was John trying to reveal to us about Jesus Christ? What is significant about the language the Gospel writer uses and what are the parallels that can be drawn? How does this miracle point ultimately to the Eucharist? Listen to find out!

In our very first episode, we take some time to reflect on the words of the Apostle, St Thomas, when he says, "My Lord and My God." He speaks these words after his famous doubt... "Unless I stick my fingers in his wounds I will not believe." Why did Thomas say this? What can we learn from him? How is his encounter with the risen Christ similar to what we are invited into every time we attend Mass and receive Communion? These are just some of the topics we will explore in this episode!

The hosts of Draw Near, Fred Shellabarger and Kara Kardell, now host an additional podcast called, "My Lord & My God," based on the words of the Apostle, St. Thomas. It is centered on the Eucharist... helping people understand this great mystery, but above all, come to a deeper encounter with the love of Christ through the Eucharist.