Can You “Taste and See” the Goodness of the Living Bread of Life at the Father’s “Bakery”?

Many Catholics go to Mass every Sunday. They fill the pews. But, how many of them really "taste and see" both the Word and the Eucharist, which are the two pillars of Catholic Mass? I wonder what is their reason to go to Mass – if they do not taste any. It must be so boring to be at Mass, then.

This is a symptom of a lukewarm faith, which grieves not only the Holy Spirit (i.e  Ephesians 4:30) but also Jesus. He said the below words to St. Faustina:

Souls without love or devotion, souls full of egoism and selfishness, proud and arrogant souls full of deceit and hypocrisy, lukewarm souls who have just enough warmth to keep themselves alive: My Heart cannot bear this. All the graces that I pour out upon them flow off them as off the face of a rock. I cannot stand them because they are neither good nor bad (Diary 1702). 

I have noticed and found it quite puzzling that many of these church-going Catholics are not really "tasting" the gifts from God – grace - at Mass. They just sit and be nice – at least, trying to look nice. Because going to Mass is more like "routine" to make them look "holy" - perhaps, "holier" than those who do not go to Church.

They may look “holier” than their neighbors, who no longer go to Mass, on the surface. But, in substance, who knows?  If their heart is absent from God, as it is preoccupied with worldly matters, as constantly appear on their iphones and smartphones, even during Mass, they may be far from being “holy” inside.

In truth, they are busy looking at their iphones and smartphones, covertly. They are at least courteous enough to put their phones on silent mode so that they are not nuisance and do not disturb Mass.  However, it clearly shows that God is not on their priority, as they are too busy to pay attention to Him, even in a house of worship.  What is on iphones and smartphones, such as Facebook messages, are more important than Mass.

They are physically present but spiritually absent from Mass. Again, it is what lukewarm faith makes, while grieving the Holy Spirit and the Lord. And, it is a symptom of egotism and such psychospiritual problem.

When they come out, their minds are more concerned about how to get the hell out of the church parking lot and what to eat for brunch, rather than savoring the aftertaste of the Word and the Eucharist.

This phenomena can be compared to the crowd that was once fed by Jesus on the shore of the Sea of Tiberius, miraculously out of five barley loaves and two fish, in John 6.  After being fed by Jesus, they kept chasing him and his disciples, even all the way to the other side of the Sea of Tiberius, hoping to get “free food” again and again.  

They were so preoccupied with what to put in their stomach rather than what is to nourish their soul.

Sensing this problem of the crowd, Jesus began to tell the crowd his intention of feeding.  This talk is known as the Bread of Life Discourse (John 6:22-59). We read this for the 18^th Sunday (vv. 24-35), the 51-58) in Ordinary Time on Cycle B to understand , what Jesus meant by multiplying the five loaves of barley bread and two fish and what he meant by his self-identification as the “Bread of Life” and the “Living Bread of Life”.

The crowd was more preoccupied with Jesus’ Nazarean family roots, such as being a son of Joseph the carpenter.  Their mind was obsessed with earthly matter. Because of this, they missed the essence of Jesus and his discourse.  This problem prompted them to become upset with Jesus and his discourse, resulting in their rejection. This means that the crowd’s problem resulted in rejecting the Living Bread of Life, which would lead to their resurrection at the end of time.  They did not care, because they were more concerned about something rather earthly.

To me, these pew-filling Catholics too busy to pay attention to God and His grace through the Word and the Eucharist at Mass, seem to be worth being compared to the crowd, who sought Jesus but rejected in John 6.

What is a problem in this picture  - the problem with the crowd in John 6 and the problem with these pew-filling church going Catholics looking at their high-tech phones during Mass?  And how can we resolve this problem?

One hint is found in the second reading for the 19^th Sunday in Ordinary Time on Cycle B - Ephesians 4:30-5:2.

In Ephesians 4:30, Paul tells,  “Grieve not the Holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption”.

Who gives a grief to the Holy Spirit, who is, in essence, God, as the Son, Jesus, is so?

Who gives a grief to Jesus, who is the Living Bread of Life? And, who gives a grief to God, whose grace as in the Word and the Eucharist are celebrated with our thanksgiving?

How we impose grief to the Holy Spirit – Jesus, the Living Bread of Life – God? 

Paul also reminds us that those who cause grief to the Holy Spirit have a psychospiritual problem. In other words, their heart is filthy as it is defiled.

As written in Mark 7:15, Jesus has also indicated that psychospiritual filth within us – within our heart – can corrupt everything that comes out of us.

If our heart is filled with filth – often resulting from and in earthly matters, as symbolized with what is on iphones and what to fill our stomach,  then, how can we “taste and see the goodness of the Lord” (Psalm 34:8) – the εὐωδία/euodia (sweet aroma) (Ephesians 5:2) in the Living Bread of Life, which is offered at Mass in the Sacrament of the Eucharist, along with the Word, as we cannot live with the bead (not to be confused with the Bread) alone (Deuteronomy 8:3; Matthew 4:4).  In fact, the Word we “tasted and see” leads to the Living Bread of Life, as it is the flesh of Christ (John 6:51, 53, 55), which is what the Word has become to dwell among us (John 1:14).

What is the psychospiritual problem to be so ignorant and indifferent about this priceless Bread, which is not the kind of bread that cannot sustain our life?! How come we can afford to be so stupid to refuse this Living Bread of Life with the εὐωδία/euodia that leads to eternal life through resurrection?

To me, the Father in Heaven, Adonai, the Creator and Provider (just as Joseph, the step father of Jesus is celebrated at the St. Joseph Table Feast on March 19 for), is the baker, bringing us fresh loaf of the Living Bread of Life with sweet aroma.  No wonder we pray, “Give us this day, our daily bread….”.

In this sense, Mass is the Father’s bakery, with sweet aroma.

When we go to Mass, we should not care about what is on our Facebook…who is posting what….who is calling and texting us , as we are busy “tasting and seeing the goodness of the Lord” – the εὐωδία/euodia of the Living Bread of Life, which is also the Word that has become flesh thanks to Immaculate Mary’s cooperation with the Father.  

Let us make sure that our senses are not compromised so that we can appreciate the sweet aroma and savor the Living Bread of Life, “baked” fresh every day.  To have uncompromised sense, our heart must be clean. For this, we must remove all the filths out of our heart (Ephesians 4:31). Let us not grieve the Holy Spirit, either, as we remove filths from our heart.

From now on, we shall attend Mass with our clean heart and clear senses to maximize our savoring of the Living Bread of Life with the Word, amused by the sweet aroma, as we are at the Father’s “bakery”.