Apr 14 Fri
Our Lord remains with us in the tabernacle, and is solemnly exposed also, to be adored. I had never noticed Exodus 16:31-32:
“Now the house of Israel called its name manna; it was like coriander seed, white, and the taste of it was like wafers made with honey. And Moses said, ‘This is what the Lord has commanded: “Let an omer of it be kept throughout your generations, that they may see the bread with which I fed you in the wilderness, when I brought you out of the land of Egypt.’”

Manna is a forerunner to the Eucharist. It gave life in the desert as a gift from God to be eaten and save the people from starvation. Notice, however, that not all of it was meant, at least immediately, for eating. For the good of the people, manna was also meant to be displayed. The people would see and remember with gratitude how God had provided for them.

I looked further into the Old Testament antecedents to the Eucharist. That is when I discovered the Showbread, which was special bread that God commanded the priests to prepare each week and place on an altar in the Holy of Holies. On the great festival days in Jerusalem, the priests would lift the bread up and show it to the people, announcing to the gathered faithful, “Behold how precious you are to God.” The Showbread was also called the Bread of the Presence, meaning it was a display of the miraculous face of God to His people. The people did not eat the bread. They looked at it.

God was teaching His people to gaze upon His presence, to linger with Him. He was establishing a communion with them through a beautiful, aesthetic display. He revealed His majesty, even if in a veiled manner, and in doing so, created a connection between Himself and His children.

Our faith is not meant to be limited to what is functional.

Yes, of course, the primary purpose of the Eucharist is to be eaten. This is what Christ desires, that we consume Him and become more like Him in both His death and His life. But there’s a reason the Holy Sacrifice of the Mass is a mysterious, overlapping set of beautiful symbols. The Eucharist is the mystery of our faith, a precious jewel, and it won’t do to narrow the Blessed Sacrament down to the functional act of eating.
Perhaps we could say that there are two ways to eat —with the mouth and with the eyes. Equally important is that in the Eucharist, Christ is looking back at you.