Lori's Tomatoes

 There is an older gentleman who goes to my church and can be seen most weekends in summer handing out homegrown vegetables to whoever is interested. He offers tomatoes, squash, and peppers to anyone he sees, no matter how well he knows them. Inevitably someone makes a comment about how he must be such a dedicated gardener and how much he must enjoy growing and eating from his substantial garden. He answers that he doesn't eat tomatoes or squash or peppers, he just plants them for his wife. This sounds like a sweet thing for him to do and she must be very grateful. What makes it even more sweet and nice is that she passed away more than a dozen years ago. Jake has been planting a garden for his dear deceased Lori for over a decade even though he doesn't eat anything that comes out of it.  This amazes me that he would show his love for so many years with such dedication. 

When she was alive, they were a very typical older couple; they had raised a larger family, and like most families, there had been some rough spots and stresses. They weren't the type to make a big public display of affection. But Jake still goes out every spring and plants a vegetable garden for Lori. One time I told him that I think of Lori whenever I eat one of the tomatoes and he muttered a thank you but I could see the depths of the thanks in his eyes.

I have not had to deal with the loss of a spouse or a child, but I hope if or when I do I can honor that person with the elegance Jake does.

Lent is Over, Now What?

“The Strife is o'er, the battle done.” 

is the first line in an Easter hymn. After seven weeks of making sacrifices for Lent, sometimes I feel the battle is done at Easter. It is really easy to quickly get back to where I was before Lent as far as resuming what I had given up and stopping the extra things I had done. It would be so easy to spend the entire Octave of Easter sitting in a comfortable chair eating and drinking what I had given up for Lent and playing mindless computer games.

But I started thinking, how does doing something special for two months and then stopping help me become the best person I can be? The short answer is that it probably doesn't. I needed to evaluate what I was doing and the motivation behind it. I used to give up desserts or chocolate every Lent and often managed to drop a few pounds. I did not give up sweets or really any food this year and I also didn't lose any of that winter weight I was planning to lose. But maybe that is a good thing. Making a sacrifice for the Lord is good, getting my weight down is also good.; but can I really do both at the same time? If I give up candy or other food item with the intention of making myself look or feel more attractive, it is not a sacrificial action. I am just fooling myself that I am doing it for God.

I did give up some leisure things I take pleasure in. My friends with whom I used to play on line games might have noticed. The benefit to me was more free time to pray, to think and reflect and to make better use of the time which is a gift of God. Now that it is the Easter season I need to continue to keep a balance in my life. So far I have managed to not start any new games and I have been pretty good about doing something more useful when I have a few minutes to kill. So now instead of conquering the next level I am conquering the pile of laundry in the basement. I may slip back before next Lent because I am human, but hopefully I will have made some permanent gains.

What about the extra things I have done: increased prayer time, adoration, weekday Masses? It is so temping to slow down and relax now that Lent is over. It is hard, with our hectic lives, to continue daily Mass or adoration or an extra prayer time if we set Easter as our goal line. The ideal would be that I have come to love my time in prayer so much that I am not tempted to cut back after Easter. The reality is that, as a typical human, I love my prayer time, but I also love sleeping in and a myriad of other things that soak up the time I was going to use for prayer like a sponge. I am beginning to realize that I need to keep sacrificing, at least in some ways, if I really want to grow more in the direction of holiness.

Maybe my thoughts on Lent need to change. Like an athlete who practices a specific move over and over again in anticipation of being able to execute during the big game, I need to use the time of preparation, (Lent) to build the skills I need to conquer sin and death. Like that clutch hit or last minute free throw, I am a whole lot more likely to attain my goal, (heaven) if I do the preparation.

Christ opened that gates of heaven on Easter, we all are called to try to improve ourselves during Lent and beyond so we can enter those gates when the time comes.

Catholic Food for Thought

Originally Published on Catholic365.com

A while back I was talking to someone at work and she told me that she knew I could cook because I was from a good Catholic family. It confused me because even though I do cook and I am from a Catholic family; I really couldn't see a relationship. I mean, I do know some very good Catholics that are mediocre cooks, and I know cooks who are not Catholic, even some who are not even religious. So what is the relationship, if there is one? I don't think that years of bringing food to pot lucks and helping at church dinners is what she was talking about.

There is one meal everyone in our “good Catholic” family attend at least weekly whether we are together or apart and that is the Eucharistic Celebration. Part of being Catholic is eating the body and blood of Jesus at Mass. As Catholics, food and meals are woven into our worship. Not only with the Last Supper but throughout the Old and New Testament breaking bread together is filled with meaning. Abraham eating with angel messengers, Joseph inviting his brothers to the banquet table, the miracle of the loaves and fishes; all these events revolve around food and hospitality. Doesn't it just make sense that food and eating together is a major part of our Catholic culture.

Our religion along with our ethnic cultures intertwine with lots of food symbolism; fish and fasts during Lent, special food on the table for Easter, Christmas and many saint days and other holy days. Most of these times include dining with family and friends.

Knowing that our meals reflect so much of our faith does seem to affect our attitude towards food. We make it a priority to eat together. We start our meal with grace. We often invite others to join us in our meal. When we place so much emphasis on meals it is only natural that we put a goodly effort into the quality of the food.

So it does fall together: As Catholics we worship and celebrate using food. As a family we use food to celebrate and to worship. As Catholic families, is it not normal and good to socialize, to grow to celebrate around a good meal?