PORTSMOUTH, VA. (Catholic Online) - "Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." (John 6:35)

As I prepared for Holy Week this year I reflected with gratitude on the deep roots of my Catholic Christian faith - and most especially, the gift of Jesus Christ, the Bread of Life. With the Passover set before me, how I longed for the unleavened bread of the season. Easter Sunday - and the essence of all that I live for - is held in the Ciborium and the Chalice offered by the Priest.

Bread and Wine - Body and Blood. Leaving Egypt - finding the Promised Land; a world of bread and honey. Leaving our sins and the separation from God they cause. Finding our eternal food and Holy Communion in the Body and Blood of Jesus Christ.

Bread and Wine - Body and Blood. The end of sin's dark reign, freedom from captivity, the gift of Resurrection and the newness of life, all given through our Lord's loving sacrifice for us all. "Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." (John 6:35)

As this Semana Santa (Holy Week) concluded I welcomed the Triduum, the Great Three days. I know that I will awaken on Easter morning to a renewed sense of light after what has been such a long Lenten desert journey! 

I look forward to standing at the brick oven in our back Courtyard and making the Easter Bread for the family. There will be three eggs wrapped in that Easter Challah, the eggs of new life, the number symbolizing the Trinity. The Challah is a bread of sweet celebration and Easter is our Feast! It was St. Augustine who proclaimed, "We are Easter people and alleluia is our song!"

And we are nourished in our life, both naturally and supernaturally, on Bread. Bread, you might ask? Is Dr. Denton, the promoter of beautiful living and healthy eating, recommending bread?

Bread is looked upon almost as an "evil" food in most fad diets these days. Yet, the Essence of all we live for is in the Holy Eucharist, the last supper, the Seder meal, transformed through the Sacrificial gift of Jesus Christ, the new Passover Lamb. Jesus Himself is the Bread of Life. From the Old to the New Testaments the place of bread has been one of honor and hope.. of Life! "Jesus said to them, "I am the bread of life; whoever comes to me will never hunger, and whoever believes in me will never thirst." (John 6:35)

Clearly the grains of wheat from the field eaten by our Lord and his disciples were not "evil". Would our Lord eat an unhealthy grain? Interestingly the answer to the question may not be in the grain but in how we treat the gifts given to us. An overindulgence of a processed grain is probably not the same as those wheat berries in the field? Shocker I know! But remember, you can't make "wonder bread" one loaf at a time.

Real Bread is substantive and can be baked and enjoyed by those who receive it as a gift. The wheat grain that is used to make real bread has a significant amount of nutritional benefits. One cup of wheat grain contains approximately 330 calories of carbohydrates (87.1gm) (59% of those carbohydrates are dietary fiber) 19 calories of fat (2.2gm) and 59 calories of protein (33gms). Contained within the gift is Vitamin A and nearly all the B vitamins except B 12. The fat content has no trans-fats and contains both omega 3 and omega 6 fatty acids. As for minerals. Power House!!!!

Calcium  40.8 mg  4% DV
Iron   4.7 mg  26%   DV
Magnesium 166 mg  41%   DV
Phosphorus 415mg  42%   DV
Potassium 486mg  14%   DV
Sodium  6mg  0% DV 
Zinc  3.5mg  23%   DV
Copper  .5mg  23%   DV
Manganese 4.6mg  228% DV
Selenium 84.8  121% DV

Oh, by the way, there is on average 12 grams of water in that cup of wheat. Our daily caloric requirement for the average female and male are between 1500 and 2000 calories per day. Daily Values (%DV) are the percentage of a mineral or vitamins found in foods based on the intake of 2000 calories

So let me get this right Dr D... In roughly a handful of whole wheat grain I get about 20% of my daily calorie needs.  I get 33% of my protein, 59% daily fiber - 29% of my carbohydrates, and 5 % of my daily fat needs!!!!! Wow, bring on the fish and close the deal.

Oh that's right, fish and bread, I think I remember something about those two in the Bible? Luke 9: 16. So .why all this bad press about bread?

In America we love to make things fast and efficient for mass production. The down side is that in this obsession to make every loaf of bread look, feel, ...