Buddhist Catholic Contemplative Evangelical General Christian Hindu Jewish Latter-day Saint Muslim New Visions Progressive Christian

Beliefs

Topics

Columnists

Resource Library

Research Tools

Video

Podcasts

Thought Readers

Faith In Media Tracker

Newsletters

Ad-Free & Subscriber Log-In Subscription Support

Follow Patheos

Home
Catholic
A Eucharistic Reflection for World Food Day

A Eucharistic Reflection for World Food Day

Last updated on: May 3, 2017 at 7:02 pm by Brett Salkeld

A Eucharistic Reflection for World Food Day 2017-05-03T19:02:16-05:00 Brett Salkeld

LOGO Patheos Explore the world's faith through different perspectives on religion and spirituality! Patheos has the views of the prevalent religions and spiritualities of the world.

Can you guess where this food came from? Click on the image to find out.

Today at Regis College here in Toronto we celebrated World Food Day. The event began with that greatest of foods, the Eucharist, and was followed by talks from various perspectives and, of course, eating. My mind is absolutely swimming or, perhaps better, stuffed, and I’d like to share with you a few thoughts from the day.

My first thought was, “Is there anything the Bible talks about more than food?” Just think about it. From the bounty of Eden and the meal gone wrong to the wedding feast of the lamb, the Bible never stops talking about food. There is, of course, the Passover, instituted at the time of Israel’s liberation so that it would become absolutely central to Israelite identity. Many of the prescriptions in the Old Testament dealt with food – and not merely with its ritual purity, as is commonly supposed, but with its just distribution. And let’s not forget that the whole worship system of the temple was a barbeque.

Of course, we hear in the gospels that Jesus’ habit of feasting was so well known that he was called a glutton and a drunkard. Many of the great gospel stories – the feeding of the 5,000, the road to Emmaus, the Last Supper – are meal stories. And who can forget Paul’s rage at the Corinthian church for their unjust and unholy eating?

The Bible is chock full of stories about food and eating. But why?

Because food is, quite literally, life.

There is a tradition in the eastern Church that teaches that all food was meant to be Eucharist. God has given us life, and so we give thanks, which is what the word Eucharist means. Every meal should be eaten in gratitude for all that we have been given. But we ate ungratefully. What is the Eden story about if not ingratitude? We had everything we could possibly want, but we allowed ourselves to be seduced into wanting the impossible – to be other than what we were. And to wish to be other than oneself is to spurn God’s greatest gift.

All food was supposed to be Eucharist, but our ingratitude upset the balance and desacralized, unconsecrated, the world. This is why Jesus comes to us precisely as food. Food is life and Jesus is life. Our gratitude for our redemption must echo back and become gratitude for our creation. And so, when we take the Eucharist, we take that which reminds us of our intimate relationship with the whole created order. Bread and wine are made of dirt and sunshine, water and oxygen – earth, water, wind, fire.

At least, the Eucharist should remind us of our intimate connection with creation.

Two of our presenters today were young men working to set up community garden projects. Last year they produced so much food that the gardeners who had worked for it couldn’t eat it all, and they made massive donations to the local food bank. And they produced it all for free. The only donations they took were some seeds, but they now reclaim seeds from their produce and maintain a seed bank. They actually turned down money. They said, “What can I do with $20? I’d rather get to know you. If you want to help out, why not swing by the garden some time?”

I didn’t get the impression that these young men were Christians, though they may well have been, but the whole time they were talking, images from Scripture were bouncing around my head. A massive community garden with no financial input? Eden! Unexpected largesse given to the poor? The feeding of the 5,000!

But what really got me was when they talked about how food had brought the community together. Working on a common project and sharing common meals had introduced them to so many people they would never have met otherwise. And working in an economy that was not a zero-sum game had brought so much life. The connection with their food system gave them an elation that they could only express in cosmic terms. Their language about taking off their shoes and feeling connected to the universe might have struck some as a bit new-agey, but the fact is that, for most of the history of the Church, the people receiving the Eucharist knew a lot more than most of us today about where our food comes from.

