Rich and Satisfying
Dearest Father, Thank You that in a world gripped in famine, we have Jesus in us, the Bread of life, rich and satisfying, to share to a starving world. Like Joseph. As written in the second reading today.
Get SpeakChrist Diaries straight into your inbox to help you reflect on and live the rich life in Christ today.
But these have been written in order that you may believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that through your faith in Him, you may have life (John 20:31 GNBDK) - the rich and satisfying life in Christ. (John 10:10 NLT)
Today's Readings
First Reading: Genesis 41: 55-57; 42: 5-7a, 17-24a
Responsorial Psalm: Psalms 33: 2-3, 10-11, 18-19
Alleluia: Mark 1: 15
Gospel: Matthew 10: 1-7
Reading 1
Genesis 41:55-57; 42:5-7a, 17-24a
When hunger came to be felt throughout the land of Egypt and the people cried to Pharaoh for bread, Pharaoh directed all the Egyptians to go to Joseph and do whatever he told them.
When the famine had spread throughout the land, Joseph opened all the cities that had grain and rationed it to the Egyptians, since the famine had gripped the land of Egypt.
In fact, all the world came to Joseph to obtain rations of grain, for famine had gripped the whole world. The sons of Israel were among those who came to procure rations.
It was Joseph, as governor of the country, who dispensed the rations to all the people.
When Joseph's brothers came and knelt down before him with their faces to the ground, he recognized them as soon as he saw them.
But Joseph concealed his own identity from them and spoke sternly to them. With that, he locked them up in the guardhouse for three days.
On the third day Joseph said to his brothers: "Do this, and you shall live; for I am a God-fearing man. If you have been honest, only one of your brothers need be confined in this prison, while the rest of you may go and take home provisions for your starving families.
But you must come back to me with your youngest brother. Your words will thus be verified, and you will not die." To this they agreed.
To one another, however, they said: "Alas, we are being punished because of our brother. We saw the anguish of his heart when he pleaded with us, yet we paid no heed; that is why this anguish has now come upon us."
Reuben broke in, "Did I not tell you not to do wrong to the boy? But you would not listen! Now comes the reckoning for his blood."
The brothers did not know, of course, that Joseph understood what they said, since he spoke with them through an interpreter. But turning away from them, he wept.
Responsorial Psalm
R. (22) Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Give thanks to the LORD on the harp;
with the ten-stringed lyre chant his praises.
Sing to him a new song;
pluck the strings skillfully, with shouts of gladness.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
The LORD brings to nought the plans of nations;
he foils the designs of peoples.
But the plan of the LORD stands forever;
the design of his heart, through all generations.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
But see, the eyes of the LORD are upon those who fear him,
upon those who hope for his kindness,
To deliver them from death
and preserve them in spite of famine.
R. Lord, let your mercy be on us, as we place our trust in you.
Alleluia
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
The Kingdom of God is at hand:
repent and believe in the Gospel.
R. Alleluia, alleluia.
Gospel
[1] Jesus called his twelve disciples together and gave them authority to drive out evil spirits and to heal every disease and every sickness.
[2] These are the names of the twelve apostles: first, Simon (called Peter) and his brother Andrew; James and his brother John, the sons of Zebedee;
[3] Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew, the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus;
[4] Simon the Patriot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.
[5] These twelve men were sent out by Jesus with the following instructions: “Do not go to any Gentile territory or any Samaritan towns.
[6] Instead, you are to go to the lost sheep of the people of Israel.
[7] Go and preach, ‘The Kingdom of heaven is near!’
Dearest Father,
Thank You that, in a world gripped in famine, we have Jesus in us, the Bread of life, rich and satisfying, to share to a starving world. Like Joseph. As written in the second reading today.
Genesis 41:57
In fact, all the world came to Joseph to obtain rations of grain, for famine had gripped the whole world.
A famine in the land.
People are hungry not only for physical food but most importantly for the Bread of Life, Jesus, though they do not know it.
And as Joseph became the source from whom all the world could get food for their starving families in the midst of famine, I also want to be the source from whom people from all over the world could find much-needed food from the word of God for their starving souls.
Maybe that's where my obsession for pizza and starting a pizzeria, selling pizza to others, is all about.
It's a clear picture of how we can make something as simple as bread more appetizing and desirable for others.
Last week, I finally baked my first sourdough bread from my new sourdough starter - two country loaves - after a long while since I learned how to bake sourdough goodies during the pandemic.
Here's a pic of the loaves I baked cause I'm proud of the results, knowing it's my first attempt after a long while.
But I used not only a sourdough starter but also a poolish to add a natural starter for yeast, especially because my sourdough starter is not that active yet, and to ensure a consistent rise every time, since sourdough is quite unpredictable.
And because I used supermarket flour with less protein, I used tangzhong so I could increase the hydration in the dough, even up to 80%, which is really yummy for bread and pizza.
Yes, I made pizza too to optimize the use of the oven. One bake for loads of goodies. Sorry, I forgot to take pictures of the pizza.
I used the same dough to make bread and pizza - 2 country loaves, 3 Romana al taglio, 1 Detroit style, and 2 Neopolitan pizzas.
I love these 3 styles. I used to make pizza also when baking bread for one-time baking. So I thought I'd do it again this time. At least once a week, so that we have a whole bunch of snacks throughout the week.
My pizza got devoured while my bread was ignored. Only Mama and I ate the bread. My nephew devoured most of it. My niece liked the softer Neopolitan style. She told me she likes soft pizza.
