One of the things all life on our planet needs to survive is food. To most of us, a meal is a time when we relax and enjoy our food with friends or family. Most of the important events in our lives are always marked with a meal, such as Christenings, Weddings and Birthdays are traditionally celebrated with some sort of party containing food and drink. There’s no indication whatever that Jesus was a connoisseur of food or drink and dining out on a sumptuous meal was certainly out of the question. There is however plenty of evidence that Jesus would often curtail his ministry in order to get some rest and would enjoy sharing a good long meal with his disciples, often using this relaxed atmosphere to explain to them all about his ”Fathers Kingdom.” The meals of course would have been very simple, prepared and cooked over a makeshift fire. The exception to this was when Christ joined his disciples in the upstairs room and in the breaking of bread and the offering of wine, he tried to explain to them his future suffering and death on the cross on a lonely hillside.

Jesus enjoyed the world he lived in, created by his Father and he told us to enjoy our world as much as we can also. But he also reminded us that we must try and help others less fortunate than ourselves, the poor, the hungry and the oppressed. Let us try to model ourselves on Jesus every time we sit down for a meal. Let us bury all reasons for fault finding and anxieties and let all our future meal timesserve as a rest from troubles and be a place for renewed enthusiasm in our lives.

“Lord, as we attend this Mass, give us an unfailing confidence
in your word and in your teachings.”