For those of us whose food arrives prepackaged in a cooler at the nearest grocery chain, it is very difficult to recapture a sense of the deep symbolism of the Eucharist. When we try, as I’m trying in this piece, to lay it out, it often becomes so didactic that it stops functioning precisely as a symbol. Or, at least, what used to be a natural symbol has become an arbitrary symbol, and arbitrary symbols cannot shape community with the same kind of impact as what people feel naturally in their souls.

How many of us gloss over “give us this day our daily bread”? I suspect it’s not so easy to gloss over if you and most of the people you know are farmers depending on this year’s crop. Or if you bake your own bread every day from grain you grew yourself.

Eucharist should tie us intimately with the rest of creation, should remind us of the cosmic nature of our salvation (“God will be all in all,” not just in bread and wine), should tell us who we are, namely creatures, utterly dependent on a creator.

Another thing struck me very deeply, perhaps because, as a father of 3, I am held suspect by many for my use of the world’s resources. The province of Ontario contains some of the best farmland in North America. Toronto itself is built on a particularly rich tract of land. But if Toronto’s supply lines were cut off, the city would be out of food in 3 days. We have the capacity to grow a very significant percentage of our own food, but we don’t do it. We grow a lot of grass, but not food. But, far worse than this, 40% of the food produced in Ontario is wasted. 40%!

Grocery stores, restaurants, catering companies and cafeterias toss out huge percentages of their inventory daily. More prepared meals from the average deli are thrown out than sold. The industry calls it “shrinkage.” The next time someone gives me grief for my family size I’m going to ask them if they have a garden!

In the spirit of St. Ignatius, the young Jesuit who organized our celebration of World Food Day went begging locally to see if he could provide hospitality for the event from the leftovers of local restaurants and cafeterias. He was turned down because of liability issues (though a couple Catholic residences and a student hub donated fresh, rather than leftover, food).

Instead of feeding anyone, it ended up in one of these:

Locked Dumpster

I couldn’t help but think back, on hearing these obscene facts, of the meal I had just shared in the chapel. There was enough for everyone, but when I noticed, walking back from communion, a small crumb in the palm of my hand, I reverently brought it up to my mouth and took it on my tongue, careful not to waste the smallest morsel. I knew that my life was in my hands. Everything left over was gathered. It ended up in one of these:

Locked Tabernacle

And though both were locked, they were locked for opposite reasons: one to keep the starving out, the other so that the starving would always have access.

Food is life. It should be treated with reverence.

Brett Salkeld is a doctoral student in theology at Regis College in Toronto. He is a father of three (so far) and husband of one.

