Eucharistic Meditations - A Loaf of Bread

The first thought that 'bread' brings to mind, Lord, is the piece you dipped and handed over to the betrayer. In that morsel you gave yourself freely and fearlessly, even though you clearly read his evil intention. You do the same for us too - in each Eucharist! Through your minister you take the bread, bless God and breaking it you give it saying: 'Take and eat, this is my self given for you.' And you leave us free to do what we please with your life handed over to us. 'Greater love …' What tremendous trust placed in us, despite our numerous betrayals!

Through yourself as broken bread offered daily at Eucharist, you affirm the Father's faithfulness to his promise to sustain us as we journey through life: it is the new manna for the five thousand in the desert. 'Those who eat of this bread will never die.' The Father does not always serve us what we like or want, yet he supplies our every need. But you require that we generously share the bread we receive with others. Stored for ourselves only, it decays. You are among us as bread broken to be shared!

Bread also speaks of 'what earth has given and human hands have made.' Nature and Mother Earth are your gifts to us, to care for and cultivate. Nevertheless, producing that bread involves unending pain and struggle - 'by the sweat of your brow...' This is the bread of affliction which often is the only bread that so many have today. The hundreds of Indian farmers driven to suicide as they despair of ever repaying loans convicts us. The grains of wheat have to be ground into fine flour before they can become bread - even for the Eucharistic table.

Bread is broken before it is eaten or shared. Breaking reveals selfless love and concern - but it also uncovers a subtle domination and oppression of the helpless millions. The fancy bread we sometimes have on our tables belies our complicity with the evils of globalization so prominent in our day. Genetic manipulation of food grains forces farmers into a slavery pact from which there is no reprieve. The economic stranglehold of a few MNCs drags millions of poor below the poverty line; hundreds of children die each minute of acute hunger and starvation. Lord, you knock at my door - must I wake up from sleep and disturb my entire household to give my brother the bread he needs?

And yet you continue to call all to be fed at your Table on your Word and with your very being. The broken bread you give indicates that it is relationship, interaction that you most seek. Teach us Lord to relate to your divine presence each time we Eucharist. And much more, enable us to be open to your presence in the hungering millions in our land - "I was hungry … as often as you did it to the least of my brethren, you did it to me!"