Few aromas are more comforting than the smell of bread baking in the oven. I have even heard that some realtors recommend baking bread on the morning of an open house in order to make the experience of the potential buyers welcoming and comforting!

Bread is a staple of our lives that is pretty much consumed every day in one form or another. Homemade bread of course is the best. Whenever our Portuguese parishioners celebrate a feast, I am asked to come to the Portuguese club to bless literally hundreds of loaves of home baked bread! It seems that bread is everywhere!

During these summer weeks, we are listening to a series of Gospel readings from St. John, all of which deal with the Bread of Life. Jesus uses this image because it was as much a staple for His time as it is for our own. And His symbols always span the ages.

In the second reading this weekend from Ephesians, Jesus is referred to as a “fragrant aroma”. That is an image I don’t think I ever noticed before. Like the smell of bread baking, it reminds us that Jesus had a comforting, welcoming presence that drew people to Himself. Jesus had an “air” about Him , a “fragrance” that made people feel at home with him. We have seen in recent weeks in St. Mark’s gospel how people flocked to Jesus and followed Him wherever He went. We all know people who have that same sense that embraces those around them. Those are the people who are easy to be with.

Jesus reaches out to embrace all of us – to bring us comfort and welcome, to help us feel at home, and to nourish us with the bread that brings nourishment and eternal life, The Body of Christ which we celebrate at every Eucharist. May our hunger be ever satisfied!