As a cradle Catholic, I think I sometimes miss important things about my faith that I’d for so long taken for granted. That’s why it’s so good to keep learning.

I say this because, lately, I’ve been longing to learn more about the greatest gift of mass–the Eucharist. Just like anything else in life–it never hurts to ask for what we want, right? And He is such a great teacher, gently guiding us from where we are to where we ask to be.

Well, this one particular Sunday morning–with my husband and older daughter out of town visiting his parents–my younger daughter and I (miracle #1) somehow managed to be early to mass.  I noticed some reading material in a side room outside the church, and this little booklet intended for children also caught my attention. Passing the time, she and I read silently about the first Christmas and how Jesus’ being born in a manger was not just about His being born into poverty, as I’d always interpreted.

The Oxford Dictionary definition for “manger” is: “A long trough from which horses or cattle feed,” but in a manger, while animals get nutrition for their physical needs, the symbolism of Jesus being born in one is that we get to receive spiritual nutrition from Him–the One, True Living Bread.

Ironically, this particular morning I went to church with a completely empty from the night before stomach, which was already growling. I had woken up late and was still feeling a bit off-kilter from last week’s time change, too. But I had decided it was good to be a bit hungry (a little extra fasting).  And as I listened to the Gospel, my ears seemed to more fully comprehend what I was hearing: that we receive nourishment from His Word, the sacraments and Holy Communion. I began to notice my Spirit awakening a bit.

In that moment, it occurred to me that in our world, it’s always so much easier to chastise one another–pointing out others’ faults and flaws, forgetting that it’s human nature for us to see others’ flaws in plain view yet be blind to our own. That’s the nature of sin, and why we should neither condemn nor invite others into accepting sinful behavior–that’s not of God.

Instead, we ARE all one with Him in the spirit of love, just as we are one with Him in suffering.  In a world of so many divisions, it’s uplifting to remember that truth in reciting the Our Father and partaking in Holy Communion during Mass.

And for those who are not Catholic or practicing a faith, this concept can also be interpreted through “The Golden Rule,” remembering to treat one another with kindness, as we would hope others would treat us.

Perhaps it is in those particular moments that we can affirm our oneness with each other and in Him.

The Spirit gives life; the flesh profits nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life  –John 6:63