Genesis,
Chapter 21, Verse 14-18
14 Early the next
morning Abraham got some bread and a skin of water and gave them to Hagar.
Then, placing the child on her back, he
sent her away. As she roamed aimlessly in the wilderness of Beer-sheba, 15
the
water in the skin was used up. So she put the child down under one of the
bushes, 16 and then went and
sat down opposite him, about a bowshot away; for she said to herself, “I cannot
watch the child die.” As she sat opposite him, she wept aloud. 17 God heard the boy’s voice, and God’s angel called to
Hagar from heaven: “What is the matter, Hagar? Do not fear; God has
heard the boy’s voice in this plight of his. 18 Get up, lift up
the boy and hold him by the hand; for I will make of him a great nation.”
Hagar was the servant of Sarah. Hagar was also the
mother of Abraham’s firstborn illegitimate son Ishmael. The situation here was
horrendous, due to Sarah’s practical nature; she gave her slave to Abraham to raise
as a son to give his inheritance, too. According to Islamic sources it was
Ishmael that Abraham tried to offer as a sacrifice to God at the Dome of the
rock in Jerusalem. A war ensued between the mother of Ishmael and the mother of
Isaac. Now that Sarah had her own son--Hagar and her son was a threat to Sarah
and Sarah wanted her and her son dead. Fear
is the root of the evil between Sarah and Hagar. Sarah and Hagar feared the loss of life and property for
their son’s; and unfortunately, this in-house squabble continues today with the
descendants of Abraham (The Jews and the Arabs). Here we see God sends his
angel to pronounce to Hagar, dying of thirst and having to watch her son die of
thirst, to not be afraid. Legend has
it that the angel produced life giving water for Hagar and Ishmael and the courage
to continue. Blood feuds are the worst and are usually caused by fear which leads to puffed up pride and
envy. Pride and envy are a slow poison to avoid. Today would be a good day to
reflect if we have given in to this type of poison.
Each person “is
called to a fullness of life which far exceeds the dimensions of his earthly existence,
because it consists in sharing the very life of God. The loftiness of this
supernatural vocation reveals the greatness and the inestimable value of human
life.” We are all called to that great life, to the communion
of heaven where “a great multitude, which no one could count, from every
nation, race, people, and tongue[stand] before the throne and before the Lamb. That
Lamb, Christ, showed us that the very life of God is love, and love requires
something of each of us. We pray that the reader will join us in striving for the
end of racism in all its forms, that we may walk together humbly with God and
with all of our brothers and sisters in a renewed unity. For there is no place
for racism in the hearts of any person; it is a perversion of the Lord’s will
for men and women, all of whom were made in God’s image and likeness. We end by
adopting the words of St. Paul: Brothers and sisters, “be on your guard, stand
firm in the faith, be courageous, be strong.
Your every act should be done with
love”[1]
There’s a
blend that just makes our morning fantastic, and it’s a blending of eggs, milk,
and cinnamon with bread dipped in. There’s something about the savory sweet
smell of it, and the anticipation of having it painted with butter and drizzled
with syrup, with a side of breakfast sausage and a tall glass of orange juice
that’ll get us out of bed on even the worst of days. French Toast Day is
honoring this amazing breakfast delight and encourages you to enjoy it for
breakfast with a few friends. The breakfast favorite French toast goes by many
names depending on where it’s being served up – eggy bread, German toast, poor
knights’ pudding, Bombay toast – but it’s always made of the same key
ingredients. Egg, milk – or cream – and bread. This delicious sweet snack is
often served with sugar or syrup and fruit and consists of bread slices fried
in a mixture of milk and egg. In France, its name is ‘pain perdu’, which
literally means ‘lost bread’, because it would often be made with stale or old
bread. Although we tend to call it French Bread, the dish isn’t known to have
come from France. Some ancient Latin recipes from the 4th century mention
soaking bread in milk before frying, and in fourteenth Century Germany the term
‘poor knights’ pudding’ was coined for the sweet treat because it was seen as
an affordable meal for those without too much money to spend. Today, it’s eaten
across the world as a breakfast meal or a sweet snack. In Italy, there’s a
savory version, called ‘mozzarella en carrozza’, which sees the egg-soaked
bread sandwiching slices of mozzarella cheese before it is fried. Its name
literally means ‘mozzarella in a carriage’. So you can have eggy bread for your
main meal, and your pudding!
How to Celebrate
French Toast Day
So how can
you celebrate French Toast Day? If you’ve got any stale bread in the kitchen,
this is a great way to use it up. The recipe tends to call for bread that’s at
least a day old because older slices will be able to soak up the tasty egg and
milk mixture without falling apart. Then, once you’ve fried it up, you can
slather on as much jam, syrup, fruit or honey as you like. If you’re feeling
extra indulgent, why not pop a swirl of cream on top?
As we near the Advent season let us take up the nature of God by
reflecting on these traits that make us a model for our children and our
sisters and brothers in Christ. Today reflect on:
Alertness vs
Unawareness
Being aware of that which is taking place around me, so I can have
the right response to it (Mark 14:38)
2742 "Pray constantly…always and for everything giving thanks in
the name of our Lord Jesus Christ to God the Father." St. Paul adds,
"Pray at all times in the Spirit, with all prayer and supplication. To
that end keep alert with all perseverance making supplication for all the
saints." For "we have not been commanded to work, to keep watch and
to fast constantly, but it has been laid down that we are to pray without
ceasing." This tireless fervor can come only from love. Against our
dullness and laziness, the battle of prayer is that of humble, trusting, and
persevering love.
"Read
these counsels slowly. Pause to meditate on these thoughts. They are things
that I whisper in your ear-confiding them-as a friend, as a brother, as a
father. And they are being heard by God. I won't tell you anything new. I will
only stir your memory, so that some thought will arise and strike you; and so
you will better your life and set out along ways of prayer and of Love. And in
the end you will be a more worthy soul."
Go, generously and like a child ask him:
'What can you mean to
give me when. you ask me for "this"?
Daily Devotions
[4]http://graceonlinelibrary.org/home-family/christian-parenting/49-godly-character-qualities/
[5]http://www.escrivaworks.org/book/the_way-point-1.htm
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