Dear Parishioners,
One of the things that I enjoy
(in the food category) when I
vacation on the Caribbean island of St. Maarten / St. Martin, is the fresh baked
bread. Every morning you will see a
number of people heading to a bakery or local grocery store to get a baguette or some type of fresh baked
French bread. The bread is outstanding, in my humble opinion. Crispy crust, soft inside, great taste . . .
. Smother it in butter with a cup of
coffee and I’m perfectly happy for breakfast.
St. Maarten / St. Martin is the
smallest land mass (37 square miles) shared by two sovereign nations. It has no physical borders. There is a Dutch side and a French Side and
people go back and forth freely. The
island was discovered by Christopher Columbus on the feast of St. Martin of Tours (November 11) in
1493. The island has been arguably
referred to as the Culinary Capital of the Caribbean and the many great French restaurants found there are
supportive of this claim.
Bread is a staple of life for
many people throughout history. In
Jesus’ time it was part of the everyday meal as was table wine. He used both of these common elements in an
extraordinary way when He was at table with his disciples before His death—the Last Supper.
Bread also had some spiritual
significance throughout history for the Jewish and later Christian
peoples. The Jewish people eat unleavened bread to commemorate their
freedom from Egypt when they had to flee before they had time for the bread to
rise (Ex. 34:18). When the Jews were wandering in
the desert after their exodus from Egypt, God gave them manna to eat—mysterious “bread from heaven.” (Ex. 16) The Jews also kept showbread or bread of presence—twelve loaves representing the twelve tribes of Israel—before God in the sanctuary of the
Temple. Later, Jesus famously multiplied
the loaves and fish, to feed the hungry multitudes (Mt. 14:15-21, Mk. 6:34-42, Lk. 9:16-17, Jn. 6:9-13}. The use of bread comes to a spiritual
summit in Jesus’ designation of it as His body at the Last Supper (Mt. 26: 26, Mk. 14:22, Lk. 22:19, 1 Cor. 11:23-24).
In the Gospel of St. John, Chapter 6, we read
what is referred to as Jesus’ Bread of
Life Discourse. It is seen as a
commentary on the significance and value of the Most Holy Eucharist. We hear some definitive statements made by
Jesus: I am the bread of life . . . I
am the bread that came down from heaven . . . Unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink His blood, you do
not have life within you . . . Whoever
eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him on the
last day. . . My flesh is true food,
and my blood is true drink . . . .
The Real Presence of Jesus in the Most Holy Eucharist is one of the
core teachings of the Catholic faith. We
do not believe in some mere symbolic presence, but take Jesus literally--at his word--in our understanding of this mystery. Over the centuries, the term transubstantiation—a change in substance (but not in appearance)—have been used to explain this essential dogma.
When we approach the Most Holy
Eucharist, we approach Jesus—our
Lord, God and Savior. He deserves our
love, reverence and respect. Like the
people in the Gospel, our attitude toward the Holy Eucharist should be one of
desire, anticipation, thanksgiving and joy:
“Sir, give us this bread
always.” (John 6: 34)
Fr. Ed Namiotka
Pastor
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