By Eddie MacDonald
“Eat your supper,” your mother says; “Clean up your plate”. “Do you want to make that a combo?” asks the girl behind the counter at Wendy’s. “How about an extra patty on your burger?” she asks. At what point did we go from eating enough for our bodies to work, to the sin of gluttony?
Today’s readings remind us how we are much like our ancestors in the desert, how easily we fall into the pleasure and contentment of food, no matter what the risk is to our physical and spiritual health. The Israelites forgot their miraculous escape and preferred to be slaves. And in the Gospel the followers of Jesus thought the meal to be so good the first time that they ask for another “show”. Each missed the point. It is not the food itself but the witness of the miraculous. The Psalmist shares the truth of the situation: God rained down on the Israelites the food of heaven, the food in which the angels partake. This is a glimpse of what is to come, the body, blood, soul and divinity of Jesus Christ in the form of bread and wine.
How often in Mass do we go through the gestures – kneeling upon the consecration of the host; the moment of transubstantiation lost as we daydream about what’s for lunch! We are present for the most important sacrament – and often we let it slip by us. The real food that nourishes our soul and prepares us to be in heaven one day for that heavenly banquet. Let us come often to the sacrifice of Christ on the altar and stay alert to this truly life-changing bread.