Holiness anchors among pots and stoves. With Gaudete et ExsultatePope Francis, we are all called to cook our fried egg extraordinarily well, which thus becomes a true metaphor for holiness.
MAURO LEONARDI - Priest and writer
@mauroleonardi3
With Gaudete et ExsultateThe Church of the field hospital becomes the kitchen of the MasterChef. We are all called to be five-star cooks. We are all called to cook our egg extraordinarily well, the most difficult of the easy dishes, the one that reveals whether you really have the makings of a chef or are just an amateur.
The fried egg is the true metaphor for holiness. "A woman goes to the market to do the shopping, meets a neighbor and starts talking, and the criticism comes. But this woman says insideNo, I will not speak ill of anyone. This is a step towards holiness. Then, at home, her son asks her to talk about her fantasies and, even if she is tired, she sits beside him and listens with patience and affection. This is another offering that sanctifiesa" (Gaudete et Exsultate, n. 16).
Many saints had said it, a council had proclaimed it, now Francis puts the definitive seal on it: holiness leaves the sacristy and drops anchor among pots and stoves. Holiness, like cooking well, is a simple and profound experience, in which small things are treated with care, not for money, but for love. There was a time when the scholars were the philosophers, today they are the cooks: that is why we see numerous television personalities who are no longer behind desks, but in the kitchen.
Some time ago, one of them, I don't remember who, said on television that those who cook well give back to people the lost time, the time that has been wasted during the day. Very different from Marcel Proust. Whoever cooks does nothing by himself: he needs the store, the one who grows, the one who prepares the recipe, the one who prepares the table and then serves.
As Jesus bears witness to the Father by doing all that the Father wills, so too the cook creates a dish that bears witness to the work of many. The saint knows that he is not good himself, but that he is a witness to the goodness of God in his life. And it is something he does with his hands, with his eyes and with his mouth. With his mouth, yes, made for "ad-orar"to God. Which means "to carry God in our mouths".
