The Tabernacle or the Canvas Bag: What Trader Joe’s Can Teach Us About the Eucharist

“Do not work for food that perishes but for the food that endures for eternal life.” John 6:27

Our son lives exactly one block from a Trader Joe’s, so whenever we visit him, it’s our go-to grocery spot. But during our last visit, we encountered a bizarre sight: a line of people wrapping around the block.

Naturally, we were confused. “Are they giving away free merchandise at Trader Joe’s?” we asked our son. “Maybe there’s a global shortage of paper toilet again, and nobody told us,” I thought to myself.

As it turns out, the frantic crowd wasn’t there for essentials. They were not even there for food. They were there for a mini canvas tote bag. Specifically, a striped Trader Joe’s bag that has somehow achieved mystical, viral status on social media. Intrigued—and deeply skeptical—I immediately looked up a picture to see what kind of high-fashion miracle this was.

My reaction: “Seriously? Are people completely out of their minds?

It’s just a regular canvas bag. It has pastel stripes. It says “Trader Joe’s.” That’s it. In fact, the day before I had received an almost identical bag from Target when I had a few items delivered to my hotel. The only difference was that mine was plain white, featured a red bullseye on one side, and “I’d rather be at Target” on the other side. (Which, given the line down the street, I think many of these people would have preferred that too).

The real kicker? The bags retail for $2.99, but because Trader Joe's limits their stock to create artificial scarcity, people are flipping them online for hundreds—sometimes thousands—of dollars. Hey, maybe I should list my Target bag on eBay to the highest bidder and fund my retirement.

The irony of this entire spectacle is that just a few blocks north of that frantic line, there’s a much greater treasure. And most of the time, it sits completely empty.

The neighborhood Catholic Church offers daily Mass, yet the pews are practically vacant. There are no hours-long lines, and no viral influencers drawing crowds through the doors. Inside, hidden in the Tabernacle, is the Eucharist—the actual Body, Blood, Soul, and Divinity of Jesus Christ. The Creator of the universe waits there, practically forgotten, while down the street, people camp out for a cheap piece of canvas.

I have been thinking that maybe we, Catholics, need to get some marketing lessons from Trader Joe’s. If I had to come up with a campaign to attract people to the Eucharist, it would simply be: “Come receive the Bread of Eternal Life. True presence. True life. True satisfaction for eternity.” Maybe, just maybe, we can have a line that wraps around the block of people trying to enter our churches to spend time visiting the Blessed Sacrament.

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