"Come together in common, one and all without exception in charity, in one faith and in one Jesus Christ, who is of the race of David according to the flesh, the son of man, and the Son of God, so that with undivided mind you may obey the bishop and the priests, and break one Bread which is the medicine of immortality and the antidote against death, enabling us to live forever in Jesus Christ."

- Saint Ignatius' Letter to the Ephesians, paragraph 20, written c. A.D. 80-110

“Take note of those who hold heterodox [heretical] opinions on the grace of Jesus Christ which has come to us, and see how contrary their opinions are to the mind of God. . . . They abstain from the Eucharist and from prayer because they do not confess that the Eucharist is the flesh of our Savior Jesus Christ, flesh which suffered for our sins and which that Father, in his goodness, raised up again. They who deny the gift of God are perishing in their disputes”

- Saint Ignatius' Letter to the Smyrnaeans 6:2-7:1, written c. A.D. 110

St. Ignatius became the third bishop of Antioch, succeeding St. Evodius, who was the immediate successor of St. Peter. He was a first hand witness of Christ as a child, heard St. John preach when he was a boy, and later became a disciple to him, he was a close friend of St. Polycarp, Bishop of Smyrna, who also was a direct student of Saint John the Evangelist. Seven of his letters written to various Christian communities have been preserved. Eventually, he received the martyr's crown as he was thrown to wild beasts in the arena. He was both a first hand witness of Christ, as well as a direct successor of the Apostles and Apostolic Fathers. His testimony about the Church and the faith are powerful. It is because of the many who took exception to his teachings, who wanted to disprove his existence, or invalidate his writings, that we actually have so much of his work. The more they dug, the more they authenticated his work.

Corpus Christi is another Western, fairly modern, feast, and we unapologetically adore it. It is the celebration of the Real Presence of the Body of Christ in the world. It is a feast of His glorious body, both literal in the Eucharist, and figurative in the Church. I'm not sure if we will be having a procession today, but that is one of my favorite things we do on this day. You have the people, who are symbolically the Body of Christ on earth, displaying, proclaiming and celebrating the Eucharist, which is actually the Body of Christ on earth. We pray and sing hymns and proclaim in word and action that Christ is alive and here with us. He offers Himself in the Eucharist as a gift to us, a medicine for sin and for our salvation. Glory to God!

This is our last week of any kind of normalcy, before recitals and airshow and all of that busy-ness. We have some repeated meals this week, because our schedule was a bit crazy last week and we had things rearranged so here we are.

This last trip to Asia was the hardest on me and Rich of all the international trips we have taken. We got back Thursday afternoon, after more than 28 hours of being up and traveling, and had to stop twice to rest before we could make the drive home. We landed before we left, technically, because of the international time line. When we went to bed, at a decent time, by the way, on Thursday night, we basically slept through most of Friday. We didn't leave our room until around 1:45 pm. In fact, we are still dealing with jet lag a little. This seems funny, because we hit the ground running in Japan, and never really rested when we got there. I will have some photos to share in the coming weeks.

This week's meals are still mostly simple, though I was asked to make falafel soon, so that is on the menu, too.

• Sunday - Feast of Corpus Christi
  Breakfast: Salami, Potato, and Egg Hash, Croissants, Mandarin Oranges, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Gumbo, Rice, Pepper Vinegar, Scallions
• Monday
  Breakfast: Scrambled Eggs with Cheese, Toast, Fruit Plate, Tea and Honey
  Dinner: Creamy Poblano Chicken, Cuban Yellow Rice, Fruit
• Tuesday
  Breakfast: Slow Cooker Rice Pudding with Craisins and Coconut, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Double Decker Grilled Reubens (but no bread, for Jerome), Pickles, Green Salad, Fruit Plate
• Wednesday
  Breakfast: Steel Cut Oats with Raisins and Brown Sugar, Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Seafood and Scallion Pajeon with Dipping Sauce, Kimchi, Rice, Mandarin Oranges
• Thursday
  Breakfast: Sausage and Egg Breakfast Burritos, Fruit, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Korean Style Beef, Jasmine Rice, Stir Fried Vegetables, Sliced Oranges
• Friday
  Breakfast: Tomato Toast, Fruit Plate, Mint Tea with Honey
  Dinner: Falafel, Khoubz Araby (Lettuce Wraps for Jerome), Sliced Veggies, Olives, Toum, Taratoor, Harissa, Fruit
• Saturday
  Breakfast: Mustard, Gruyère, and Prosciutto Rolls, Hard Boiled Eggs, Fruit Plate, Milk and Coffee
  Dinner: Melanzane al Forno, Garlic Pasta (GF for Jerome), Caesar Salad, Limoncello Zabaglione

What is on your menu this week? If you want a recipe, ask and I will provide it as soon as I can. If there are any starred recipes, I will follow up separately with a weekly recipe round up on Saturday.

Labels: Church Year, Corpus Christi, Faith and Morality, Family, Homemaking, Menu Plans, Tales from the Kitchen