God Talk and Tea

Make an easy milanese before an evening of relics! ~ Lois Rogers, "What Are You Cooking for Dinner?"

This month's "What Are You Cooking for Dinner?" by Lois Rogers is due to arrive at God Talk and Tea on or around Feb. 18 and will feature a recipe for Parmesan Baked Chicken Milanese and vegetables, a favorite from the rectory kitchen of St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral in Freehold.

Lois plans to cook the recipe for friends before they head out for a special event at the Co-Cathedral.                                                 

“Treasures of the Church,” a spectacular collection of Vatican relics will be hosted at the Co-Cathedral on Feb. 16 at 6:30 p.m. If you can’t be there in person to see it, “What Are You Cooking for Dinner,” will also include some insight about this rare opportunity to view, venerate and come close to some 150 relics of beloved saints.

Presented by Companions of the Cross Father Carlos Martins, a Vatican-appointed expert on relics, the exposition includes relics from the dawn of Christianity through the Middle Ages and Renaissance down to modern times.

Among its treasures will be relics of St. Joseph, St. Maria Goretti, St. Therese of Lisieux, St. Francis of Assisi, St. Anthony of Padua, St. Thomas Aquinas and St. Faustina Kowalska. A highlight of the exposition is one of the largest relics in existence of what is believed by the Church to be the True Cross, along with a portion of the veil believed to have been worn by the Virgin Mary.

“Treasures of the Church” has been touring widely for some time and has been hosted in almost 200 Catholic dioceses in various countries according to the website, treasuresofthechurch.com. Each exposition begins with a multi-media presentation on the Church’s use of relics that is scriptural, catechetical and devotional, according to the website.

Father Martins opens each presentation with a talk that prepares those in attendance with what they are about to behold on what he calls the “walk with the saints” where the relics will be lined up along one of the long church corridors.

Those who attend can expect to come in close contact with objects that have a direct association with the saints or with Jesus. All are encouraged to bring articles of devotion – Rosaries, holy cards and medals, as well as pictures of ill friends or family members in need of prayer that can be touched to the relics when praying for intercession.

St. Robert Bellarmine Co-Cathedral is located at 61 Georgia Road, Freehold. For more information call 732-462-7429.

Lois Rogers has been writing about faith, family and food (most notably in her award-winning blog, "Keeping the Feast" which has appeared in The Trenton Monitor) for most of her professional career. She may be reached at [email protected].

We are meant to leave the safety of the harbor

Spending a good deal of the summer with my friend Rose means spending a good deal of time at  garage sales! On one of our early morning outings, I was intrigued with a small rubber stamp buried under books in the bottom of a cardboard box. It bore the image of a sailboat and the words:  “Ships are safe in harbor, but that’s not what ships are made for.”

I thought a lot about those words later in the month as I watched boat owners scramble to moor their boats in the harbor because of an impending storm, and again, as I sat in a small wooden church, huddled with other parishioners as the storm whipped around the 150 year old structure.

At that moment the church was our safe harbor, a port in the storm, but when the pastor said, “Go in peace to love and serve the Lord,” it was a reminder that we were meant to go into the world to be Christ to others, not stay at home in the harbor where it is safe.

Still, it is comforting to know that when our spiritual supplies are low, when we need “repairs” or a place of calm and rest, we can find, through the parish, sustenance in the reception of Eucharist, God’s Grace in the sacraments and a family of believers ready to welcome us home before we begin our journey again.