"The way to a man’s heart is through his stomach". This is a Polish expression, very popular and frequently heard. I don’t know if it holds good in Scotland - nobody has yet tried it with me. Whether it is true or not, everyone knows very well, that a meal is not only a way to fill our bellies. A ceremonial lunch or supper accompanies many important events in our lives: a birthday, a date, a wedding, an anniversary, a funeral. You know the sort of thing. A table has the power to join people together, it helps to build a community. Quite often family problems start because of a lack of time or good will to meet together at table. Businessmen know well, that negotiations are easier, if they are made during a business lunch or supper.

When we look at the Old Testament, we find that almost every covenant between God and the people of Israel was sealed by a feast. On the other hand, many strayed from God beginning with an idol’s feast. The new covenant, formed between God and humankind by Jesus’ sacrifice, started at the Last Supper. It was the wedding feast, when Jesus Christ married his bride: the Church. He anticipated his death on the cross as he broke bread and wine for his disciples. It was the very first mass. The disciples understood it fully when the Holy Spirit came upon them.

Since the Last Supper every mass gives us an opportunity to take part in the sacrifice of Jesus. We can say with no exaggeration, that every time, we attend mass, we are sitting at the table with Jesus and his disciples during the Last Supper. We are standing at the foot of the cross, where Jesus is dying for you and me. Through liturgy and faith we are moved in spirit two thousand years back to the Holy Land.

We are invited as guests to a great celebration, a great feast of salvation. We are invited to fill not our bellies, but our souls. We are invited to take part in the feast that gives eternal life. And last but not least, we are invited to be part of a community. A community that finds its origin at the table and on the cross; a community that develops and grows up around the altar.