What God and a cinnamon bun have in common

Yesterday at breakfast, a friend challenged me to somehow relate God to a cinnamon bun.  Needless to say I accepted the challenge, so let's not waste anymore time.  I am about to enlighten you about the wonders of sticky sweet goodness! Get psyched!

We'll start with the best part...the frosting of course!

The frosting is the sweetest part, nobody wants a cinnamon bun without the warm melted frosting that gets stuck to your fingers! There's just no denying that. 

Well, the word of God is actually pretty sticky too. In fact if our daily life is rooted in Scripture, then God's word should "stick" in our heads throughout the day.  Everything that comes out of our mouths should reflect what we've been putting in our heads from Sacred Scripture.  The book of psalms says, "How sweet are Your words to my taste.  Yes, sweeter than honey to my mouth!" (Psalm 119:103)...and I would add, sweeter than the best cinnamon bun you've EVER eaten!  The sweetness of our faith is found in the word spoken from the mouth of God.  His word is truth, it is beauty, and it is our life.

Next comes the fluffy dough!

If it weren't for the fluffy dough, where would we put the frosting?!  The dough is the foundation on which the frosting rests.  I think you might know where I'm going with this - but in case you don't, I would like to propose that the dough represents the Eucharist, the source and summit of our faith.  The Eucharist is the foundation upon which everything else rests.  The dough from the cinnamon bun is what fills us up (especially if you're like me and can't just eat one!).  The Eucharist is the same way...but on a supernatural level...it's what nourishes us! In John 6:35, Jesus says, "I am the bread of life, he who comes to me will not hunger." The Eucharist is what gives us strength, keeps us going, and brings us closer to the Creator (the chef, if you will). 

The Cinnamon

The cinnamon is an essential part of a cinnamon bun...without it, well...it's just a bun.  Boring!  Although we don't always see each and every particle of cinnamon while we're eating, we can taste the effects of it.  Likewise we can't see the Holy Spirit in our lives, but we can definitely see the effects of His movements in our daily lives!  Every good and Holy act that we do or think is the work of the Holy Spirit.  Even if a person is not aware of the Holy Spirit acting in their lives, they can still be guided by His light of truth by choosing to love in every moment.  

Luke 4:18 says, "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim release to the captives and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty those who are oppressed" What a mission!! It's the movement of the Holy Spirit is what makes life exciting!  Living every step of our lives for the Lord is the greatest adventure of our lives!  St. Augustine once said, "To fall in love with God is the greatest of all romances, to seek Him the greatest adventure, and to find Him, the greatest human achievement."  If you wanna spice up your life, get some more cinnamon in your life!

Finally, the burnt bottom, because I always forget to take it out of the oven on time...

Nobody's perfect, often times we lose track of time and burn the pastries :/  We've all done it, just like we've all sinned.  Yep, you guessed it: The burnt part on the bottom represents all of the sin in our lives.  Nobody wants a burnt bottom...although sometimes we might think that we can live with it...the cinnamon bun is always going to taste better without it.  Sometimes we burn it so badly that you can't even taste the rest of the cinnamon bun, it just tastes like charcoal.  Um...nasty!!  Nobody wants that.

Matthew 5:29 says "If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell."  In a similar way, (Yes, that was a New Roman Missal Reference) nobody wants to eat that burnt stuff on the bottom, so cut it off and enjoy the sweetness of the cinnamon bun!

Well, that's about all I got on this tasty topic. My hope is that you never look at a cinnamon bun the same way ever again and that you're hungry for more ;)

Being loved

A lot of times we're told that we need to love other people more.  This is true.  But how often do we recognize that we all have a need to BE loved?

Knowing that you are loved has the capacity to change the way that you live your entire life if you let it.  It makes you a more confident, joyful, bold, and driven person. Knowing that you're loved gives your life meaning and purpose.  I just want all of you to know that you are incredibly loved by love Himself, Jesus Christ.  He loves you so much that He was crucified for you so that He could spend eternity with you.  Don't ever think that nobody loves you, because that is not the truth.

 Let the Lord love you today. 

Are you ready?

This morning, as I was walking into the Church, I ran into the priest who was celebrating.  He looked at me, gave me a high five and simply said, "Are you ready?"

That's it. That's all he said..."Are you ready?" At first I just thought, "Ready for what?"  But wow, what a loaded question.  This could have meant anything...

