Breaking of the Bread

by David Lins  |  04/16/2023  |  (Being) Catholic Matters

This Sunday’s First Reading comes to us from Acts 2:24-47 and we get a great glimpse of the Early Church.

“They devoted themselves to the teaching of the apostles and to the communal life, to the breaking of the bread, and to the prayers…

”Sound familiar? As in “every Sunday familiar?” (And I know, some of you who attend daily Mass are reading this and saying, “No David! Every day familiar!”)

In any case, this goes to the heart of why the Catholic Church maintains it is a sin to miss Sunday Mass. It is NOT because the Church thinks this is the best way to fill those collection baskets because—time for real talk—those folks who are only attending because they have to, don’t tend to be the biggest givers anyway. (I pray their hearts move from have to, to want to and –yes—that they recognize prayer, fasting, and almsgiving are all important in the life of a Catholic Christian.)

The Church teaches that Sunday Mass attendance is key to a life in Christ. We are not only called to an individual relationship with God, but a familial one as well. Both/and.

Think of it this way: I want a strong one-on-one relationship with my daughter, but I also cherish hearing her giggling with my wife in the other room. What good father doesn’t long for strong relationships between his children, and with their mother? Our God feels the same way—only moreso.

Not only that, but we are called to gather at the Eucharistic table as we have since the beginning. Ignatius of Antioch wrote in 110AD (Letter to the Romans), “I have no taste for corruptible food nor for the pleasures of this life. I desire the bread of God, which is the flesh of Jesus Christ.”

In the end, I guess you could say we are called to devote ourselves to the teaching of the apostles and the communal life, to the breaking of the bread, and to the prayers…

And to those of you who heroically attend Mass “alone,” I’m telling you that you are not alone. You are there with your great, big, Catholic family. And if you want, find me in the wheelchair (for now) near the musicians at the OLOJ 4:00PM Mass. I’m at that one most Sundays.