Brett Salkeld

Eucharist

Food

Previous Post

October 19, 2011

A Song, to the Slough

Next Post

October 20, 2011 Preferental option "against" the poor

Browse Our Archives

Select a Category 2019 A Consistent Ethic of Life Aaron Weldon Abortion absurdity Abuse Scandal Academics Adoption Advent Africa agreement/disagreement with Church teaching Alexander Schmemann Alexham Alterity America Amnesty International Anarchism angels Anglicanism Animals Annual Statistics Anthony Anxietas Apocalyptic Apophatic Appalachia Aquinas Art Atheism Atonement Augustine Authority Baptism Beauty Bible biblical criticism biblical scholarship Bioethics Bishops Black Catholics Black Theology Blackadder Blogs Books Breastfeeding Brett Salkeld Buddhism Bush administration Byzantine Catholic Calvinism Canada Canon Law Capital Punishment Capitalism Caryll Houselander Catholic Blog Awards Catholic Blogging Catholic League Catholic Social Teaching Catholic Worker Movement Catholicity CFL Charity Children Chris West Christ and Culture Christian Democracy Christian Unity Christmas Christology Church Church Doctrine Church History Climate Change Cohabitation Colbert Collegiality Communion Communism Comparative Theology Competition Conferences conscience conscience rights Consequentialism Consistent Life Ethics Consumerism Contraception Contrition Conversion Converts Coptic COVID-19 Creation Critical Thinking Cross Cuba Culture Culture of Death Culture of Life Darfur David Cruz-Uribe David Wheeler-Reed Death Death Penalty Democracy Demons Desert Fathers Devil Dialogue dignity Disability Disarmament discernment Discipleship discrimination Dissent Distributism Division Doctrine Domestic Church Dorothy Day Double Effect Doubt Down syndrome Driving Early Church Easter Eastern Churches Ecclesiology Economics Economy Ecumenism Education El Salvador Election Election 2020 Ellul Embryonic Stem Cell Research Empire Energy Enlighenment Environmentalism Ephraim Radner Episcopal Church epistemology Equality Eschatology Ethics Eucharist Europe Euthanasia Evangelization Evil Evolution Excommunication F.X. Durrwell Facism Facts Fair Trade Faith Family Fashion Feddie Feminism Feminist theology Fertility Fetal Rights Fiction Film Finances First Things flags Folk Religion Food Foreign Affairs Forgiveness Frank Sheed Free Speech Freedom gay & lesbian persons Genocide George W. Bush George Weigel Gerald L. Campbell Girard/Mimetic Theory Global Warming Globalization Gnosticism Good Friday Grace Gratitude Greed Grey Cup 2009 Guadalupe Guest Post Guest Posts Gun Control Gustave Martelet Habitat for Humanity Hans Urs von Balthasar Harry Potter Hate Speech Health Health Care Healthcare Heather King Hebrew Bible Henri de Lubac Henry Karlson Herbert McCabe Heresy HHS Mandate Controversy History Holidays Holiness Holy Spirit Homiletics Homily Homosexuality Hope Hospitality How Far Can We Go? How Far Can We Go? Human Person Human Rights Humanae Vitae Humility Humor Hunger Hunting Identity Idolatry Ignacio Ellacuría Imagination Immigration In Memoriam Income Inequality Inculturation Indigenous People Individualism Inklings Intellect Interdependence Internet Interpretation Interviews Introduction Iraq War Islam Israel Jain James Alison James Martin Jazz Jesus Christ Jews Joe Biden Joe Hargrave Johann Baptist Metz John Allen John Henry Newman John Paul II John the Baptist John XXIII Jonathan Josef Pieper Joseph (the husband of Mary) Joseph Bernardin Joseph Ratzinger Josh Brumfield Journals Joy Judgment Just War Justice Kari Lundgren Karl Rahner Katerina Ivanovna Kenya Keynes Kingdom of God Kyle R. Cupp Labor Language Latin America Law Leanne Ogasawara Legion of Christ Leisure Lent Liberalism Liberation Theology Libertarianism Libya Lies Life life & dignity & responsibility of the human person Literature Little Way Liturgical music Liturgical Year Liturgy Living Simply Living Wage Local Church Lombard Lord of the Rings Louis Dupre Love M.Z. Magic Magisterium Mark DeFrancisis Mark Gordon Marriage Martin Luther Martin Luther King Jr. Martyrdom Marxism Mary Masculinity Matt Talbot Matthew Fish Matthew Levering McCain Media Memorial Day Mennonites Mental Illness mercy Michael Iafrate Middle East militarism Miroslav Volf Mitt Romney Modesty Moral Theology Morality Mormonism Morning's Minion Mother Teresa Music Muslims Natalie Nate Wildermuth Nationalism Native Americans Nature Nazis Neuhaus New Evangelization New York City News NFP nihilism Nonviolence Not Abortion Nova's Ordo Nuclear weapons Nuns Obama Occult Old Age Opus Dei Ordination ordination of women original sin Orthodoxy Oscar Romero Other Voices Pacifism Palestine Palin Papacy Papal Peace Messages Papal Social Encyclicals Particular Affections Partisanship Patriotism Paul Paul Ryan Paul VI Peace Pentimento persecution Personalism Phantastes Philosophy PKD Planned Parenthood Pluralism Poetry Policraticus Politcal Apathy Politics Poll Pope Benedict XVI Pope Francis Pope John Paul II Pope Leo XIV Population Postcolonialsim Poverty Power Prayer Preaching Predictions Predictions for 2012 President Barack Obama priestly formation & discernment Pro-Life Progress Prophetic Witness Proportionalism Public Diplomacy Public Policy Question Quotes Rachel Maddow Racism Radical Catholic Mom Radical Catholicism Raymund Schwager Real Catholic TV Real Presence Reconciliation Reginald Garrigou-Lagrange Religion religious freedom Responsibility Ressourcement Resurrection Rick Garnett Ridiculous Crap You Never Thought You'd See Robert Barron Roe v. Wade Roman Curia Rome Russia Sacraments Saints Salvation History Sam Harris Sam Rocha Same-sex Marriage Saskatchewan Roughriders Satire School of the Americas Science Scripture Seamless Garment Second Vatican Council Seeing Sex sexual violence Sexuality Sia Sin social justice Social Security Socialism Society of Jesus Sofia Loves Wisdom Solidarity Sophia soteriology Soutenus Spirituality Sports St. Dismas St. Joseph Stanley Hauerwas Statistics Stimulus Suffering Sunday Reflections Supernatural Supreme Court Symbolism Syria Taxing Technology Terrorism The State The Tea Party The Trump Administration Theological Anthropology Theology Theotokos Thomas Merton Throwaway Culture Tim Muldoon Tim Riley Tim Tebow Time Titian Tolkien Torture Toys Trade Traditionalism Transgender Transportation Transubstantiation Trinity Truth TV U.S. Affairs Uncategorized Unions unity among people who disagree US Catholicism USCCB Usury Utilitarianism Utopia Valentine's Day Vatican Vatican II Veterans Vicarious Suffering Video Violence Virgin Mary Vocations Voluntary Associations Voluntary Poverty Voting Vox Nova vox nova blog war War and Peace War Strategy Wealth Weirdness Welfare state Women Women Priests Work Woundedness Youth

