I have an enormous sweet-tooth. Candy, chocolate, ice cream. Crisps and crumbles, cakes, pie. Whatever. If it is a vehicle for sugar, I am ready with a napkin tucked into my collar and fork and knife in hand. And once I have started digging in, I struggle to stop! One cookie turns into two . . . Or three . . . Or four.
Insatiable might be the right word for it. There’s a reason I take my coffee black most mornings—even a little twinge of sugar can make me into a sweet-seeking monster for the rest of the day.
I don’t think it’s coincidence that the readings today compare the Word of God to sweetness. If we seek the Word and really let it enter into us, we can become as insatiable for holiness as I am for sugar.
Saying the Morning Offering or reading the Psalms when we first awake orients the entire day toward God. Prayer becomes the first boost of energy for the day, instead of the sugar or caffeine.
For our sisters in the US today, there is probably a piece of pumpkin pie waiting in the fridge this morning. Or leftover whipped cream that can turn a simple breakfast into something a little more decadent. I’m sure a few of us are a little groggy from a Thanksgiving of overindulgence.
What if we could indulge so deeply in what the Lord offers us? Turning away from worldly indulgence—my beloved sugar, the onslaught of holiday season materialism, even the cute family photos flooding social media—can refocus us on Christ.
In focusing on Christ through this season of gratitude and the beginning of Advent, we can be oriented toward building our lives around prayer rather than the temptations of the world. Let's do this together.
What can you take a break from to instead focus your attention and desire on Christ?
Brigid Hogan is a high school English and ESL teacher who lives in northeast DC. She is passionate about Catholic social teaching and tries to live it out daily in her relationships and community. Most of her pleasures are guilty ones like television, burritos, and Twitter. Find out more about her here. She is the author of our Blessed Conversations Mystery: Beloved found here.
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