Now I'm no Latin scholar - the last Latin I learned was 25 years ago at school - so I have to acknowledge, with gratitude, the article in this weeks 'Tablet' which looked at the post Communion prayer of this Sunday's Mass and has helped me gain a new appreciation for what the prayer really says...
"Lord, you give us food from heaven. May we always hunger for the bread of life"
It would be so easy to take these few words at their face value in English and not seek the deeper meaning. It's not a simple matter of feeding and wanting only food that's good for us. The Latin version speaks of the Lord nourishing us with Heavenly delights. It enthuses and strengthens us when we join with the priest and ask that we should always and increasingly desire this heavenly nourishment. Not simple food, but that which sustains us: the breath of God Himself, in our living and our very existence.
So I was very glad that Father deliberately emphasised the word 'hunger' at Vigil Mass tonight. The English doesn't do the Latin justice, if you ask me, but at least we can hear that we should be emphatically and earnestly seeking more nourishment from God: not just physical food, but also the spiritual that sustains our souls and strengthens us in our lives to face the various trials that we all face from time to time without despair but with trust in the One who saves us, if only we let Him.
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