“Note the empty divine throne at the top of this icon of the Prodigal Son…. The Prodigal is going to be made one of the sons of God, and Christ has left His throne to rush out to meet him and welcome his home.” – Fr. Andrew Stephen Damick One of the stated reasons I started The Catholic Foodie in 2008 was to inspire and encourage families to get back into the kitchen and back around the table. It was all about growing in faith, growing in… communion. Because as we see in Scripture, and as we experience in our own lives, communion is most often experienced around the table: the table of the Euc ..read more

I know we are only on the Second Sunday of Lent, but it doesn’t hurt to plan ahead. That’s why I’m grateful to Woodeene Koenig-Bricker for providing today’s guest post and recipe from her newly released book Dinner Party with the Saints. Enjoy! One of my favorite sweets is Turkish Delight. I’m not sure how a girl who grew up on the side of a mountain in Montana ever came to taste it, but I’ve loved it for as long as I can remember. When I visited Turkey as an adult and had the “real” thing from the market in Istanbul, I was over the moon. I swear I could live on the stuff! As I was writing the ..read more

Sixteen years ago today the last seer of Fatima, Lucia dos Santos (known in religious life as Sr. Lucia of Jesus and the Immaculate Heart), joined her beloved cousins Francisco and Jacinta in eternity. She died in her convent in Coimbra surrounded by her Carmelite sisters. Francisco and Jacinta died young, as predicted by Our Lady, in 1919 and 1920 respectively. In 1917, when Our Lady told the children that Francisco and Jacinta would be going to Heaven soon, she told Lucia that it was God’s will that she remain on earth “some time longer.” That “some time longer” turned out to be 85 years! An ..read more

Yesterday we celebrated the Solemnity of Mary, Mother of God. I have always found this to be the most appropriate way to usher in the new year. Mary of Nazareth, a descendent of King David, Daughter of the Most High God, gave her Yes to the invitation of the Angel Gabriel, gave herself wholly and completely to God in his ineffable plan of mercy and redemption. She was overshadowed by the Holy Spirit and bore in her womb the Divine Savior. She is the Theotokos… “More honorable than the the Cherubim, and beyond compare more glorious than the Seraphim, who without corruption gavest birth to God ..read more

One of the unexpected blessings of 2020 was having all the kids under our roof again. When the pandemic hit and the quarantine was first announced, our oldest child (and only son) was in Dallas at school, and our oldest daughter was at school in Tennessee. The Friday before the lockdown went into effect, we arranged to have our son fly home, and I then drove to Tennessee to move our daughter back home. Once they started leaving the house for college, we thought that was it… we would never all be together at home again. We were expecting our second-oldest daughter to join her sister in Tenness ..read more

The first reading for Mass this morning is from the first Letter of St. John, and what John has to say is strikingly practical for me today in my own life. Here it is… from Chapter 2, verses 3-11: Beloved: The way we may be sure that we know Jesus is to keep his commandments. Whoever says, “I know him,” but does not keep his commandments is a liar, and the truth is not in him. But whoever keeps his word, the love of God is truly perfected in him. This is the way we may know that we are in union with him: whoever claims to abide in him ought to walk just as he walked. Beloved, I am writing no ..read more

The Holy Innocents… those male babies two years and younger who were slaughtered by the hand of Herod the Great because he feared to lose his power to the Newborn King. Today we celebrate their short earthly lives and their birth into the Kingdom of Heaven. The early Church considered them the first martyrs… martyrs who not only died for Christ, but who died in his stead. And again, as I mentioned the other day on the Feast of St. Stephen, we see here a connection between Christmas and martyrdom… on this 4th day of Christmas. At Mass this morning, Fr. Daniel noted that sometimes, whether inten ..read more

Today we celebrate the Holy Family of Jesus, Mary, and Joseph… at the beginning of this year dedicated to St. Joseph. Historically, December 27th is the feast day of St. John the Evangelist. We don’t celebrate it this year since the 27th falls on a Sunday, but it’s an important day for me. St. John the Evangelist is my Confirmation saint.  I was confirmed in the 8th grade at St. Joseph Cathedral in Baton Rouge. I believe it was in May 1984. I don’t remember much from that day, other than the awe and joy I felt at being inside St. Joseph Cathedral. It is a stately edifice. The sanctuary is ..read more

Today is the Feast of St. Stephen, deacon and first martyr. In his homily this morning, Fr. Robert (at St. Peter’s in Covington) noted the echoes of Jesus’ death that we find in the story of St. Stephen’s martyrdom. “Father forgive them…” “Into your hands I commend my spirit.” In the gospel we hear Jesus telling us not to worry about what we are to say when we are given over to our persecutors… the Spirit himself will give us the words to speak in that moment. At first glance, it might seem strange to find talk of persecution and martyrdom right here at the beginning of the Christmas Season, b ..read more

If you are looking for a Christmas gift for the foodie in your life (or maybe for yourself?), I have a unique recommendation for you. I recently received a copy of The Vatican Christmas Cookbook, and I can’t recommend it highly enough. “Stunning,” is the first word that I used to describe this book. The photography, the colors, the quality… it’s a stunningly beautiful book, one to have and to keep, even if you never cook a thing out of it. Written by acclaimed chef and former Swiss Guard David Geisser, The Vatican Christmas Cookbook features more than 100 recipes from the Vatican and from acro ..read more