Yesterday I was at the grocery checkout, purchasing a bottle of nice merlot and loaf of hot french bread, a favorite meal. The charming gentleman bagging my purchase said to me, "Ah, you are going Catholic this evening."

That tickled me. I hadn't realized it, but maybe I was. Bread and wine. Body and blood. The spirit craves communion daily.

The wine, a fine compliment. Ruby red is my favorite. Robust. Fragrant. Warm and wonderful. "Wine is older than history," writer Philip Seldon explained. "Humans didn't invent wine. We discovered it--a natural process involving fruit and yeasts."

And the bread. A passionate memory of my trip to France included all the markets with fresh baguettes that merchants sold and handed to you over the counter. No bag, no packaging, just the bread. Hot and ready to break apart and devour. Fresh, chewy, and crusty.

"When you tear into a good baguette, warm from the hearth, the crust resists with a seductive cackle," wrote Daniel Leader and Judith Blahnik in their excellent cookbook, Bread Alone (1993). "As you chew on the golden thick crumb, you'll know why the French wanted a law making the baguette affordable forever."

Mmmm. Makes the mouth water just thinking about it...

Celebrate thy daily communion.