Maggie’s Kitchen – October 05
FROM MAGGIE’S KITCHEN . . .
On the California coast, near where I grew up, most beaches were posted with signs reading “No swimming. Dangerous undertow.” My mother used to worry herself sick when my oldest brother got it into his head, annually, to collect abalone from the surf-washed tidepools (in the days when it was still legal, if foolhardy). Maybe it’s time for us to worry ourselves sick as we watch our children being sucked away by the undertow of pagan-tinged secularism, in a society that’s not merely indifferent to Christianity, but often plain hostile.
All Saints’ Day last year fell on a Monday. I remember the day well, because our grandson’s kindergarten class had taken most of the previous Friday to celebrate Hallowe’en, which of course was actually on the Sunday but was in no way to be missed out on. Jonny’s late arrival on the Monday morning, however — his having been to Mass with the rest of his family (“If it’s a day when everybody’s s’posed to be in church, why aren’t I going too?”) — was greeted by his teacher with a frigid “School comes first.”
It’s sometimes hard to discern the ways in which our children are being battered by the system, and hard to argue on their behalf. What’s really hard for most of us, though, is admitting that there is in fact an undertow threatening them. We still believe that we live in a Christian society, with basically Christian institutions, despite all evidence to the contrary. Perhaps the signs posted along the beach aren’t clear enough. Perhaps (more likely) we’ve forgotten how to read. Or perhaps (even more likely) our eyes and ears are so accustomed to the pounding of the surf that it no longer appears dangerous, despite the signs.
Or perhaps we simply lack the courage to buck the tide and haul our children back to shore — the courage, that is, to pattern our lives and theirs after Christ, regardless of the consequences. For this failure of nerve, All Saints’ Day (November 1) stands as a corrective. We can begin on this day to keep serious company with the citizens of a far greater Country, ones who in their own earthly times withstood the undertow of social and political pressure, lest they should deny their only Saviour. We can start by being with them at Mass on All Saints’ Day (“Therefore with. . .all the company of heaven”). We can log onto the internet and find a used copy of the four-volume Butler’s Lives of the Saints, turn to the day’s date, and read about one or more of God’s saints. We could make an annual custom of reading aloud, say, the eye-witness accounts of St. Polycarp’s martyrdom and St. Ignatius’ journey in chains, and St. Perpetua’s own record of her suffering unto death. Theirs, by the way, was the true martyrdom of love, having nothing in common with the so-called “martyrdom” of present-day suicide bombers — a difference which our children will better grasp if martyrdom (the “witness unto death”) is part of our own living, right down to (gasp!) our choice of occupation.
The consequences of keeping company with the Saints are incalculable. Earlier Christians had the advantage of a Church which entertained no illusions of the “inherent goodness” of human society. They formed, if you will, a counter-culture, in the world but not of the world. They didn’t teach their children transient “values”, but sturdy “virtues”, rooted in eternal Truth. Do we dare do the same? “O God, to us may grace be given, To follow in their train!” (Hymn 404 in the Blue Book).
Of course, our children are both soul and body, so (in addition to the above suggestions, not in place of them!) prepare some further memories of the saints on their respective days in your kitchen. This child-friendly recipe is from Spain, for the feast of St. Martin, November 11. St. Martin is often pictured on horseback, giving half his soldier’s cloak to a beggar, who that night in a dream revealed himself to be the Lord. Martin immediately gave up his soldiering (which required his recognition of the emperor as a deity) and was baptized into Christ. Caballero is Spanish for “horseman”.
PLATO DE SAN MARTIN CABALLERO
(I’ve altered this somewhat from the original.) Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Grate half a pound of well-flavoured cheese (medium or old Cheddar works). Finely chop one or more (or less!) jalapeño peppers, and coarsely chop a small jar of pimientos or an equivalent amount of roasted red peppers. Sauté a pound of lean ground beef until crumbly, adding a chopped onion as it browns. Drain off and discard any extra fat. Stir the peppers into the meat and onions and set aside. In a bowl beat together 1/3 cup bacon drippings, 2 eggs, and 1 cup milk; stir in a small can of cream-style corn. In another bowl, mix 1 cup yellow cornmeal, 1/2 cup flour, 1 tsp salt, and 2 tsp baking powder; stir in liquid ingredients till just incorporated. Grease a large heavy oven-proof skillet (preferably iron) and heat. Remove from heat, pour in half the batter, sprinkle evenly with the cheese, then with the meat mixture. Pour remaining batter on top. Bake for 35 to 40 minutes, until nicely browned and done through. Serve in wedges.