On bread, blessings, and what sustains us...

I find it interesting that the gospel reading this weekend is about the breaking of the loaves and fishes to feed the multitudes (Mt 14:13-21). The OT reading from Isaiah (55: 1-3), too, mentions bread: "You who have no money, come, receive grain and eat" and "Why spend your money for what is not bread, your wages for what fails to satisfy?" It is also the old Celtic-Christian feast of Lammas, which is also centered on bread. The word lammas comes from OE, translated as "loaf-mass" and the feast day is usually celebrated on or about August 1st. The loaf referenced directly connects to the Eucharist, and the festival is intended to bless the First Fruits, the early harvest, and a loaf of bread signifies all the blessings we receive through hard work and faith. In some communities, a loaf of bread is brought to the church to be blessed. 

Bread is central to human existence; every culture has some form of bread. The basic elements of water, wheat, salt, and sometimes leavening are core to our survival. Literature is filled with references to bread, both as a shared experience and as one that the poor and marginalized yearn for. With climate change, monoculture farming, and the overuse of pesticides, our survival is threatened. How is it that we are destroying that which sustains us? And, by extension, how are we also "destroying" the necessary connection between blessings and human life? 

We must turn back to what is good, healthy, and sustaining, both in the literal sense and in the spiritual one as well. 

No matter what spiritual path you may follow, what is good and holy to us all is rooted in bread, both as food and as symbol. The word companion, broken down into its Latin parts, refers to those with whom we break bread. Can't we be friends?

Take good care and share your blessings,

C