St. Thomas Aquinas—like Wisdom in today’s Old Testament Reading—invites us to the table to eat. St. Thomas gives us four good reasons to eat the bread of life: (spiritual) nourishment, growth, healing and joy. We hear Jesus in today’s Gospel give us another and best reason: the promise that “whoever eats his flesh and drinks his blood remains in me and I in him.” You are what you eat!
Working on losing weight, I know how true this is with regular food. Our choices define our health. Choosing fast food over the true abundance and blessing of real food is one example—as a friend of mine (a massage therapist) says: “When food is highly processed (fake) your body doesn’t know what to do with it.” Real food gives us nourishment and growth, healing and joy.
As human beings, everything we know comes to us through our bodily senses. Without the Body of Christ, we might be tempted to reduce Jesus to an abstract, intellectual or impersonal concept or idea. But our bodies are our “gateway” to knowledge. In the Eucharist we know the divine person of Jesus. We eat and drink and we are saved because when we truly carry Jesus within us, we will be in this world as living tabernacles.
As human beings we rely on the physical presence of loved ones to save us from loneliness and isolation—we know that solitary confinement is one of the worst possible punishments! (Remember that no man is an island…) The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Body and Blood overcomes the “real absences” that besiege us. “…the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.” He is the nourishment that satisfies our hunger and thirst for holiness and righteousness. Consuming the Eucharist reminds us that we are never alone—Jesus is always with us.
The Bread of Heaven imparts to us “eternal life.” When we partake of this bread, we have God within us and we begin to live forever. All who believe this are welcome; all present are fed, all are nourished and sustained. This is a miracle and a mystery; this is our grace and redemption. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord! Remember: You are what you eat!
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
Working on losing weight, I know how true this is with regular food. Our choices define our health. Choosing fast food over the true abundance and blessing of real food is one example—as a friend of mine (a massage therapist) says: “When food is highly processed (fake) your body doesn’t know what to do with it.” Real food gives us nourishment and growth, healing and joy.
As human beings, everything we know comes to us through our bodily senses. Without the Body of Christ, we might be tempted to reduce Jesus to an abstract, intellectual or impersonal concept or idea. But our bodies are our “gateway” to knowledge. In the Eucharist we know the divine person of Jesus. We eat and drink and we are saved because when we truly carry Jesus within us, we will be in this world as living tabernacles.
As human beings we rely on the physical presence of loved ones to save us from loneliness and isolation—we know that solitary confinement is one of the worst possible punishments! (Remember that no man is an island…) The Real Presence of Jesus Christ in the Body and Blood overcomes the “real absences” that besiege us. “…the one who feeds on me will have life because of me.” He is the nourishment that satisfies our hunger and thirst for holiness and righteousness. Consuming the Eucharist reminds us that we are never alone—Jesus is always with us.
The Bread of Heaven imparts to us “eternal life.” When we partake of this bread, we have God within us and we begin to live forever. All who believe this are welcome; all present are fed, all are nourished and sustained. This is a miracle and a mystery; this is our grace and redemption. Taste and see the goodness of the Lord! Remember: You are what you eat!
Keep singing!
Elizabeth Dyc
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