Comfort Food

Filling our hearts with God’s cooking  

Ezekiel 2:8—3:4  

The Lord GOD said to me: “Son of man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel. So I opened my mouth and he gave me the scroll to eat. Son of man, he then said to me, feed your belly and fill your stomach with this scroll I am giving you. I ate it, and it was as sweet as honey in my mouth. He said: Son of man, go now to the house of Israel, and speak my words to them.”   

          Here’s the easiest question anyone will ever ask you: what is your favorite comfort food? In case you don’t know what comfort food is, it was first defined in 1966 in the Palm Beach Post like this: “Adults, when under severe emotional stress, turn to what could be called ‘comfort food’ – food associated with the security of childhood, like mother’s poached eggs or famous chicken soup.” So, what would be your go-to comfort food? The Huffington Post listed these delicious items: grilled cheese sandwiches, creamed spinach, roasted chicken, peanut butter (straight out of the container with a spoon), spaghetti and meatballs, chocolate pudding, and shrimp and grits (and southern favorite).   

          Now, what would you guess is a priest’s comfort food? When I lived with Msgr. Hebert (who is a gourmet chef, by the way), sometimes we didn’t have time to cook and so he would love to grab some fried chicken – gourmet fried chicken, of course. One of my last days in India, we stopped and ordered French fries. I was all curried out. Whether we’re under a lot of stress, or just need to decompress, comfort food comes to the rescue.   

          What does the Bible cook up for comfort food? In the first reading today, Ezekiel receives some comfort food straight from the hand of God, who cooks almost as good as Hebert. We read: “He said to me: ‘Son of man, eat what is before you; eat this scroll, then go, speak to the house of Israel.’” And how did God’s food taste? Ezekiel says, “I ate it, and it was sweet as honey in my mouth.” In Jeremiah 15:16 another prophet eats God’s comfort food. Jeremiah says, “When I found your words, O Lord, I devoured them, and they became the joy and the comfort of my heart.” And in the book of Revelation, an angel serves up some divine delicacies for John, who says, “I went to the angel and asked him to give me the little scroll. He said to me: ‘Take and eat it; it will be bitter in your stomach, but it will be as sweet as honey in your mouth’” (Rev. 10:10). You see, no one can cook like the Creator, who knows how to nourish both body and soul.   

          My friends, I can’t tell you how happy I am to see so many Catholics hungry for God’s comfort food: his Word which is sweet as honey. We have a group of men that meets at 6 a.m. on Friday mornings to break open the Word, like they are breaking open a hard-boiled egg; hungry for holiness. We have a group of ladies that meets Monday evenings to taste the sweetness of God’s cooking. A group of stay-at-home moms meet at noon to devour the Word and let it become the joy of their hearts. Of course, the Ladies Auxiliary has been meeting since Solomon built the Temple, and feeding their bodies and spirits on God’s goodness. And what an inspiration to this priest every morning to see 75-100 people attending daily Mass – daily Mass, not Sunday Mass – who are hungry for some divine comfort food: the Word in the Bible and the Word in the Body and Blood.

          Let me ask you again: what is your favorite comfort food? Go ahead and enjoy the mac and cheese and hamburger and pizza. But also develop a hunger for God’s cooking: there’s no better way to reduce stress and decompress. And besides, it’s also low calorie.   

          Praised be Jesus Christ!