Are you ready for Mass?  Did you prepare for God to come in your midst through the Eucharist?
Are you ready to be open to how God is going to use you for His glory today?
Are you ready for Heaven if today is your last day?
Are you ready to battle the temptations of the day?
Are you ready to encounter Christ in that annoying person that drives you nuts?
Are you ready to use every opportunity of the day to get yourself and those around you to Heaven?

We don't know what God's got in store for us for the day, so we need to be ready for anything that comes at us.  This is why constant prayer and conversation with the Lord is so important!  We need to be on our guard for any temptations that lead us away from the Lord.

"Be of sober spirit, be on the alert. Your adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour." - 1 Peter 58

Are your ready?

No? Me neither.

That's why it's a journey.

What are we doing to get ready?

Make a commitment today to take a step towards Heaven.

I'm beginning to understand the introverts.

Have you ever felt like you are so incredibly surrounded by noise that you can't even think straight? Well, I have.  Many times.  And all these years I've been talking to the Lord and trying to figure out how I can quiet down my life.  Little did I know that the answer was hanging up on my wall for the past two years.  I found it while I was in Austria...

"You do not need to leave your room. Remain sitting at your table and listen. Do not even listen, simply wait, be quiet, still and solitary. The world will freely offer itself to you to be unmasked, it has no choice, it will roll in ecstasy at your feet." - Franz Kafta

I'm finally realizing the importance of taking silence out of every single day, and how beautiful it is to hear the voice of God during these times.  Sometimes, though, that means quieting our thoughts as well.  How can we listen during prayer when our minds are racing a mile a minute?  If we want to be His servants, then we have to learn the art of quieting our minds and hearts in order to hear what the Master is saying.  And this is not only for the designated times that we have taken out of our days for prayer, but even throughout the entire day.  


Holiness Challenge: 
Practice having conversations with God as if He is walking next to you through every situation of your day.  He's always having the conversation, but are we listening? Maybe we're texting or maybe, if you're an extrovert like me, you're even talking right over Him?  Give Him a chance to speak, He's got a lotta wisdom to share...I mean, He's been around for well...at least all of eternity ;)


Seek peace.

Learning to become a fool

For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.  For it is written:  "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate" - 1 Corinthians 1:18-19

Here I am, studying Theology and Catechetics at Franciscan University of Steubenville - we've got the best program there is for this stuff...and Christ has called me to foolishness.  Um...what???

I've worked my tail off for the past four years and God never ceases to surprise me with His infinite wisdom.  He said, "This is all well and good.  Yes get your degree.  But do you know me yet?"

BOOM.

I found myself recollecting the words of the infamous St. Thomas Aquinas, who after studying theology for years and year, declared on his death bed - "All is straw."

So what if I can tell you the 4 pillars of the Catechism and exactly what's in each of them off the top of my head.  If I am not in a relationship with the Lord, then what good is this truth?  This is what St. Thomas was saying...he studied his whole life and barely touched the surface.  What is most important is that we know Christ, as a PERSON, a friend.

Yes, we should learn as much as we can about the Lord while we are on this earth, because to know IS to love.  But we must realize our motives.  Is it just to make ourselves look intelligent?  Or do we want to know Christ on a deeper level?  Do we truly want to bring others to a relationship with Him?

The road to holiness is not dependent on how battered and used your catechism is...but it is however, dependent on how whether or not you are in LOVE!

The world tells us to be the best, to do it all on your own, to know it all.  But Christ tells us to be foolish.   Not in a way that is a cop-out in our studies...rather a stepping-out-of our comfort zones foolishness.  It's about not being afraid to look like a goober if it means that you fall more in love with God or bring another to His love.

Go out on a limb today!  Tell somebody that Christ loves them, no matter what's going on.  Throw out the good 'ol PTL in conversation (Praise the Lord, that is =] ).  Don't be afraid to use the name of Jesus.  There is power in the name of Jesus and we should never be ashamed to use it!

Last thing:

Have you ever seen a couple who are just absolutely and completely in love?  Have you ever SEEN the way they act?  It's like nothing else in the world matters...they look like total goofs!!  They don't even realize that there's a world around them. They're just fixed on each other's eyes.  If we are truly in love with Christ, we should have that same look in our eyes.  Because the truth is that NOTHING else is more important than falling in love with Jesus Christ.  Don't be afraid to seek foolishness, if it means attaining holiness.  This life is too short to not risk being foolish if it means our salvation.  Let's just learn to become a fool for the sake of the Gospel.  Who's with me?! 

Remember that time we walked around on earth?

