I Just Want to be Fed

"I just want to be fed", my Catholic friend bemoaned to me. I hear this a lot from my fellow Catholics. I also have witnessed many of my former classmates from Catholic School leave the Faith for other denominations. I would imagine that they left for similar reasons as the statement above. They wanted to be fed. But what does this mean? What did they want to eat?

The original recipe of Faith is the living Word and Truth of the One, Holy, Apostolic Catholic Church. Over the years there have been many "chef's" who have tweaked this recipe. They have taken out ingredients that they felt not tasty or unpalatable, and added ingredients that have added a flavor and taste more to their liking and desires.

I love to cook, and I search the internet frequently for good recipes. When I do this, I always find the recipes that have been rated with four stars, the top rating. I then scan the ingredients and directions, and always flip to the comments. I love reading the reviews of the recipes that I am considering. It is always interesting to get all the feedback from those who have tried the recipe I am considering. What is even more interesting is all the different suggestions on how to alter the recipe. Many people suggest adding or subtracting ingredients, based on their own particular likes, lifestyles and cooking experience. As I pondered this, it seemed to me that many people do that same thing with their Faith.

People are so eager to share how to make anything better. "Better" though is a very relative term and idea.

It is possible to take a perfect original recipe, and "tweak" it until it no longer even resembles the original. While, this may be okay for food and a dinner party, it probably isn't the best strategy for Faith, and our Salvation.

Let's face it; it's are human inclination. Adam and Eve had paradise, and lost it while trying to obtain something that they viewed would be even better. A little bit of spice, may be more satisfying to the taste, but at what expense to the integrity of the original plan.

So far, Protestant denominations number in the tens of thousands. That is the number of variations we have of the original recipe. In the process, these variations have lost probably the one most foundational ingredient that the Master Chef, Christ, used in his dish for the most holy banquet, himself. For Catholics, the main ingredient at the banquet of the Mass is the Eucharist. An “entre” of the Faith, that does not exist in any of the variations of any Protestant denominations. There are many other ingredients that have been lost as well, in favor of a more flavorful and exciting dish.

It may be a recipe that is more flavorful, with the addition of some spices and additives, but does it nourish us to the same degree? How can it? We need to get back to the original recipe. We must come to understand how each ingredient of the recipe adds to the flavor of the entire meal, and how that entre then fits in to the dinner party, or banquet, or Mass. When we do, it won't just be our hunger that is satisfied.