Food


Plantain chips with corn mousse

This is a salad you will adore. It is time consuming but worth every bite. It was made at the recent contest held in our parish.  No quantities are given but I am sure you will figure this out. Look at the images to see the layering of the salad. 

Ingredients
Cherry tomatoes
Corn
Cream
Italian basil
Parsley
Beetroot
Starfruit
Vinegar
Mint
Amada ginger pickle
Plantain
Green chilli

Method
Boil corn with cream, butter, chilli and seasoning. Blend the mixture and strain it. Set it with cream, vinegar, salt, honey
Make a pickling liquid using equal parts of vinegar, water and half the qty of sugar. Drop in whole spices like bayleaf, peppercorn, coriander seeds. Bring this to one boil and let it cool. Slice starfruit and beetroot (cut it thinly) and let it sit for 2 weeks in the refrigerator to pickle. You can cut the beetroot with a cookie cutter to get a nice round shape or a star. 
For the zhoug- take equal quantities of parsley, mint and coriander. Add  two cloves,  a green chilli, some lemon,  a bit of cinnamon and olive oil.
For blistered cherry tomatoes – on high heat, throw in the cherry tomatoes and season


Components
Corn mousse
Zhoug
Amada ginger pickle
Beetroot pickle
Starfruit pickle
Microgreen salad – basil, mint leaves, coriander
Fried plantain
Avocado cubes

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Faith

Did we have married bishops in the Church ? Monday, 32nd Week in ordinary time – Titus 1:1-9

The letter of St Paul to the Titus along with the letter to Timothy have been regarded as forming a separate group of letters, different form the other letters of Paul. These along with the letter to Philemon are written to persons and not to the whole Church. In 1Tim 3:15 Paul sets down the reason for writing these letters, “if I am delayed, you may know how one ought to behave in the household of God.” It came to be seen that these letters have an important message for the Church.

The first name given to these letters was ‘Pontifical Letters’, that is, they were written by the ‘pontifex’, the priest, the controller of the Church. Gradually they came to be called the Pastoral Epistles The letters deal with the care and organization of the flock of God; they give instructions as to how God’s house should be administered, as to what kind of leaders the pastors of the Church should be, and as to how the threats which endanger the purity of the Christian faith and life should be dealt with. What is interesting in these letters is the picture that we get of an infant Church. Caught in a ‘sea of paganism,’ the early Christians were constantly lured back to their old ways.

We know little about Titus. He had been a companion of Paul, and was a Greek whom Paul did not require to be circumcised (Galatians 2:3). Paul regarded him as “my true child, according to a common faith” (Titus 1:4). Paul had left Titus in Crete to “set in order the things that were lacking, and to appoint elders in every city” (Titus 1:5). Tradition holds that Titus became the first bishop of Crete. Crete is the largest of the Greek islands, and is approximately 100 miles (160 km) south of the Greek mainland.

Our text of today is part of a letter that spans three very small chapters; no more than a page and a half of our Bibles. The letter opens with Paul’s Address and greeting (1:1-4). The introduction is a disproportionately lengthy greeting. Paul begins by saying that his teaching is in continuity with the faith of all those chosen by God, to be transmitted to God’s elect, namely the Christian community. What Paul is transmitting is the clear knowledge of the truth as opposed to the knowledge of the heretics. This is a formula used in the pastorals to indicate the truth revealed by God. This knowledge of truth is in accordance with godliness or piety (eusebeia in Greek)

Paul is addressing the letter to Titus whom he address as “his loyal child ion the faith. Some translations have this as “true child or legitimate child.” Titus is a true heir because he accepts and promotes the faith as proclaimed by Paul. Titus is given a charge in verse 5. “This is why I left you in Crete, that you might amend what was defective, and appoint elders in every town as I directed you.” This is a sole mention of a missionary visit by Paul to the island of Crete. Acts 27:8-12 records only a brief stopover at the harbour of Fair Havens. It was under Paul’s direct instructions that Titus was to establish collegial groups of elders and presbyters in each city. This structure of elders and presbyters was borrowed from Judaism.

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Faith

Living within ones means, looking out for other’s needs – Saturday,31st Week in ordinary time – Philippians 4:10-19

Today, we wrap up the last of the five-part teaching on Philippians. This four-chapter letter packs quite a punch both doctrinally, spiritually and as we will study today, emotionally. The closing text of St Paul is not just an acknowledgment of the gift that the Philippians have sent him through Epaphroditus but also a glimpse of a man who could wear his heart on his sleeve.

The generosity of the Philippians Church went back a long way. In Acts 16 and 17 we read how he preached the gospel in Philippi and then in Thessalonica and Berea. But of all these, only Philippi had remembered him, and put their love down in so tangible a way. Paul tells them that he is glad, not that they gave him a gift for his sake, but that this generosity would stand them in good stead in the kingdom.

