Feast Day Plans

When our pastor was at a parish in
the hoodsouth, downtown Dallas, we were privileged every Sunday to be in the company of some Missionaries of Charity who ran a shelter in the area and knew what an awesome priest we had. When Mother Teresa's sisters choose your priest for a confessor, you know he rocks! My girls would bolt across the parking lot to hug these beautiful women of God and nothing made me smile more. Since we are going to celebrate the feast day of Blessed Teresa of Calcutta tomorrow, I wanted to lay out our plans now before I forget it all.

To begin the day, we will finish up the Banana Chai Bread I have in the fridge (because I couldn't wait to make it... I have a little thing for chai!) and color in some of the pages from this Blessed Mother Teresa of Calcutta coloring book. It compliments this CD which we do not own (yet). Glory Stories can supposedly be heard on the EWTN online radio Saturdays at 11:30AM EST. To hear some samples, check out the Catholic World Mission website, although if you are interested in ordering any of their products, I would recommend patronizing one of the many Catholic bookstores that sell them. I have had difficulty resolving order problems with CWM directly. I am sure they are very busy doing more important work so let a bookstore handle your order!

The story told in this coloring book (and I am sure more vividly and beautifully in radio drama form) focuses on Mother Teresa's desire to take care of the least of God's sheep so that he might look at us and say "You did it to Me!" The lesson her mother teaches her is remembered by little Agnes as "the gospel on five fingers". You-did-it-to-Me. I have a craft idea for this but it isn't fleshed out yet.

I also plan on having the children help me make a traditional Indian flatbread called tandoori naan. I guarantee you mine won't look this pretty! I've tried it before. A tandoor is a clay oven where food is cooked over a very hot charcoal fire. We're gonna stick with the GE in my kitchen. Naan is similar to pita bread. It can be made with yeast or without yeast and or sometimes with yogurt instead of milk which is supposed to give it a softer, fluffier texture.

I thought I would get really wild and crazy and make some hummus (If my kids ask, tell them it's bean dip, wait... it kind of is, isn't it?) since no one here is going to argue that it is Middle Eastern cuisine, not Indian. Although I did find a recipe for Italian Hummus, (and Artichoke Hummus, and Tofu Hummus and Hummus Casserole) so apparently it has been adopted by many cultures (what... no Hummus Jell-O?).
But should their little noses wrinkle up at the thought of eating mashed chickpeas and garlic (try not to laugh), I am sure that the Chai Tea Lattes and Albanian Walnut Cake (in honor of her family's heritage) I plan on serving for our Coffee, Tea and Thee time will more than make up for it. The kids have been asking if we are going to continue our new tradition this year so I better get thinking and planning.

Bye now!