The Abundance of Faith

Many a man curses the rain that falls upon his head, and knows not that it brings abundance to drive away hunger. [St. Basil]

Yesterday's first reading (Genesis 2:7-9, 3: 1-7) details the Fall of Adam and Eve and the story of original sin. What we see in Adam and Eve is a focus on what God withheld from them and not the abundance of creation that He gifted them. They were given "...every tree that is pleasant to the sight and good for food..."  They narrowed their focus to the one thing that they did not have access. Their failure to joyfully accept the incredible amount of blessing God had bestowed on them led to humanity's downfall.

We still sin in the same way even today. We don't trust God to provide for our needs. We want to control our circumstances. We want to know what the future holds. We ponder the difficult question of why bad things happen in our lives or why evil exists in the world; herein lies our poverty of spirit as humans. Faith is the need to place our trust in a persistent and consistent God, to choose life over death.

The beginning of a lifestyle change or a Lenten sacrifice can also feel like a time of depravity. We focus on what is missing, what we are "giving up." When we eat healthfully though, we actually feel more nourished and full and energized. When we sacrifice, we loosen the chains of anything with power over us and become more free, while gaining meaningful focus. The same becomes true during this "desert" of Lent where we can come to experience true spiritual richness and joy.

Yesterday's Gospel (Matthew 4:1-11) detailed the story of Jesus' temptation by the devil in the desert. The devil attempted to point out the ways where Jesus seemingly had "poverty": bread to fill his hunger, trust in God's saving power and earthly glory. Jesus showed that He only had eyes for God's will and providence in his resistance of temptation. The tree of life should be our spiritual focus, meaning the tree of the cross. This is exactly where God enters into our world and redeems - at the cross - where death is resurrected to life. Our spiritual abundance is realized at Easter with the Resurrection. 

Where is your focus? On those places in your life where you feel that God "withholds" things from you  ...or on the sheer abundance of blessings that God showers upon your life? Surely God has filled your life like a flourishing garden as He did for Adam and Eve, even if you struggle to notice or cannot recognize it. Remember, a grateful heart is a loving heart. Ask God to show you the places in your life where you can show more gratitude.

In this season of Lent, let us fast from all that controls our lives, that we might live by God's word alone. May we always turn away from sin, from the tendency to only see what is withheld from us and place our trust in Him instead. Let us choose life over death, the life of abundance that God alone offers.

+Saturari,

Amanda

Lent and Avoiding the Spiritual Diet

What matters most should never be left to the mercy of what matters least. [Matthew Kelly]

The Lenten season – my favorite time in the Church calendar – begins this Wednesday, March 1st. Being my favorite, I try to make the most of these forty days, in hopes that it will bear spiritual fruits in my life. Lent is strongly connected to the renewal of our baptisms, so I pray that we might be refreshed and renewed!

The hallmarks of Lent are prayer, fasting and almsgiving. They are penitential in nature, signifying purification of our interior life and “expressing conversion in relation to oneself, to God and to others” (CCC, 1434). The Church offers many opportunities for a clean slate and Lent is an extended season to focus on that mercy and forgiveness. Amen to that!

Prayer means our direct communication with God.  In fact, prayer is our very relationship with God. More time dedicated to prayer during Lent should draw us close to Him. I encourage you not to worry if your prayer life has become stale. Blessed Paul VI tells us, “If you have lost the taste for prayer, you will regain the desire for it by returning to its practice.”

Fasting has very ancient roots planted in Lent. The early Church fasted intensely for two days before the celebration of the Easter Vigil. Vatican II called us to renew the observance of the ancient paschal fast.  The practice of fasting aids in our prayer life; experiencing hunger reminds us of our hunger for God. It also allows us to commune with poverty, as our impoverished brothers and sisters go hungry without choice. During Lent, we are called to fast from meat on all Fridays and also practice abstinence – one full, meatless meal and two smaller meals– on Ash Wednesday and Good Friday, at a minimum.

Almsgiving fosters a spirit of generosity. We should give not from our surplus but from our need. As Paul instructed the Corinthians, “Each one must do as he has made up his mind, not reluctantly or under compulsion, for God loves a cheerful giver” (2 Corinthians 9:7).

Lent lasts forty days, but let us not make this a “spiritual diet.” Allow your Lenten practices to develop into spiritual habits. I personally encourage the use of “diet” to be removed from the vocabulary and instead replace with an overall healthy lifestyle made up of small, consistent changes over time. For what good is it to eat healthful for a small period of time in the course of a life? Daily positive choices make a greater impact on our health. So it is the same with our spiritual lives.

Here are some practical suggestions for consideration as you embark on your Lenten journey. They merge the physical and spiritual...physical detoxification with spiritual improvement. Be sure to sit with the Lord and ask how He wants you to use these forty days.

·   Drink water with lemon as you partake in morning prayer.  It is important to hydrate first thing in the morning versus drinking coffee, which further dehydrates. Starting the day off in prayer will center your mind and invite God’s peace into your thoughts.

·   Be present at meals.  Put your phone away during mealtime. Don’t rush through eating. Chew slowly, savor each bite and enjoy conversation with the people at the table.

·   Say grace before meals.  Beginning each meal in thanksgiving for our blessings invites God around our table and focuses us to the present moment. Praying before meals in restaurants gives public witness to our faith and can encourage fruitful conversations.

·   Do not eat after dinnertime or past a set hour, such as 9p.  This practice certainly enhances our Lenten call to fasting, but it may be beneficial to your health too. Eating late at night is a predictor for weight gain and may also affect sleep quality.

Let us embark on this season of Lent with excitement of receiving the Lord’s mercy and anticipation of the great Easter feast! Cheers, friends! to the start of this beautiful time of redemption.

+Saturari,

Amanda

Love and Cook with Abandon

Cooking is like love. It should be entered into with abandon, or not at all. [Harriet von Horne]

The most important ingredient in any recipe is love.  

When food is prepared with loving hands, it always tastes better.  In my own life, cooking and sharing a meal with others has created friendships, nurtured relationships and cultivated deep conversations.  Cooking can become a true act of love, if we allow it to be.  It can become an opportunity to invite God into our daily routines too.

"It is possible to offer fervent prayer even while walking in public or strolling alone... or even while cooking."  [St. John Chrysostom]  Prayer is our very relationship with God, so why not invite Him into the common? into the everyday?  How much love would be in our cooking then?  I love the idea of God being present in my kitchen and often use that time to converse with Him.

Our culture tends to embrace the fast lane, the quick fix...efficiency over careful preparation.  The way we consume food and gather for mealtime certainly shows this shift.  Fast food is now more common than a home cooked meal.  Eating "on the run" has become a regular occurrence.  Mealtime is spent with our eyes on our phones instead of the people in front of us.

How much would our culture change if there was even a slight shift in how we eat food every day?  If a family gathered around a table, without distractions, to share their challenges, their accomplishments, their happiness and their gratitude?  If a couple ate a weeknight dinner by candlelight?  If a child helped prepare the meal or set the table?  We are missing opportunities all the time and we don't need to be.  I challenge you to protect mealtime for yourself, your family and your friends.  Keep it sacred...invite God into your kitchen and around your table... pray before meals.

Our culture can be changed meal by meal, table by table and home by home.

+Saturari,

Amanda