By Pat Haggerty

If you are like me, you must find that emails have a way of multiplying and getting out of hand.   The messages are like weeds in a garden.  After awhile, we have to do something about them.  I can remember when I first started emailing years ago. There were lots of personal messages that I really looked forward to receiving.  Now, other than business messages, there are ads, newsletters, news briefs and on-line communities to read about.  There comes a time when one must “delete.”  This is my time.

However, as I was purging my emails, I couldn’t help but notice all the food emails I had.  I did sign up for a recipe group---foolish me!  I thought it was a good idea at the time.  In all honesty, though, I haven’t used many of the recipes.  When I get them, they are grouped into categories like:  “what to eat now,” “quick and easy dishes we love,” and “meatless Monday magic.”

We are obsessed with food.  Aren’t we?  We do plan what our next meal will be.  We have pamphlets galore of take-out options, and we have our favorite restaurants that we frequent.  If only we could be obsessed with the most important food of all---our spiritual food, the Bread of Life.

I am sure you have noticed in the month of August that there has been a recurring theme.  It is called the “Bread of Life discourse” taken from the sixth chapter of the gospel of John.  Each Sunday we have heard readings that highlight the Bread of Life, the bread come down from heaven, and eating the Lord’s flesh and drinking His blood to gain eternal life.

The message seems pretty clear:  partaking of Jesus in the Eucharist is what will help us gain eternal life.  For three Sundays we shared Psalm 34 and intoned:  “Taste and see the goodness of the Lord.”  The only Sunday when this psalm was not used was the first Sunday of August or the eighteenth Sunday in Ordinary Time.  At that Mass, we prayed from Psalm 78:  “The Lord gave them bread from heaven.”

As the month of August draws to a close, let us meditate on the words of the David Haas song, “To Be Your Bread.”  The verses of the song make John’s gospels come to life:  “We come to your table with our lives as they are.  Heal us, Lord, for we are broken; make us one again. . .Give us the bread and wine that bring us to life.  Feed us, and we’ll never hunger, never thirst again.”

It is so comforting to know that the bread and wine are the only food that will bring us all real life.  We are so fortunate to be able to be renewed in the Eucharist and to have our humanity healed through the sacrament.  No matter how bruised are our lives, we can find nourishment and strength in the Eucharist.