Blueberry Pancakes

Worrying about the Bread of Life

John 6:26-27, 32-33

Jesus answered them and said, “Amen, amen, I say to you, you are looking for me not because you saw signs but because you ate the loaves and were filled.  Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.  For on him the Father, God, has set his seal.”

So Jesus said to them, “Amen, amen, I say to you, it was not Moses who gave the bread from heaven; my Father gives you the true bread from heaven.  For the bread of God is that which comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

            Most priests live pretty worry-free lives; we don’t worry about the things that normal people fear and fret over (because priests aren't very normal).  For example, when most people get dressed in the morning they spend time trying to pick what shirt and pants to wear, what belt goes with which shoes?  A priest gets dressed in the morning and only asks one question: “Should I wear a black shirt with white collar, or a white collar with a black shirt?”  Decisions, decisions!!!  I never worry about food, figuring I’ll just mooch a meal from some parishioner’s home, so better set an extra place! But one of our associate priests here, who’ll remain nameless, woke up one morning, came into the kitchen and said with great gusto, “Man, I’m craving some blueberry pancakes for breakfast!”  Now, I’m not saying who that priest is.  I’m not going to tell you he’s in Washington D.C. for the summer studying canon law because that would only give it away.  Have you ever woken up craving something special to eat?  Other people are worried about their appearance: exercising and dieting, trying to look taller and skinnier and prettier.  I don’t worry about my looks because I follow the advice of the great theologian Johnny Depp, who said, “Ugliness is better than beauty.  It lasts longer and in the end gravity is going to get us all” (Third Way, Dec. 2004, p. 5).

            But there is one thing I do worry about and that is celebrating the Mass.  I worry about how 2 priests are going to say 8 Masses every weekend: one on Saturday and 7 on Sunday!  But it’s not the quantity of the Masses that I’m really worried about but rather the quality of the Masses.  You see, I want every Mass to live up to the high expectations of the Second Vatican Council that said, “The Eucharist it the source and summit of Christian life” (Lumen gentium, 11).  Doesn’t every Mass feel like the source and summit of Christian life to you??  Okay, maybe not; but it should!  When I come to your house, you feed me with the best that you have; when you come to God’s house, I’ll feed you with best that the Church has, and there’s nothing better than the Eucharist.  Every priest should worry about making the Mass meaningful; indeed, it’s the only thing any priest has to worry about.

            In the gospel today Jesus doesn’t want only priests to worry about the Mass, he wants everyone to be eager to eat the Eucharist.  Jesus has just multiplied the loaves and fish and now the people hunger for more.  But Jesus wants them to want the Bread of Life, namely himself, which he will give them at the Last Supper, and to us at every Mass.  But the way, I’ve been reading a book by Msgr. Roman Guardini that the same anonymous associate priest gave me – you know, the one who wanted the blueberry pancakes – which explained this passage saying, “Jesus wants them to seek spiritual food, nourishment that will give them eternal strength and light, not momentary; he himself, the Son of Man, is there to mete it out to them” (The Lord, 235).  You see, Jesus was making the same deal with the people that I make with you: you feed my body with the bread of earth, and I will nourish you souls with the Bread of Angels, so that one day you will be able to fly like the angels in heaven, enjoying eternal strength and light.”  In other words, worry about the Eucharist more than you worry about blueberry pancakes.

            Folks, I gotta tell you, it is so sad to hear about how few Catholics attend Mass in other parts of the world, like Europe and even in the Northeast United States.  But that’s not the case here in Fort Smith, and certainly not here at Immaculate Conception.  For example, you better get here 10 to 15 minutes early to get a good parking spot, and to find your favorite pew!  Otherwise, someone else will snatch it!  During the week, we have between 75 and 100 people attending Mass at 7 a.m. – Mass attendance is an epidemic!  Here’s something amazing: we don’t mind priests with foreign accents because we know their blessed, brown hands bring us the Bread of Angels, too.  Have you ever thought about who built this iconic church, the most recognizable landmark in Fort Smith?  It was built by Catholics who wanted a magnificent house for the magnificent Mass!  The outside should befit what happens inside.  Here’s another example.  Do you know what “spiritual Communion” is?  It’s when you cannot receive Holy Communion – because you’re remarried or need to go to confession, or you’re not Catholic (yet) – and you come up with your arms folded and you get a blessing.  But spiritually, you ARE receiving Holy Communion in your heart, even if you can’t receive Jesus on your tongue.  And God sees you and is very proud of you for coming to Mass and getting that blessing.  Spiritual Communion is not a small thing.

            But do you know what’s even more heroic that all that put together?  It’s the example of some couples who are remarried without an annulment, but they choose to live as “brother and sister,” that’s a euphemistic way of saying they don’t have sex.  Why?  Well, abstaining from sexual intimacy allows them to receive Holy Communion because by that sacrifice they are respecting their former marriage.  My friends, for some people becoming one with the Body of Christ is more urgent than becoming one with the body of their spouse.  Now, many may mock such behavior as madness and the height of folly, but I see that as nothing short of heroic faith.  Which is it: the highest folly or heroic faith?  Whatever it is, there are some people who worry about the Eucharist more than they worry about sex.

            Jesus said, “Do not work for food that perishes but for food that endures for eternal life, which the Son of Man will give you.”  When some people get up in the morning they say, “Man, I could go for some blueberry pancakes!”  But the parishioners of Immaculate Conception Church wake up and say, “Man, I could go for the Bread of Life!”  You do say that, don’t you?

            Praised be Jesus Christ!