When we first read the opening lines of today’s text it seem that Paul is being sarcastic with the words, “now at last you have revived your concern for me.” But it becomes clear that sarcasm is not what is being employed here. It seems that for some reason, the Philippians lacked the opportunity to reach out to Paul; blame it on the bad Roman postal system if you must! But when the lines of communication were opened, the love of the Philippians was received tangibly by Paul

Paul gives us a beautiful teaching on learning to live life according to ones means but also to learn to look around and see if others are in need. Paul plays coy in this text. Even though he was(perhaps at one time) a man of means (remember he was a tent maker) he lives a rather modest life. This he says “has learnt” (verse 12b). Living simply is a decision that we have to subject ourselves to. We may want everything but that does not mean we need everything. Paul is not giving us a ‘talk’ on simplicity of life, he has walked the talk.

It is interesting that this apostle to the Gentile was subjected to every experience by God. God’s ministers and disciples are not protected by a an invisible spiritual dome. They are to live in the world yet not of the world. Paul was blessed with plenty and he also had to learn to live with nothing. For most of us, blessings are taken for granted while our cries of protest are loud and vigorous if we think God has dealt us an unfair hand. Not so for Paul! In season and out, Paul could “do all things in Christ who strengthened him.”

This verse 4:13 is often tom-tommed as if it is a magic mantra. Christians quote it and repeat it several times as if it would make you do the impossible. While faith can move mountains, we must understand that Paul uses this verse to express his ability to be content in all things not his ability to achieve a goal in life. To achieve this contentment, he needed the strength of Jesus Christ.

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Faith

How Should Catholics Approach Halloween?

This month, I’ve been talking about our Blessed Mother, but today I want to talk to you about a different topic, namely Halloween, which is commonly celebrated on the 31st of October. Often, Catholics will say, ‘Oh all of these ghosts, witches and skulls and costumes based on these things are evil, we should stay away from all this’, and on the other hand, other Catholics will say, ‘I have faith in God, so I’m not scared to celebrate anything’. Let me offer you a middle ground by telling you a little of the history of Halloween.

As Catholics, we celebrate All Saints’ Day on the 1st of November, and All Souls’ Day on the 2nd. If you’re Catholic, I’m assuming you know this and are planning to go for the Mass on both these days. All Saints’ Day used to also be called ‘All Hallows’ Day’ because both words are ultimately the same, like we say in the Our Father, either “may Your Name be held holy”, or “hallowed be Thy Name.” The meaning is the same.

Another thing to keep in mind is that in the Church, we have the concept of eves and vigil Masses, like how we go on Saturday evening for Sunday Mass. Just like this, people can also go for Mass on the evening before All Saints’ Day, i.e. on 31st October and it used to be called ‘All Hallows’ Eve’. That’s where the idea and celebration of Halloween came from. It was our own celebration, not something started by some Freemasons to encourage demonic activity or something. So with this understanding of this day, I don’t think the celebration of the day in itself is wrong. That being said, let’s talk about some practicalities.

Although the origin of this festival has some Christian roots, today’s reality in the West is that it has become an excuse for all kinds of nonsense: sexual promiscuity, drinking and drugs, improper clothing, and even occult practices. All of these are obviously wrong and especially with that last one regarding the occult. Yes, the devil is real, and I don’t think I have to explain why you shouldn’t play around with him. In India, Halloween is not really a public affair, but young people do dress up in their costumes and go for parties and all. Whether it’s a Halloween party or any other kind of party, the usual reasoning and prudence will apply. But the question is, is it okay to dress up as ghosts and witches and skeletons? Or is there some danger in that?

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Faith

Are you an enemy of the Cross? – Friday, 31st Week in ordinary time – Philippians 3:17-4:1

In Chapter 3: 1 Paul was winding down his letter when news came to him of the Judaizers who were instigating the Philippians and disturbing the faith. Paul never suffered fools easily and lashes out at them calling them ‘dogs’ and ‘mutilators of the flesh.’ It is to this end that he calls the Philippians to, “join in imitating him.”

On the face of things, that statement sounds a bit over the top. Paul who spoke of humility in Chapter two now seems to be a bit egoistical. But that’s not the case really. In the face of false teachers Paul was saying look for a good example. It is not that Paul is without sin for he has even told us in his epistles of a ‘thorn in his side.’ What that is, we will never know but Paul admits to his failings. Here he becomes a concrete example to the congregation and not only him, he points to others in the community when he says, “and mark those who so live,” by the good example.

While Paul presents himself and members of the community as good examples to follow there were also the bad examples. Hurdles to the mission are a given but Paul also faces the reality of the ‘enemies of the cross’ (verse18). Note that Paul is specific when he says these enemies are “many.” A reality that exists today too.

At the time of Paul, the enemies of the cross were the adversaries who are preaching circumcision as means of salvation. They denied the efficacy of Christ’s costly sacrifice on the cross. They could have also been Gnostics who tried to intellectualize Christianity and make it into a philosophy. Paul had to contend with people like this in 1 Corinthians 6:12-20 and Romans 6, who thought that salvation comes without repentance and conversion, and who thought that as long as your soul was saved, it didn’t matter what you did with your body.

Verse 18 is very poignant. We are told that “Paul weeps for these enemies of Christ.” Here is a man who never wept through his many and varied sufferings. He weeps for the souls of those who have rejected the message of Christ or who have distorted the truth of the Gospel. These enemies of Christ are doomed to destruction.

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