What Are You Hungry For?

Growing up as a Mexican American Catholic, I experienced Lent as a procession of my mother’s traditional Friday culinary masterpieces. Of her many moles, complex sauces made with rehydrated dried chiles, two stand out: mole de papas, with cubed potatoes and melted cheese, and mole de bolitas de camarón, with cactus and patties made from dehydrated ground shrimp. Other dishes include crispy potato tacos, mojarras fritas, which are whole deep-fried fish served with a lime wedge, vegetable lentils, and chiles rellenos—cheese- stuffed poblano peppers covered in egg batter, fried, and served over a spicy tomato sauce with a distinct cumin flavor. (My father for his part still spends the season dreaming of capirotada, a Lenten bread pudding.) My mother would start the cooking process early in the day, and dinner was perfectly timed so that it would be ready when my father got home from a hard day’s work as a millwright. The aromas filled the house the way the smell of incense fills a church. It was ritual and comfort: abstaining from meat, being steeped in tradition, forging memories of family around the table. 

During Lent we focus on abstaining and fasting, but that practice is intended to make room for something else. The spirit must fill the void so that one’s resolve to be guided by the divine might be strengthened. In this Sunday’s Gospel reading, Luke 4:1-13, Jesus is full of the spirit post-baptism. This fullness is the power of God that sustains him as he faces temptations that falsely promise satisfaction. This fullness makes discernment possible. The liturgical Sundays begin with the end in mind. How might we be filled with the spirit so that at Easter we can celebrate and trust in the life sustaining power of the creator? 

They say you shouldn’t shop while hungry or you’re bound to make poor choices. Shopping in general has been on the minds of many since Donald Trump’s executive orders rolling back diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives. Major retail stores like Target and restaurant chains like McDonald’s discontinued their own DEI initiatives, triggering mass boycotts in response. Calls were made on social media for people to consider their political power as consumers. Among retail chains, Target wasn’t alone in its actions, but it has been made an example of, criticized for having financially benefited from its DEI initiatives in the past only to abandon them upon Trump’s return. LGBTQ+, Black, and Latino/a communities, and other historically marginalized groups have considered this form of performative allyship an abuse and a betrayal in an era where many support businesses according to shared values.

Commonweal Magazine