Life-giving Life

Sacred Heart Novitiate, May 2025 by João Francisco de Jesus Barreto SJ

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ear sisters and brothers in the Risen Christ, each year, we gather to celebrate the Resurrection of Jesus, but have you ever stopped to ask: What kind of life are we truly celebrating? It’s not just that Jesus came back to life, walking and breathing again. It’s something far greater, far deeper. We are celebrating that He is fully alive with a life that is beyond anything we have ever known or imagined—and that He offers this same life to us.

In the Greek language of the New Testament, there are three different words for “life,” and each of them helps us understand a layer of what Jesus reveals, especially in this week's Gospel from the 6th chapter of John.

First: βίος (Bios)—Physical Life

This is the word we recognize from “biology.” Bios refers to our physical life—our bodily health, food, survival, and daily needs.

Jesus mentions bios when He speaks of the cares of the world in His parables (Lk 8:14; 15:30). St John warns us in his letter: “The pride of life (βίος) is not from the Father but from the world” (1 Jn 2:16).

Bios matters. But Jesus did not rise from the dead just to give us back our physical life or to extend our years. He rose to give us something far more lasting.

Second: ψυχή (Psychē)—The Soul, the Inner Life

Psychē gives us the word “psychology.” It speaks of our inner life—our emotions, our personality, the part of us that loves, hopes, and fears. When Jesus says, “Greater love has no one than to lay down one’s life (ψυχή)” (Jn 15:13), He means giving not just your body, but your whole heart and soul. On the Cross, Jesus gave up His bios—His body—and also His psychē—His soul, His deepest self.

Yet even that is not the full measure of Easter.

Third: ζωή (Zōē)—Divine, Eternal Life

The most powerful word is zōē. It refers to divine, eternal, life-giving life, the very life of God. This word appears 134 times in the New Testament. In John Chapter 6 alone, it is repeated 13 times, including what we just heard today. Jesus tells His disciples: “The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life (ζωή).” Zōē is not just more time; it is a new quality of life—a life that heals, transforms, and never ends. It is what Jesus offers us in the Eucharist—His own living Body, given for the life of the world.

Today’s Gospel paints a dramatic scene: Many disciples, after hearing Jesus speak of the bread of life, say, “This saying is hard; who can accept it?” And many walk away. Jesus turns to the Twelve and asks, “Do you also want to leave?” Simon Peter answers for them all—and for us: “Master, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life (ζωῆς). We have come to believe and are convinced that you are the Holy One of God.” Peter sees what the others missed: Jesus offers not just bios or psychē, but zōē—the fullness of God’s own life.

St Cyril of Alexandria in the 5th century said: "...the body of Christ gives life to those who receive it. Its presence in mortal men expels death and drives away corruption because it contains within itself in His entirety the Word who totally abolishes corruption."

Fast forward to the 21st century, fifteen-year-old Blessed Carlo Acutis understood this and said, “The Eucharist is my highway to heaven.” Because in the Eucharist, Carlo found not just a material reality, not just optimism or confidence, but the living Jesus, fully alive and offering us zōē.

So let me ask you today: Are you living only for bios—your physical needs? Are you seeking psychē—emotional comfort or meaning? Or are you longing for zōē—divine, transforming, eternal life?

If your heart says yes to Jesus, then hear Him speak to you now: “The words I have spoken to you are Spirit and life.”

Let us not turn away as many did in the Gospel. Let us stand with Peter and say: “Lord, to whom shall we go? You have the words of eternal life.”

Today, as we receive the Eucharist, let us not come just for ritual, but for encounter—not just for life, but for Resurrected Life. Amen. Fr JM Manzano SJ