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March 18

The Living Bread

The Christian life is one of discipleship, obedience, and

service. It is also a life of being sustained and nurtured. And in the most unlikely places and ways, God provides bread and wine for the often uneven journey of faith.

We are nurtured by God’s providential care through the gifts of creation. These bounteous gifts should be shared equally by all.

We are also invited to share fully in the gift of God’s salvation in Christ. He is the true life for the world. He is the living bread. In Christ we find life’s joy, meaning, and purpose.

But we all are also invited to open our lives to the renewing,

empowering, and life-giving action of the Holy Spirit, who works

tirelessly and mysteriously to sustain our lives, to beautify us, and to gift and empower us for meaningful service.

And there are many other ways God seeks to nurture us: in the gift of family, the blessing of friends, and the care of the faith

community. Even neighbors and colleagues can be, and often are, a source of encouragement for us. Thus God can use anyone to be a blessing to us. In the Ambrosian Acclamations we read, “O bread eternal, you feed the hunger of your people in desert places.”77 This is a hunger for God, a

hunger for wholeness, a hunger for relationship, a hunger for knowledge, and a hunger for justice. And God can meet this hunger in surprising ways.

Reflection

What we hunger for is an indication of what we want to live for. The Living Bread feeds our hunger.