Satisfying, life-sustaining 'comfort food'

	Word to Life  By Sharon K. Perkins

Last week I had a medical procedure that required me to go without solid food for 24 hours beforehand. The fasting wasn't too difficult until about the 18th hour when my children decided to make pizza and brownies for dinner - two of my favorite "comfort foods."

The tantalizing aromas assaulted me with a force I hadn't thought possible. My teenage son teasingly tried to console me with the observation that there was nothing like a period of deprivation to make "real food" taste exceptionally good again.

August 3, 2008 18th Sunday in Ordinary Time Isaiah 55:1-3 Psalm 145:8-9, 15-16, 17-18 Romans 8:35, 37-39 Matthew 14:13-21

After my procedure the next day, I left the doctor's office, went straight to the nearest restaurant for lunch and proved my son right by exclaiming over every bite as if I had never eaten food before.

The readings for this Sunday are all about "comfort food." It is indeed "rich fare," the kind of sustenance that comes from looking hopefully, listening, heeding, and desiring God's life above all else.

It's the sort of food that comes "in due season," often through the experience of deprivation or suffering, when we find ourselves in a "deserted place" as Matthew's Gospel portrays or in a time of great distress as described by St. Paul. It is the bread of trusting in God's promises and the water of conviction that nothing "will separate us from the love of Christ."

Millions of people today live constantly with the demoralizing burden of hunger, and they must be physically fed in order to survive. But Mother Teresa of Calcutta described an even more pervasive hunger, observing that "there is more hunger in this world for love and appreciation than for bread," and she declared that this is the reason "Jesus made himself the bread of life to satisfy our hunger for his love."

	For reflection: • For what do you most find yourself hungering and thirsting? • Who do you know that is hungry for the love and appreciation God can provide through your words and actions?

The nourishment that the Lord promises is not the cuisine that can be bought in a restaurant or prepared in a kitchen. It is, however, the satisfying, comforting, and life-sustaining food of God's love, freely given to those who most hunger for it and gratefully given, in turn, by those who have been filled.

This column is offered in cooperation with the North Texas Catholic of Fort Worth, Texas.

Taking a step in faith

	Word to Life  By Jeff Hedglen

A couple I know just left behind two good-paying jobs, a very nice house, and a life in their hometown surrounded by their family. They packed up two children under the age of five, all their belongings, and went off to pursue their dream.

For years all they could talk about was how much they loved New Orleans. They loved everything about it: the history, the French Quarter, the music, the architecture, the churches, the food, the people, and on and on. Their dream was to live there. But life at home was safe and secure and comfortable.

August 10, 2008 19th Sunday in Ordinary Time 1 Kings 19:9a, 11-13a Psalm 85:9-14 Romans 9:1-5 Matthew 14:22-33

When the storms came and washed away their beloved city, it seemed as if their dream was farther away then ever, but it still called them. They followed the city's rebuilding efforts and visited when they could. Then they learned of the shortage of teachers in New Orleans and decided to apply. Out of 3,000 applicants, the wife was one of 60 chosen to complete an emergency certification program.

When the dream started to become a reality, fear and doubt crept in, but they kept their eyes on the prize and took the big step.

Their story is not unlike the situation in which we find Peter in this weekend's Gospel. He too is asked to take a step in faith. He too is asked to leave his safe and secure position, to take a step in faith onto uncertain waters, although headed to his destiny.

Taking a step in faith is seldom easy. Like Peter, we can sometimes muster the courage to take those first fleeting steps, but soon we take our eyes off the prize and focus on the chaos into which our steps have launched us. It is here that we need to learn from Peter. We need to turn our eyes back to the one who called us to take these steps and reach out for his hand.

	For reflection: • Have you or someone you know ever taken a step in faith? • Why does our faith sometimes call us out of our comfort zones?

Peter is chastised by Jesus for his lack of faith, which makes me wonder about the faith of the other people in the boat. After all, they had yet to take even the first step.

This column is offered in cooperation with the North Texas Catholic of Fort Worth, Texas.

Prayer to St. Raphael Glorious Archangel St. Raphael, great prince of the heavenly court, you are illustrious for your gifts of wisdom and grace. You are a guide of those who journey by land or sea or air, consoler of the afflicted, and refuge of sinners. We beg you, assist us in all our needs and in all the sufferings of this life, as once you helped the young Tobias on his travels. Because you are the "medicine of God" we humbly pray you to heal the many infirmities of our souls and the ills that afflict our bodies. We especially ask your guidance of our diocese as we journey toward the rebuilding of a cathedral bearing your name, and the great grace of purity to prepare us to be temples of the Holy Spirit. As our intercessor, beg the Blessed Trinity to prosper the work of our hands and, above all, to bring us, face-to-face, into their Holy presence. Amen.