Take time to say ‘I love you’ to the Lord

Recently I attended a prayer meeting at Cypress Springs Mercedarian Prayer Center in Baton Rouge. Sister Dulce Maria, who created this sanctuary of healing and prayer, asked us, “When did you last tell the Lord that you loved Him?” Then Sister began to sing, and encouraged us all to join her:

I just called to say I love you.
I just called to say how much I care.
I just called to say I love you.
And I mean it from the bottom of my heart.

This group of wayward saints began singing the words we knew so well. Somehow the words pierced our hearts, and we wept.

The Lord calls us every day to say I love you: through the Eucharist, discipline, and the Word made flesh. “As a man disciplines his son, the Lord your God disciplines you” (Deut. 8:5). Over the past 14 months, I think we have all purged our hearts and souls as we pondered life’s purpose. I have reflected on Stevie Wonder’s lyrics through the pandemic’s prism — cancellations, no celebrations, and missed sacraments.

No holy days to celebrate
No hugging friends and loved ones, they must stay away
No peace of Christ, no Choir to sing,
In fact it’s just another solitary day.
Bread of Life, from Virgin’s womb
He fills our days with hope; no suffering, no gloom.
But He it is, alive and true.
Reform me with these three words I must pray to You.

What could bring joy, health, and wellness to our souls like prayer and reading the Word of God? Sink your teeth into the Bible while enjoying a heavenly piece of Scripture Cake.

CHEF JOHN D. FOLSE is an entrepreneur with interests ranging from restaurant development to food manufacturing, catering to culinary education. A cradle-Catholic, he supports many Catholic organizations including the Sister Dulce Ministry at Cypress Springs Mercedarian Prayer Center in Baton Rouge, LA.

MICHAELA D. YORK is vice president of communications
for Chef John Folse & Company.

"Crown of Thorns" Scripture Cake

Prep time: 4 hours
Yield: 1 bundt cake

Ingredients for Cake:

1 cup softened butter (Judges 5:25)
2 cups sugar (Jeremiah 6:20)
1 tbsp honey (Exodus 16:31)
6 eggs (Isaiah 10:14)
3 cups all-purpose flour (1st Kings 4:22)
2 tsps. baking powder (1st Corinthians 5:6)
½ tsp salt (Leviticus 2:13)
1 tsp cinnamon (1st Kings 10:10)
¼ tsp cloves (1st Kings 10:10)
¼ tsp ginger (1st Kings 10:10)
1 cup water (Exodus 17:6)
2 cups raisins (1st Samuel 30:12)
2 cups figs (1st Samuel 30:12)
1 cup chopped almonds (Genesis 43:11)
½ cup all-purpose flour (1st Kings 4:22)
½ cup confectioner’s sugar, sifted

Method for Cake:

Preheat oven to 325°F. Grease and flour Bundt pan; set aside. In large mixing bowl, cream butter and sugar. Add honey and blend well. Add eggs, one at a time, beating after each addition. Set aside. In another mixing bowl, combine 3 cups flour, baking powder, salt, and spices. Add dry mixture to creamed mixture alternately with water. Beat well. Dredge raisins, figs, and almonds in remaining ½ cup of flour. Gently stir fruits and nuts into batter. Spoon batter into greased Bundt pan and bake one hour and 15 minutes. Let cool 30 minutes. Unmold and let cool for three hours. Finish with a dusting of confectioner’s sugar atop the cake.

Ingredients for Fondant:

1 (.25-ounce) package unflavored gelatin
¼ cup cold water
½ cup glucose syrup
1 tbsp glycerin
2 tbsps. shortening
1 tsp vanilla extract
8 cups sifted confectioner’s sugar
Food coloring for the thorns

Method for Fondant Crown of Thorns:

Combine gelatin and cold water; set aside until mixture thickens. Place gelatin mixture in top of double boiler and heat until dissolved. Add glucose and glycerin, mixing well. Add shortening, removing from heat just before completely melted. Stir in vanilla and cool mixture until lukewarm. In large bowl, add four cups confectioner’s sugar. Make a well in center of confectioner’s sugar, then stir in the lukewarm gelatin mixture. Mix in confectioner’s sugar a little at a time until stickiness disappears. Knead in remaining confectioner’s sugar until the fondant is smooth, pliable, and does not stick to fingers. (Add more sugar if fondant is too soft. Add one drop of water at a time if fondant is too stiff. However, mixture needs to be fairly stiff so thorns will not droop.) Mix food coloring into the fondant. Roll fondant into three six-inch strands, each about a half-inch thick. Carefully cross the strands, one over another. With a small knife, gently pare a bit of icing away from each of the long icing strands, which makes the thorns. Repeat process all along the strands. Make a ring with the three strands and set atop cake.