Pan de Vida

Jesus said to the Jewish crowds: "I am the living bread that came down from heaven; whoever eats this bread will live forever; and the bread that I will give is my flesh for the life of the world." The Jews quarreled among themselves, saying,"How can this man give us his flesh to eat?" Jesus said to them,"Amen, amen, I say to you, 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. For my flesh is true food, and my blood is true drink. Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood remains in me and I in him. Just as the living Father sent me and I have life because of the Father, so also the one who feeds on me will have life because of me. This is the bread that came down from heaven. Unlike your ancestors who ate and still died, whoever eats this bread will live forever." -John 6: 51-5

I think my mom's all time favorite communion song is "Pan de Vida" which is the Spanish translation for "Bread of Life." The passage above from St. John's gospel is part of what is known as The Bread of Life Discourse. It will be the Gospel reading this upcoming Sunday when the Catholic Church celebrates the Solemnity of the Most Holy Body and Blood of Christ (also known as the Feast of Corpus Christi). In that bread of life discourse, Jesus Christ teaches that the Eucharist that He instituted for our sake at the Last Supper isn't just a symbol of Him, as he says "whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life." The Eucharist and Precious Blood truly are the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus... God Incarnate.

Many people today, even some church going Catholics, don't accept this doctrine. We rely on our senses that still taste and see unleavened bread and wine. Admittedly, it requires a great amount of faith to believe that the we are truly receiving the body and blood of Christ. The fact that many people reject this doctrine shouldn't be surprising. If you were to read the rest of chapter six of John's gospel you'd read that even many of Christ's initial followers could not accept His teaching on this point and "returned to their former life and no longer accompanied Jesus" as a result.

So as I sat down to share some thoughts on the upcoming Solemnity I wondered what could I write that might help the readers of this Blog come to a deeper belief in the Eucharist. I thought of quoting the Catechism of the Catholic Church. I thought to maybe explore what Blessed John Paul II meant when he described the Eucharist as "The Source and Summit of the Faith." Perhaps I could describe some of the documented miracles of the Eucharist. There are other parts of scripture that could be referenced and many reflections of Saints to be considered to. However, I feel that the Holy Spirit would actually rather me discuss my mom's favorite communion song.... Pan de Vida.

You see, whenever I hear "Pan de Vida" (which has both Spanish and English lyrics), I begin to recall the mission trip to Honduras that I was blessed to go on a few years ago. My parish has had a partnership with a parish in Honduras and over the past decade we've sent groups of parishioners down there. Usually the groups go down about three times per year and typically stay one to two weeks. The scope of these mission trips can vary but usually there are doctors and dentists in the teams who provide medical services to the Honduran people and usually there are construction efforts too. When I went, we built a small church but other groups have built water filtration systems, homes, and latrines all in an effort to improve the quality of life for the good people who live in a very impoverished nation.

To say the ten days I spent there had a profound impact on me would be a huge understatement. Different language, different landscape, different foods... seemingly, a different world. I quickly began to appreciate the paved roads and clean drinking water among other things that we in the U.S. take for granted. But despite some of the hardships, I had an amazing time. We worked through the language barrier to form friendships with the locals. We played tag with the kids and watched their eyes light up when receiving modest gifts like coloring books, candy, and bubbles. I got to see and experience things that I never did before and might never again.

However, it was something that I actually knew well and experienced many times before that trip which was the highlight of the entire experience for me. That familiar, yet indescribable, something was Sunday morning Mass. I didn't understand the readings that were done in Spanish and couldn't tell you what the Honduran priest spoke about in the homily. What I did know though is that that Heaven came down into that crowded church and by the power of the Holy Spirit, ordinary bread and wine were transformed into the body and blood of our Lord. As I came forward to receive Holy Communion, I knew exactly WHO I was receiving. I began thinking of all my brothers and sisters in Christ I was able to serve in the previous days. I also thought of all my friends and family who I had been away from for awhile who were back home doing the exact same thing... coming forward to the table of the Lord to receive the bread of life. Tears began welling up in my eyes as I contemplated the teaching of Christ to love God and love our neighbor. I realized that the sun never goes down on our Holy Catholic Church and our neighbors live all over the world and speak all types languages.

You see, a lot of grapes are needed to make wine and a lot of grains of wheat are needed to make bread. And while you may just represent one grape or one grain of wheat, we come together with millions and millions others to form the Church... the mystical body of Christ. In receiving Him, He receives everyone of us. Communion... that comes from two words: common and union. In Holy Communion we are all united with the Lord and one another.:One bread, one body.

My prayer is that we all come to a deeper appreciation for the Blessed Sacrament and a greater desire receive our spiritual food and drink. And in closing, remember what you learned growing up: you are what you eat!