Sainthood, sliders, and silence
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Happy Thursday! This week, weâre considering the âall or nothingâ path to sainthood, Iâm sharing a canât-miss recipe for sliders just in time for your Super Bowl party, and I have a book recommendation for Lent âŚ
Being a Whole Saint đ
âYou cannot be half a saint. You must be a whole saint, or no saint at all.â
St. ThÊrèse of Lisieux
I was reminded of these words from St. ThÊrèse recently, and felt quite seen. As much as I would like to say that I want to be a whole saint, sometimes it seems I would prefer to go just halfway. I want to wake up early to pray, but still let my eyes glaze over and my mind wander as I stare at the pages of my prayer book. I want to love and serve others, but still reserve the right to say that mean (but so funny!) thing about that person who gets on my nerves. I want to pick and choose.
When I was pregnant for the first time, my doctor asked me if I was going to breastfeed our baby. âIâm going to try,â I told her, and she shook her head. âDonât say youâre going to try,â she said. âIf you want to breastfeed your baby, just say you are going to do it.â
I think anything hard is like that. You canât hold back and prepare to fail. You canât say youâre going to âtry.â You have to go for the whole thing.
Super Sliders for the Win đ
As a mom of grown-up kids who live nearby, I find itâs helpful to have some go-to recipes for when I suddenly find myself feeding a crowd. These sliders are super easy and everyone loves them.
1. Take 1 pound of ground beef and press it evenly into the bottom of a 9x13 pan.
2. Sprinkle with Weber Burger Seasoning (this is an Amazon link so you can se it, but you can buy this at the grocery store).
3. Cook at 400 degrees F for about 15 minutes.
4. Drain off the fat and cut the meat into 8 even squares.
5. In a separate 9x13 (or wash the first one?) place the bottom part of a package of slider rolls. Top each with a piece of the beef and a slice of cheese.
6. Place the tops on the rolls, brush with melted butter, sprinkle with salt, pepper, and/or parsley, and bake for an additional 5-6 minutes. Enjoy!
Holy Silence đ¤Ť
I recently read Holy Silence: A Practical Guide to Recollection in God by Fr. Basil Nortz, and I knew I needed to have him on my podcast. Itâs always a little funny asking a priest to come on a show called Girlfriends, but Fr. Nortz was very gracious, and we had a great conversation.
In this book, Fr. Nortz walks us through a study of twelve different kinds of silence, outlining the importance of silence, and offering practical advice for ways to incorporate each of these âsilencesâ in our daily lives. It really reads like an examination of conscience, and Fr. Nortz shared with me that he uses the outline of the book in that way in his own life as well. The Girlfriends interview will publish in a couple of weeks, but I thought I would share this here right now, so you have time to get your copy before Lent. It would make a great Lenten read!
One of the best things about growing as a community here is that we can connect and share about the big things and small things going on in our lives. I love that we can pray with and for one another. Please let us know how we can pray for you!