Become What You Eat
One time, while walking in a mall, I saw a comic strip that showed two women eating in a restaurant and engaged in a conversation. One of them had a plate of salad before her. The other had a big plate of fillet mignon with mashed potatoes on the side and a large glass of soda. One of the women said to the other, “You know, you become what you eat.” The other woman, grossly overweight, replied, “I want to eat slim people!”
You are what you eat. Nutritionists and dietitians will attest that there is great truth in that statement. Not only is this true in the culinary circle but in the realm of the spiritual as well. Today’s Responsorial Psalm antiphon illustrates this: “Man does not live on bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.”
God’s Word in Scriptures sustains us in our pilgrim way. As a sacrament, Jesus gave Himself as food and drink for our spiritual journey. His flesh is real food, His blood is real drink. In the realm of the physical, food becomes a part of the ones who consume it. Physical food is digested, disappears and is absorbed by the body. In the realm of the spiritual, it should be the other way around. When we consume the Eucharist, we allow ourselves to be absorbed, transformed and appropriated by the One we consume. When we feed on the Word of God in the Scriptures, we allow ourselves to be transformed by the Words that we read.
This is why in the Gospel we hear Jesus say, “Come, follow me.” We conform ourselves to God, not the other way around. How does this happen? God and His Word must be included in our daily diet. Listen to the words of today’s psalm: “With all my heart I seek you... My soul is consumed with longing for your ordinances at all times. Behold I long for your precepts, I gasp with open mouth in my yearning for your commands.” Fr. Joel Jason
REFLECTION QUESTIONS: Is the Holy Eucharist the reference point of your daily, or at least Sunday, schedule? Or is it the last in the agenda? Do you set aside regular times for Scripture reading?
Jesus, open my mouth in my yearning for Your commands. May Your Word consume me daily.
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