This weekend we celebrate the Feast of Corpus Christi, the Body and Blood of Christ. Our readings remind us about how God provides for us, about our oneness in Christ, about Jesus as the Bread of Life. “I am the living bread that came down from heaven,” Jesus says. “Whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I give is my flesh for the life of the world.”

Bread is a tangible symbol of life for us, just like it was for people who knew Jesus. Gluten-free and low-carb diets may have made it trendy to avoid bread for a while, but when the pandemic came, what did people do? We started making all kinds of bread: friendship bread, sourdough bread, pizza crust, and donuts. Yeast and flour flew off the shelves at grocery stores. Bread has comforted us during a time of crisis. It has been life-giving. I can see why; I love bread. I worked at a bakery all through high school and college, and there was nothing better than when the bakers brought out the rack of fresh bread. It would be early in the morning, around 5:30, and all the windows would steam up and the store smelled like heaven. That’s how I still envision the bread of life come down from heaven – the welcome sound of the squeaky bread rack wheeled across the rutted wooden floor and my bleary-eyed, teenaged self suddenly enfolded in warmth and aroma. Ah, bread.

As I’ve been with these readings this week, the question that arises in me is this: what is the bread that I’m eating right now? I don’t mean am I eating buttercrust or dark rye (and I would eat both if I had them). But metaphorically, what am I taking up, chewing on, and digesting into myself? Whether you’ve gone back to church, whether you haven’t and continue to receive “spiritual communion,” or whether you didn’t much go to church in the first place, I invite you to reflect on these questions with me.

Is what I’m eating the lift-giving bread of Christ? Am I consuming the bread of faith and hope? Am I feasting on contemplation, fruitful prayer, and honest self-examination? Am I eating the bread of the life of the world that puts me in touch with reality and people’s needs?

I can tell the kind of bread I’m eating by its effect on my life. By what I’m consuming, am I becoming a truer reflection of Christ and growing into the fullness of who I am? Is what I eat giving me the energy to build community, love the people I’m close to, and welcome strangers? Is what I’m consuming deepening my compassion for suffering people and creation? Does it make me hunger and thirst for justice? Does my bread taste like a call to service?

Or, is the bread that I’m eating not from God? Am I taking in contention, anxiety, or selfishness? Am I binging on my own comfort at the expense of others? Am I stuffed full of discord and despair?

By what I’m consuming, am I moving away from Christ? Am I allowing what I see in the world to turn to bitterness, judgment, or despair? Is my self-reflection really stewing negativity within myself or navel-gazing? Am I helping the people around me to rise, or I am I spreading distrust through gossip or disengagement? Am I turning from the suffering of the world, allowing my privilege to flavor my bread with denial or complacency? The bread of life does not taste like that.

As I reflect over what I take in and its effect on my life, I notice a call: keep eating bread, just make sure it’s the bread of Christ, the bread of love and mercy, and not junk food that moves me away from God and leaves me empty. And work off the bread I eat with action, both service and activism. Christ invites us to communion with God and each other. How can we bring about communion by what we take into ourselves, and how can we bake the bread of life together?

By Sister Leslie Keener, CDP

Sister Leslie Keener, CDP is the director of God Space, a community-building spirituality ministry in Cincinnati and Northern Kentucky. She’s a Sister of Divine Providence with a Masters in Ministry and a Certificate in Spiritual Direction and Retreats from Creighton University. She directs retreats, meets with people for spiritual direction, and serves as the vocation director for her community. She also serves on the Coordinating Council of Spiritual Directors International. She enjoys music, dancing, meaningful conversations, and bread, all kinds of bread, particularly the kind made at North College Hill Bakery. :)