< <  

Monday, November 26, 2007

  > >
Daniel 1:1-6, 8-20
Daniel 3:52-56
Luke 21:1-4

View Readings
Similar Reflections

jesus the nutritionist

"After ten days they looked healthier and better fed than any of the young men who ate from the royal table." —Daniel 1:15

Some people say: "You are what you eat." Does that mean you're junk if you eat junk-food? Are you sweet if you eat candy, or nuts if you eat peanuts? If you eat bananas, are you bananas? Obviously, we are not exactly what we eat. Nevertheless, obedience to God in what we eat has a profound effect on our lives.

We should let God plan our menus and decide on our portions. The Lord has definite ideas about caffeine, alcohol, salt, and sugar. Just as an athlete has a "playing weight," so God has a "praying weight" for you. The Lord is so concerned about your calories and chemicals, and your weight and shape because He loves you. He wants to be Lord of all aspects of your lives, even in the details of your eating habits. He cares about you that much.

Like Daniel and the three young men, if you let Jesus be Lord of your eating, you will be blessed with health, beauty, and wisdom (Dn 1:20). You will truly be all you can be, even sharers in the divine nature (2 Pt 1:4). We follow neither the eating habits nor the nutritional advice of the world. Jesus is our Lord and Nutritionist.

Prayer:  Jesus, Bread of life, feed me, be my Food. May I never eat without following Your directions.

Promise:  "They make contributions out of their surplus, but she from her want has given what she could not afford — every penny she had to live on." —Lk 21:4

Praise:  Putting her eating habits under the lordship of Jesus helped Patty lose weight and feel better than ever before.

Rescript:  †Most Reverend Daniel E. Pilarczyk, Archbishop of the Archdiocese of Cincinnati, April 3, 2007

The Nihil Obstat ("Permission to Publish") is a declaration that a book or pamphlet is considered to be free of doctrinal or moral error. It is not implied that those who have granted the Nihil Obstat agree with the contents, opinions, or statements expressed.