So I have to tweak my pizza dough recipe for next bake so my pizza will be soft yet crunchy.
Bread is good in itself. But it becomes better when made into a pizza. And with a whole lot of appeal to many.
That's why I want to sell these too. Because there isn't any really good pizza in our place.
I got inspired by watching these videos:
This man bakes and sells 150 Detroit pizzas a night all by himself.
Detroit pizza is by far my most favorite style. And it's easy to make too. The only thing is that the steel pans are really expensive, at $45 plus with lids, to buy when I don't know if this style will click in our place. I have to see that it will click first before I invest in several.
I have 4 pans, though not the blue steel ones, which I've been using for my Detroit pizzas, so maybe I could just use those and introduce a few Detroit pizzas first to see product-market fit.
This is my inspiration for pizza Roman Al Taglio which is very easy to make with minimal equipment and can be sold in slices if people find a whole pie to be expensive. I like the taste of this pizza too.
And this is my inspiration for Neopolitan pizza.
The thing is, I don't have a wood-fired oven, and it's quite expensive to buy. I've tried baking Neopolitan-ish pizza in our home gas oven and I really like it. How much more if I can make it wood-fired? And there isn't a pizzeria offering wood-fired pizza here in our city. And besides, aside from the oven, it doesn't need a lot of equipment to start.
I can try and make this “wallet pizza” or pizza a portafoglio for a Neopolitan-ish pizza.
So again, I'm surrendering this desire of starting a pizzeria to the Lord while continuing to practice at home until I get a consistent bake.
I watched this pizzeria in Rome and I'm amazed that it's now in its fourth generation of family management.
How about this pizzeria in Chicago, Nick and Vito’s, which offers Tavern style thin crust square-cut pizza that I tried making before and I also liked it so much. They celebrated 100 years a while back!
How amazing is that? To start something like that and have it last 100 years and still be doing the same, continuing to give yummy pizza to your community.
I want that. I want to leave a legacy like that in my family that will last for a 100 years and more!
That's how appealing pizza is. Made from a simple bread dough, topped with various yummy goodies.
Jesus is our Bread of Life.
My mission is to make Jesus, our Bread of Life, more appealing to everyone all over the world by sharing the message of GRACE, God's Riches At Christ's Expense, and the rich and satisfying life that Jesus came to give us, now and forever.
I know that by sharing how I live the rich and satisfying life that Jesus gave me each day, I can inspire and encourage others, too, to live in Christ.
People hunger for bread, but they are drawn to pizza because it's yummier - richer and more satisfying.
I'm seeking to show people that with a great bread dough, they can have both the fullness of bread and the richness of the toppings that make pizza delicious.
People are always seeking for the rich and satisfying life and are drawn to these get-rich-quick schemes that oftentimes scam them. Or to those empty things in the world that only look rich but fail to satisfy.
You can have the rich and satisfying life in Christ, our Bread of Life, who came to give us just that.
John 10:10 NLT
[10] The thief’s purpose is to steal and kill and destroy. My purpose is to give them a rich and satisfying life.
John 10:10 TPT
[10] A thief has only one thing in mind—he wants to steal, slaughter, and destroy. But I have come to give you everything in abundance, more than you expect —life in its fullness until you overflow!
And you can have it now and forever. When you are rich in Christ, you do not have to leave your riches behind when you die. You wake up to our eternal city with streets paved with gold and the glory of God visibly surrounding it.
What more can you ask for?
Yes, bread is good but pizza is the best.
Living in Jesus, you can have both. Jesus, the Bread of Life has come to give you the rich and satisfying life - everything in abundance, more than you expect, life to the full until you overflow.
Like pizza in all its yummy goodness.
If you want to experience the rich and satisfying life everyday, live in Jesus, the Bread of Life. Join me in our SpeakChrist RichLife Club. We'll do it together. St. Katharine Drexel, pray for us.
Live the RichLife in Christ today 🤟
For a world that hungers,
Jesus is the Bread of Life.
Eat this Bread,
you'll never hunger again.
Share Him to others
So they, too, will never hunger again.
Free 🎁 for you.
There's a famine in our land.
A hunger for the Word of God.
In you is the source of life.
Jesus, the Bread of Life.
Say Amen! 🙏
Genesis 41:57
In fact, all the world came to Joseph to obtain rations of grain, for famine had gripped the whole world.
Now Your Turn
(Questions to ask yourself when scripture journaling)
What verses spoke to me strongly and powerfully from the scripture readings?
What is God saying to me in these verse or verses?
What does God want me to do today?
Journal prompts of the day
Are you devouring the Bread of Life, Jesus, daily?
Are you sharing Jesus, Bread of Life, to others gripped in famine?
Will you be a source of grain, having Jesus, the Bread of Life, for the world gripped in famine?
Let us pray:
Thank You, Father, for the rich and satisfying life we find in Jesus, the Bread of Life, like bread and pizza, we can share to a world gripped in famine. In Jesus’ Name!
This is it for now. Until next time.
Vivo dives vitae in Christo. Live the RichLife in Christ.
P.S
Join our SpeakChrist RichLife Club
Helping dreamers, like me, live the RichLife in Christ daily so we can go from being tired doubters and dabblers to becoming thankful believers and doers consistently achieving what God wants us to be, do, and have, without struggle, becoming God’s sources and symbols of blessing, extremely blessed and blessing others.