Welcome back to the Catholic Kitchen. Everyone pull up a chair because we are going to dive right into it. I have for some time now had no little suspicion that we have stepped in something and we are not yet fully sure if it is innocuous or in need of being expeditiously scraped from the shoe. It is technology in relation to family norms and the tension between the ever-present glow of the tablet versus the tangible turn of the yellowed page of the past.
Make no mistake; I am no Luddite – but neither am I for fixation upon the present at the expense of history. In times past, it was in the family where one would discover one’s roots, stock and cloth. With the insert of personal technology, however, familial relationships are trending toward decreased interaction, which can cause familial roots to run shallow.
Now, one camp might dismiss the likes of Ben Franklin, who said that “today is yesterday’s pupil” (Poor Richard’s Almanac, 1751); while the other camp might suggest that the pupil is already skipping class. I might suggest we trod a path of today that is both enlightened by modern advance and grounded by the experiences of yesterday. In so doing, we walk forward (into the future) with sureness of foot.
As Catholics, no matter our age or generation, we need to connect and identify with our rich tradition and, in so doing, with our Lord. Indeed, each of us as created has an innate and unquenchable desire to connect with our Creator. However, what is at times at odds is the how. How do we connect the soft glow of the screen with the yellowed page? This would be a worthy discussion to have with Catholics of all ages this coming year.
This year, the Diocese of Evansville will be celebrating its 75th anniversary. We have a great opportunity to uncover again the rich heritage of our past; to remind ourselves of the core of what it means to be Catholic; to place that new understanding in our lives today; and to push into the future with renewed energy and hope.
I urge all of us not to miss this present opportunity… to become pupils of the past … so that we might all build a vibrant future here in Southwest Indiana.
Jesus, Mary, and Joseph, pray for us.
The Catholic Kitchen Recipe for the month: Grandma Ramsey’s Pumpkin Pie
Ingredients: 1 small can of pumpkin, ½ can Eagle Brand milk, 2 eggs, ½ cup brown sugar, ½ cup white sugar, ½ tsp salt, 1 tsp cinnamon, ¼ tsp ginger, ¼ tsp nutmeg, 1/8 tsp. cloves. Bake about 40-45 minutes at 375 degrees or until you can pull the toothpick without the batter sticking.
Girten is Diocesan Director of Family and Life.