This is one of those times in the year when we hear sentences that start with “I can’t believe…” As in, “I can’t believe August is almost over!” or “I can’t believe it’s Labor Day weekend already.” Variations on the theme include questions like “where did the summer go?” and statements about time speeding up as age increases. It happens every year, this turn of the season from summer to fall, but it sneaks up on us just the same….

During the Eucharist, we break bread to share in the body of Christ. Though we are many, we are one body, because we all share in one bread.

This reminds us that we are bound to Christ, to one another, as well as the whole body of the church as we share in this public act of commitment and expression of loyalty to Christ our Lord.

“Those who eat my flesh and drink my blood abide in me, and I in them.” We may not be able to explain where grace resides in this act, but if we could, we would no doubt lose an important part of the journey of exploration which we call faith…

am away on vacation, and in my absence I offer this excerpt from an essay written by Brian Doyle titled “The Most Beautiful Boat.” While a bit longer in length than most of our written meditations, I hope you enjoy it:

He is nine and I am ten. We are brothers. We share a room upstairs. Our beds are six feet apart. His bed is under the window because he likes to look at the shoulders and the fingers of the burly maple trees outside…..