What would a walk around Columbus' historic Italian Village neighborhood be without passing a beautiful church, Chiesa Italiana San Giovanni Battista (Church of St. John the Baptist)?
The cornerstone having been laid in early 1898, St. John the Baptist was conceived as a location to minister to the needs of Columbus' Italian population. More than a century later, the church stands strong as a place of worship, as well as the host of the annual Italian Festival.
What struck me about St. John the Baptist and caused me to wonder is the juxtaposition to its next door neighbor, the old Wonder Bread bakery.
It made me think back to the day when I taught CCD (Confraternity of Christian Doctrine) to 2nd graders, the year they received their First Holy Communion. There is wonder and joy in this sacrament and the wonder and joy evolves as we grow. And boy, is there wonder in 2nd graders.
We gathered as a class the week after the little ones received their First Communion and talked about this first experience. We talked about all the family members who came to share in this special day, the gifts they received, the clothes they wore. But one of the students commented that she really liked the God bread.
“The God bread?” I asked.
She went on to explain that “God gives us bread as a gift every week and he gave us Jesus. This is a pretty big deal. I wonder why we don’t get a bigger piece of bread.” A communion host was her piece of wonder bread.
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