Sunday morning seems the perfect time to talk about faith. Faith – just what does the word mean? Obviously faith means different things to different people.
The English word Faith is believed to have roots in the PIE (Proto-Indo-European) word Bheidh. To accept that as fact would require a different kind of faith, or trust since no direct record of PIE has been discovered. It’s believed to be a language spoken from about 4500 BE to 2500 BCE, ending sometime around the Early Bronze Age. Bheidh is believed to convey both trustworthiness and confidence. If someone speaks with trustworthiness and confidence, then what they say must be true. Faith is recognizing truth. Truth need not have proof. Truth just is. God just is. We don’t need to believe in God for God to exist. And that’s a good thing, since without God there would be nothing.
Have you ever wondered why so many miracles; visions and apparitions of faith have been witnessed by children or the uneducated? It would be so easy to dismiss these as foolish testimonies of the ill-informed. I think the reason for this is because when the more educated have similar encounters, they manage to reason through the experience. If it can be explained, then there is no miracle, no vision, no Blessed Mother or Risen Lord. The older we get, the more “learned” we become, and the more learned we become, the less we are able to believe. We tell ourselves there’s a logical reason. There’s a scientific explanation. Oh but when we explain everything away, we lose the gift of wonder. When we see a sun rise and our brains speak in scientific terms, the sense of wonder is gone. I would rather live in awe of all the beauty that is around us. When we live in awe, the world fills us with joy. Not fleeting happiness, but true joy. One that reverberates deep within the human soul. This is why I don’t need to physically see heaven and earth joined together in the celebration of the mass, it’s enough to simply feel that connection and rejoice.
Spanish Style Dry Chourico Hash with Eggs
4 medium Yukon Gold Potatoes
2 oz dried Spanish Chourico
Salt to taste
Black Pepper to taste
Sprinkling of Cayenne if desired for more heat
4 Eggs
Toast for serving
Peel and cube the potatoes. Place in the steamer basket of a pressure cooker. Add about a cup of water to the insert. Place potatoes inside. PRESSURE COOK – HIGH – 2 MINUTES. Quick release pressure, remove basket and allow steam from the potatoes to evaporate.
While the potatoes cook, slice the dried Chourico. Set aside.
Heat a cast iron skillet over medium heat. Add some lard or bacon drippings to the pan, swirl to coat. Add potatoes in an even layer. Season with salt, pepper and just a hint of cayenne, stir, then smooth out again. Let cook undisturbed for about 5 minutes, until a brown crust begins to form on the potatoes. Add sliced Chourico to the potatoes, stir to mix in and spread out. Let cook another 4 or 5 minutes, until potatoes are browned and the sausage is warm.
In another skillet warm lard or bacon grease. Fry eggs until the whites are set, the yolks still runny. Season with salt and pepper.
Plate Chourico Hash, top with a fried egg. Serve and enjoy.
Wisdom is pure and never fades away,
Easily seen by those who love her
And found by those who seek her
Wisdom 6:12
