Smorgasbord #53

Struggle Bus, Ruah, Mama Fratelli

Oct 18, 2024

Struggle Bus

Why is the hour before we leave for Mass always the most challenging one? Last week, Diana and I were riding the struggle bus during Mass. We expect our children to behave like children inside the Church. We’re used to some interruptions, shushing, and meltdowns, but this past week was significantly trying.

Our oldest does the same song and dance every Sunday morning. Why do we have to go to Mass? He asks. We get to go to Mass, I say. It’s part of the commandments, keeping the Sabbath holy. We go because we love God and want to offer proper worship to Him, the creator of the universe. My answer didn’t satisfy him.

So, we all got in the van and drove to Church. With clenched fists and slow walking, we made it inside. My oldest sat at the edge of the pew while I was wrangling the 3-year-old. Right as the liturgy of the word started, my secondborn needed to use the bathroom. We get back to the pew in time for the gospel. My oldest is beginning to come to his senses and apologizes for being rude. I tell him I forgive him, and we move on.

The 3-year-old only wants to sit with Diana or play fight with his sister. Our daughter mostly does her own thing and is the recipient of most of our appeals to be quiet. When the 3-year-old gets to a certain point where I know he’s being distracting, I reach out for him and hold him. This is a good core and upper-body exercise I’ve been getting used to. It’s like holding a sandbag for an hour, except the sandbag doesn’t ask why Mass takes so long.

Why am I telling you this? Well, usually, I would default to anger in situations like these, but for some reason, a warm calm washed over me throughout Mass. I was able to remain calm and deal with the whole situation levelheaded. Don’t get me wrong, we still handed out consequences like it was our job. However, I didn’t fall into despair about my children's behavior, which is a net positive in my book.

Ruah

During prayer this week, I spent some time thinking about the connection between Genesis 2:7, when God formed Adam out of the dust of the ground and blew into his nostrils the breath of life, and then he became a living being, and John 19:30: When Jesus had taken the wine, he said, “It is finished.” And bowing his head, he handed over the spirit.

I know that in Gen 2:7, the breath of life, the Hebrew word ruah, can be interpreted as the Spirit of God. I’m unsure what Greek word St. John used to say that Jesus handed over the spirit. However, I thought it was an interesting parallel between Adam and Jesus, the new Adam, where one receives the spirit and the other hands it over. Especially after Jesus says: “it is done.” What is done? Our redemption, and the possibility to spend eternity with God in heaven.

I also thought of handing over the spirit as Jesus, excuse the crude analogy, tagging in the Holy Spirit in the continuation of the salvific mission of men. And that made me think of the Tower of Babel and Pentecost; we went from being scattered and not understanding each other to the Apostles, by the power of the Holy Spirit, being able to proclaim the good news to other men in their language.

I’m sure people smarter than me have probably already made this connection and expressed it more eloquently, but I felt truly inspired knowing that I could put two and two together, like a child who just learned how to use an abacus. It certainly made for lovely contemplation.

Mama Fratelli

I went to Little Rituals, one of my favorite cocktail bars in Phoenix, for a drink after a Suns preseason game and was glad to see new drinks on the menu. I decided to try the Mama Fratelli, which *checks notes* is a reference to a character in the 80s classic “The Goonies,” which I haven’t seen.

As you may already know, I like negronis, mezcal, and chocolate, so this drink might as well be called Papa Walther. I was intrigued by the description of this drink as “a sassy, spiced update to the classic Negroni architecture.” If you don’t know, a Negroni is equal parts gin, sweet vermouth, and Campari, so how is the Mama Fratelli different? And most importantly, can I recreate it?

The base spirit in this drink is Mezcal; oddly enough, I didn’t get any smoke notes from it. St. George Bruto Americano is a Campari like liqueur made in California. Cocchi Americano Rosa is an aperitif, an aromatized wine made in Asti, Italy. Amaro Pasubio is a Vino Amaro with notes of blueberries, pine, and smoke. Heirloom Alchermes is a liqueur with cinnamon, clove, rose, and vanilla notes.

If I had to guess, the build for this drink would have one ounce of Mezcal and half an ounce of the four modifiers. It looked like a three-ounce drink with a big rock to me. It was also very light, which I enjoyed. Sometimes, when I make myself a Negroni, I don’t dilute my drink enough, and it ends up feeling syrupy, if that makes sense.

And now you know what goes through my brain when I come across a new cocktail for which I don’t know the ratios. If you’re ever in Phoenix and want a great cocktail, go to Little Rituals. They’re not paying me to endorse them, this is just me being a net promoter.

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Sobremesa

Anyone else riding the struggle bus?
Have you had any WOW moments reading scripture?
What’s your take on chocolate and booze? Do they go together?