Fr Paul Gooley reads from the Gospel of John (6: 35-40) in which Jesus says, “It is my Father’s will that whoever sees the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and that I shall raise them up at the last day’.

Fr Paul says the words of Jesus here carry pastoral undertones and refer to his function as the Good Shepherd.

This Gospel tells us that Jesus should lose nothing the Father has given him, most especially the people who believe in him.

Jesus knows that it is the divine will that he should give his life so that, as the Gospel tells us, men and women may have eternal life, and that should be raised up on the last day.

As the Bread of Life, his life being offered becomes the bread that is broken and shared in the Eucharist so that those who partake of it may have eternal life.