Soup Sunday

Today, I awoke to a beautiful, balmy morning. I put on my church clothes and headed to Cathedral for 10:30 mass. There are certainly aspects of the church that I don't agree with, but I can't help but love the ritual and the act of gathering as a community to sing and say prayers that have been repeated weekly for centuries.

One of the readings today included the following:

"To one is given through the Spirit the expression of wisdom;
to another, the expression of knowledge according to the same Spirit;
to another, faith by the same Spirit;
to another, gifts of healing by the one Spirit;
to another, mighty deeds;
to another, prophecy;
to another, discernment of spirits;
to another, varieties of tongues;
to another, interpretation of tongues.
But one and the same Spirit produces all of these,
distributing them individually to each person as he wishes."

When I heard this, I secretly hoped that the priest would focus on this during his homily. Instead, he took the easy route and talked about the gospel (Jesus turning water to wine, Jesus listening to the virgin mother's request...yada, yada, yada). I decided to use the mass to focus on the second reading instead.

My priest in college would repeat on a regular basis that it is our duty to understand our strengths and use those strengths to improve our community. Martin Luther King, Jr. might be the greatest example of this. He realized the strength of his rhetoric, and he used it whenever he could to empower the helpless and unify different communities.

We don't have to be great at everything. Some people can easily volunteer in shelters and connect with those around them. Others have more to give in writing to their political leaders about programs that need to be set in place for people with disabilities. Some enjoy working with rescue animals, and others would rather spend their time preparing envelopes for fundraisers. Whatever your skills, I encourage you on this week of Martin Luther King Day to do something. If you're busy, just run one quick errand and consider it a job well done!

Here are some ideas:

Drop canned food off at Raleigh Rescue Mission:
314 East Hargett Street
Raleigh, NC

Write a letter to a soldier:
A Million Thanks
Care of DoSomething.org
17853 Santiago Blvd., #107-355
Villa Park, CA 92861

Send a few bucks to Haiti:
https://donate.pih.org/page/contribute/haiti_earthquake?source=earthquake&subsource=standwithhaiti

Donate women's clothes/children's clothes/accessories/handbags/belts to Interact:
1012 Oberlin Road
Raleigh, NC 27605

And for Soup Sunday...

Savory Bean and Kale Soup
3 14-oz. cans vegetable or chicken broth
1 15-oz. can tomato puree
1 15-oz. can small white beans
1 package of pre-cooked brown rice, cook according to package directions
1/2 cup finely chopped onion
1 tsp. dried basil
1/4 tsp. salt (or less if you use regular sodium broth)
1/4 tsp. black pepper
1/4 tsp. ground red pepper
2 garlic cloves, chopped
8 cups coarsely chopped kale leaves
(optional) Shredded Parmesan cheese

In a large pot, combine broth, tomato puree, beans, onion, basil salt, pepper, red pepper, and garlic. Cover and cook for at least 1 1/2 hours on medium to low heat.

Just before serving, stir in rice and kale and sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

(150 calories per serving)