"You are my refuge and shield; in your word I hope." - Psalm 119:114

C.S. Lewis once said, Jesus was either a liar, a lunatic or the Lord.  That the fact that Jesus claimed to be the Son of God was either as crazy and ridiculous as someone claiming to be a poached egg, or that it was a complete lie, or that He was in fact the Son of the Living God - the Word became flesh.

I don't want this to be a theological debate, you can do more research on this topic if you'd like...but let's break it down:

A lunatic would not have had so many followers...people don't follow crazy people to death.
And a liar wouldn't have taken his lie so far as to be crucified for it.

That leaves us with one last option...Truth be told:  Jesus Christ is the son of God, the second person of the Trinity.

My second proof: They don't even make Jesus is "lunatic or liar" t-shirts.

Assuming you're on board with me at this point (if not, I cannot wait until you are), then we as Christians better get our act together.  If everything that Jesus taught was true...then why don't we place our hope and trust in Him in every aspect of life.  Why do we still sin?  Why haven't we properly trained our conscience to follow this God?  The One who flat out told us, only some 2,000 years ago that He was "the way, the truth and the life", that He was the way to happiness, fulfillment, and love - no, that He is love!

Why is it not a big deal when sin enters a conversation or a situation. And why is it such a big deal that we don't get involved in other's business, when we know that people are trapped in such massive sin?  Why don't we stand up for the truth Himself, He who was un-deservedly crucified for us?  Why don't we speak up?

Let us hope in the Lord, and keep this life and the next in proper perspective.  My friend and I were joking about how funny it's going to be when (God-willingly) we are in Heaven and we say to each other, "Remember that time we walked around on earth?"  This life is too short not to speak up in these situations, because it could literally determine our eternity. We have two options: Heaven or Hell.  That's right, we choose.  We will not only be judged by the sinful actions that we commit, but by the loving actions that we omit.  And if we truly believed that Jesus Christ was the Son of God, our Savior, then why aren't we shouting it on the rooftops for all the world to hear!  St. Francis said, "preach the Gospel at all times, and if necessary use words."  I think a lot of us take this as a cop-out...because there are SO many times that we keep quiet, when words are necessary!  Wake up call: We need to start first of all living out our faith boldly, and secondly speaking it. Out loud. In situations that aren't comfortable.  Pope Benedict XVI said, "you are not made for comfort, you are made for greatness."  Truth be told again: We must stand up for truth.

"You are my refuge and shield; in your word I hope."

Be you. Follow Him

A lot of people think that in order to completely give their life to Christ and become a saint, they need to become the pope or the next mother Teresa.


The truth is that if you try to become somebody that your not, your gonna go backwards.  In order to attain sainthood, what needs to happen has nothing to do with the saints that have gone before us.  Sainthood means embracing everything that God has given YOU.  Every single person on this earth has unique gifts to offer to the world, but few people really find them.  


Most people just go through life trying to be successful, but in order to do that they think they need to compare themselves to the guy in the cubicle next to them. Newsflash!  Success has nothing to do with that guy in the cubicle!!!   Success - holiness - is found when you find YOUR unique gifts and let the Lord work with them. Trying to be something that you're not is wasted time.


Take Peter for example: He was a simple fishermen, who just went about doing his job day in and day out.  Until one day the Lord asked him to do things a little differently. Here's what the Gospel of Matthew says...




As Jesus was walking by the Sea of Galilee, He saw two brothers, Simon who      was called Peter, and Andrew his brother, casting a net into the sea; for they were fishermen. And He said to them, “Follow Me, and I will make you fishers of men.” Immediately they left their nets and followed Him - Matthew 4:18-20


Peter had a gift for fishing.  God didn't just abandon that gift that he had given him in order to make him holy. No. He took that gift and used it to bring others to Himself, through Peter. And Peter didn't hesitate.  How many times do we hesitate when God asks something of us...The Lord saw something that Peter didn't see in himself. He was not only a fisherman, but a fisher for men - for souls.  In fact, the Lord made him the first Pope!  If the Lord can multiply Peter's gifts to build up the kingdom of God, what more can He do with our gifts?

What's your gift?  


Whatever it is...I promise that if you let Him, God's going to use these gifts to make you a fisher of men...


or a basketball player for men
or a coin collector for men
or an actor for men
or a musician for men
or a comedian for men
or a people person for men
or an introvert for men
or an artist for men




So take a risk. Let the Lord show you your gifts.  He'll take you places.