The practice of eucharist embodies the foundational truth to which Christian faith bears witness. Bread and wine are more than bread and wine.

Jesus once asked his friends,

Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing? (Matthew 6:25)

Jesus’ answer was “Yes!”

Trees are more than trees; we humans are “more than”the bodies about which we are so preoccupied, the things we wear, what we put into our bodies, or whatever we choose to do with our lives.

Life is not confined to the horizontal material realm perceptible to our five senses. All of life is infused with the vertical dimension of mystery. When we eat the bread and wine Jesus left us, we awaken to the heart/spirit-dimension of life. We open to the wonder and beauty of all existence.

Eucharist embodies the reality that this “more than” dimension of life is not separate from our bodies.

God is present in the physical material stuff of life.

While we may not perceive it with our physical senses, when we eat bread and drink wine in the ritual meal of the eucharist, we are receiving actual nourishment and sustenance for our spiritual being. Our intention to open to this “more than” dimension of life embodied in our participation in eucharist, feeds us spiritually.

When we feed the mysterious transcendent dimension of our being we discover that all of life is lived in the deep stream of love. All being is connected; we are all part of an inter-dependent web of reality. We are the beneficiaries of the gift of life. By taking the bread and wine, we affirm that we are part of the mystical Body of Christ in which all life is intimately connected and we experience the living reality of that unity empowering us to live as God’s people.

By our presence at the table around which we share this common meal we are bound together in Christ. We are made one by the living presence at the heart of all reality.

The energy that flows in bread and wine flows in our bodies and connects all of creation. In eucharist we encounter the Mysterious Living Presence that binds all life in one and we commit ourselves to living the implications of that unity in our daily lives.

So, the eucharist confronts us with a number of questions:

How am I nourishing my awareness of and my openness to the “more than” dimension of life?

How does the reality that God is present in the physical material stuff of life affect the way I live in relationship to the physical dimension of reality?

What practices deepen my awareness of the reality that all being is connected, that we are all part of an inter-dependent web of reality.

What are the practical implications in my life of my commitment to those with whom I share in the Eucharist?

How am I embodying the reality of connection that is signified by my presence with others at the table of the Lord?