Select a Month June 2026 May 2025 February 2025 January 2025 July 2024 May 2024 April 2024 March 2024 February 2024 January 2024 December 2023 July 2023 March 2023 January 2023 December 2022 November 2022 October 2022 September 2022 August 2022 July 2022 June 2022 November 2021 September 2021 July 2021 June 2021 May 2021 April 2021 February 2021 January 2021 December 2020 November 2020 October 2020 September 2020 August 2020 July 2020 June 2020 May 2020 April 2020 March 2020 February 2020 January 2020 December 2019 November 2019 September 2019 August 2019 July 2019 June 2019 April 2019 March 2019 February 2019 January 2019 December 2018 November 2018 October 2018 September 2018 August 2018 July 2018 June 2018 May 2018 April 2018 March 2018 February 2018 January 2018 December 2017 November 2017 October 2017 September 2017 August 2017 July 2017 June 2017 May 2017 April 2017 March 2017 February 2017 January 2017 December 2016 November 2016 October 2016 September 2016 August 2016 July 2016 June 2016 May 2016 April 2016 March 2016 February 2016 January 2016 December 2015 November 2015 October 2015 September 2015 August 2015 July 2015 June 2015 May 2015 April 2015 March 2015 February 2015 January 2015 December 2014 November 2014 October 2014 September 2014 August 2014 July 2014 June 2014 May 2014 April 2014 March 2014 February 2014 January 2014 December 2013 November 2013 October 2013 September 2013 August 2013 July 2013 June 2013 May 2013 April 2013 March 2013 February 2013 January 2013 December 2012 November 2012 October 2012 September 2012 August 2012 July 2012 June 2012 May 2012 April 2012 March 2012 February 2012 January 2012 December 2011 November 2011 October 2011 September 2011 August 2011 July 2011 June 2011 May 2011 April 2011 March 2011 February 2011 January 2011 December 2010 November 2010 October 2010 September 2010 August 2010 July 2010 June 2010 May 2010 April 2010 March 2010 February 2010 January 2010 December 2009 November 2009 October 2009 September 2009 August 2009 July 2009 June 2009 May 2009 April 2009 March 2009 February 2009 January 2009 December 2008 November 2008 October 2008 September 2008 August 2008 July 2008 June 2008 May 2008 April 2008 March 2008 February 2008 January 2008 December 2007 November 2007 October 2007 September 2007 August 2007 July 2007 June 2007 May 2007

TAKE THE

Religious Wisdom Quiz

What does "meek" mean in the Beatitudes?

Select your answer to see how you score.

Funny Very rich Angry and harsh Gentle and humble