A number of years ago I went to a First Communion Mass and the priest offering the homily made it very relatable to the children in ways I still remember as an adult. He started off asking, “Okay, what did you have for breakfast this morning?”
As little ones do when engaged, hands eagerly went up in the air to be called and they started yelling out what they had for breakfast: “I had Fruity Pebbles…My Mom made me special pancakes with sausage…I had Cocoa Puffs with real chocolate milk…my Daddy made me eggs that smiled at me. All the little ones were excited to tell the priest what they had for breakfast on their special day.
As the energy died back down, the priest started to make the analogy of the famous saying “breakfast is the most important meal of the day” because what you eat in the morning starts the rest of your day, depending on how you choose to fuel your body. Then he began to make a spiritual connection to which all gathered could relate to.
Breakfast is the meal we all need to start the day out and the Eucharist is the meal we need to spiritually start out our week. In a sense, the weekly participation in the Sunday Eucharist is not just a box to check but a tangible reminder of our need for God - for how much you and I need Jesus to get through the coming week, to fill us, to speak to our tired spirit. We need the Eucharist to help us to act, think, reflect, speak Jesus of Nazareth.
The Eucharist is the spiritual food for you and I to be who God calls us to be in a hurting and broken world.
In today’s Gospel, Jesus is answering the inquisitive questions of the disciples - What sign can you give us right now? What can you do? How do we bring about the works of God? What bread are you talking about?! When almost trying to test Jesus saying, “So what are you going to do? Our ancestors received and ate manna in the desert.”
And when in earnest they ask Jesus how they can always have this bread of which he speaks he tells them, You do not have to be hungry anymore, my friends. I AM the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never be hungry or thirsty again. It is me.
My friend, you and I need Jesus - the Eucharist is a reminder of how much we need God to fill every single part of our being. The presence of Jesus in the Eucharist (alive in you and me!) is what will sustain us on this earthly journey until someday we share in the Joy of the Kingdom with Him.
So yes - eat a healthy breakfast each day and start your week strong by receiving Jesus in the Eucharist.
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