November 2018

What you can’t seen in the above picture are 16 hungry guests, patiently waiting to pray (and eat!), while I took that picture. They really deserve a round of applause.

Regardless, although the pictures of the Shepherd’s Pie (renamed “Shepherdess Pie” by my friends) may not be anything to write home about, the actual dish was. Chris pronounced it one of my all time greats, and the rest of the guests at my Monday night dinner party seemed to concur.

“So everything that goes on in your home has a good or bad effect on your children. Try to help them with your own good example. Try not to hide your piety from them.” -St. Josemaria Escriva

Here are 5 things you can do with your kids every day to help make faith a more integral part of their lives and to strengthen their connection to Jesus and to you:

The Church’s call to feast and the Church’s command to fast are, at least in my world, two of her greatest gifts. When done rightly and done well, feasting and fasting bring the whole person—body and soul—into the liturgical rhythms of the Church. They make the liturgical seasons incarnate in our homes and communities. They also help form communities, uniting rich and poor, young and old, married and single in a common practice: eating . . . or not eating as the case may be.

There exists a charming and instructive tradition in the Church—perhaps of apocryphal origin, I do not know—which traces its pedigree back at least as far as Tertullian, that fiery North African Father of the third century, according to which our Blessed Lord died on the Cross exactly thirty-three years to the day following His conception by the Holy Spirit in the womb of His virgin mother Mary.

My relationship with my spiritual director has been life-changing. From our first meetings, I learned quickly that he was an excellent listener and that in this relationship it was safe to be completely transparent. He always received me with love, patience, and understanding. Furthermore, as I met with him, I could tell that he really believed in me, and that gave me confidence in myself. He became my model for offering spiritual direction to others.

What words come to mind when you hear “Cauliflower and Gruyere Tart”? “Cozy” comes to mine; I made this on a snowy Saturday afternoon, when everything in me was craving warmth and comfort. Also, “savory”; a buttery crust, paired with a rich gruyere, salty peccorino-romano, golden roasted cauliflower, and just a hint of spice…mmmm. And most important of all, “easy”. So, so easy. Shamefully easy. Ridiculously easy. Shockingly easy.

Broadly defined, a dogma is a truth pertaining to faith or morals that has been revealed by God, transmitted from the Apostles in the Scriptures or by Tradition, defined by the Church, and which the faithful are bound to believe. The Church’s Magisterium—the pope and the bishops in union with him—has been entrusted by the Holy Spirit to preserve, protect, and proclaim God’s revelation in the world.

There are two wonderful and lasting legacies of which the Catholic Church need not be ashamed; indeed, she may trumpet them full-throatedly before the world. So surpassing is their value, so indefectible her possession of them, that neither folly nor wickedness can ever deprive her of their use.

Cooking for any holiday is work. Just ask any host who prepares Christmas dinner. All good feasts worth their salt require hours, if not days, in the kitchen peeling, chopping, stirring, roasting. They also require weeks of planning, shopping, cleaning, setting the table, and decking the halls. If that’s true today (and trust me, it is), when fancy gas ovens, KitchenAid mixers, and Breville food processors do half the work for us, imagine what Easter breakfast required in a world without electricity!