False Bread of Life

Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes me will never thirst." - John 6:35

As a Catholic Christian, I have the opportunity to take Holy Communion every day of the week.  Jesus gave us the spiritual food necessary to grow in holiness.  This "bread of life" is something many take for granted.  They begin to transfer the spiritual "bread of life" to the material. In the Sunday homily, our Bishop mentioned something that intriqued me.  It's the  idea of "false bread."  These are people, possessions, and pleasures that we believe are life-giving.  They are supposed to give us happiness, fulfillment, self-esteem, power, and wealth.  These "false" loaves of bread do not give us the spiritual nourishment we truly need.  Oftentimes, we pull us away from Christ.  We begin to starve ourselves, becoming anemic and crippled with sin.  At other times, we are given the false hope that the latest and greatest craze will make us younger, sexier, thinner, and richer.  In the long run, after the craze fades away, we see nothing has changed. 

When we fail to recognize Jesus Christ as the "bread of life" and truly believe in his presence, we lose the benefit of his unconditional love, grace, and mercy.  I feel a great deal of comfort knowing that when I receive communion Jesus becomes "one" with me!  He's fills up my heart with grace.  Then,  with his gentle hand I'm pushed forward to be Christ-like presence to others.  How can I be Christ-like if I'm already spiritually full from the "false" bread of life? 

My goal this week is to receive Holy Communion every day and reflect on how I can be strengthened by the Eucharist, the authentic "bread of life" given to us by Christ himself.

-J.