Nourishing the Spirit 

   I do the best I can to nourish my body.  I exercise to keep myself moving and try to eat a reasonable diet.  I go to the doctor for checkups to help ensure my physical health.  All these things I do because I want to remain healthy.  They will hopefully make life more comfortable and enjoyable and, if God wills, may add a short time to my lifespan.  It is common sense to do these things.  Yet in the end, none of these things will eliminate my death.

   If I am willing to do all this to help my physical well-being, should I not be even more eager to do the same for my soul, for the spirit that lives within me.  My earthly life is certain to end at some point, but my soul is eternal.  It would be senseless to ignore the needs of the spirit.

   My spirit is nourished in many ways.  First and foremost by faithful attendance at Mass.  Without proper worship of the Lord the spirit cannot grow and flower.  Receiving the word and the sacraments are the nutritional supplements given to me by Christ to refresh and renew my spirit; without them it weakens; without them it will wither and die.

   No one would choose to quit eating, yet many stay away from Mass and the Eucharist, the bread of life.  Jesus said, “I am the living bread which 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.” (John 6: 51).  This is the bread that will nourish my soul, the body, blood, soul, and divinity of Jesus Christ present in the Eucharist.

   If I don’t properly feed my body it will die; if I don’t properly feed my spirit, my soul will never reach heaven. 

My spirit must be fed.

You are the bread of life.

Give me this bread always.

That I may live with You in eternity. 

Amen