"The Eucharist is not a reward for the perfect, but food for the sinner."

- Pope Francis, Evangelii Gaudium 47

When we sit down to eat, we enact something sacred.

Not just because food keeps us alive - but because sharing food is the oldest human ritual of belonging.

In a world where people are divided, displaced, wounded - Eucharist does not sit aloof. It goes into the mess. It walks into the room of betrayal. It shares bread with the one who will run, with the one who will deny, with the one who just doesn't understand.

Eucharist is not earned. It is given.

Jesus does not wait for perfection. He feeds.

"Take and eat. This is my body."

He gives his very self - not just for the worthy, but for the weary. Not just for the clean, but for those covered in dust.

Eucharist and the World

The world is hungry: for peace, for dignity, for hope. The Eucharist is God's answer - not by solving problems from a distance, but by becoming bread in our hands.

As Pope Francis writes in Laudato Si' (236):

"The Eucharist joins heaven and earth; it embraces and penetrates all creation. The whole cosmos gives thanks to God."

Even the earth is taken up into this gift. The wheat and the vine. The sun and the rain. All redeemed, all caught up into the mystery.

So when we share Eucharist, we are not just remembering. We are joining. Joining Christ's body, and joining the aching world he loved.

Suggestions for Prayer

• As you sit at table, recall who Christ welcomed to his.

• Say quietly before eating: "Feed me, Lord - not because I am holy, but because I am hungry."

• Reflect: Where am I most in need of nourishment - body, soul, or trust?

  Scripture Anchors

• "Love one another as I have loved you." (John 13:34)

• "Do this in memory of me." (Luke 22:19)

• "I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry." (John 6:35)

For the Coming Days

Let the table become your altar. Not just in church, but at home.

Not just with wafers, but with whatever bread you break.

Let each meal remind you: God is not far away - He is food, in the middle of our lives.