Break Fast

What is culture, and why does it matter? This episode gets to the heart of the season: we'll look at how the Catholic Church has shaped our everyday culture, and why that's a very good thing. Break Fast host Father Brian A. Graebe is the pastor of The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in Lower Manhattan. https://oldcathedral.org/ Music and Production by Josh Canevari. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Not too long ago, I was visiting a priest friend who's a pastor on the Caribbean island of St. Lucia. One morning at breakfast he offered me a sugar-apple, which he grows right outside his kitchen. I had never tasted or even heard of this before, but it was delicious: pure delight. The older we get, the less we're amazed by things. But children are amazed by everything. In this episode we'll look at the spiritual childhood to which Jesus so often calls us: what it means and why it's so difficult. Break Fast host Father Brian A. Graebe is the pastor of The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in Lower Manhattan. https://oldcathedral.org/ Music and Production by Josh Canevari.  Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

It's a tradition in some places to eat certain foods on a saint's feast day. Often these foods allude to the way that saint died. It might seem a bit macabre, but Catholics have always had a comfortable, even familiar relationship with death. We'll look at what Catholics call the “last things”, in a culture that is increasingly uncomfortable with mortality. Break Fast host Father Brian A. Graebe is the pastor of The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in Lower Manhattan. https://oldcathedral.org/ Music and Production by Josh Canevari. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

If you're not familiar with Chartreuse, you should be. It's one of the most distinctive flavors, and colors, in the world. It's made by Carthusians, the most austere religious order in the world, at their flagship monastery (chartreuse) in the south of France. Only two monks at a time know the recipe, which includes more than a hundred different plants, herbs, and flowers. Each ingredient has a part to play in making the final product. That's true in the spiritual life as well. God has a plan for each one of us: the question is figuring out what that plan is, and having the courage to follow it.  Break Fast host Father Brian A. Graebe is the pastor of The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in Lower Manhattan. https://oldcathedral.org/ Music and Production by Josh Canevari. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Italian meals often feature three basic staples: wine, bread and olive oil, which we also use for a number of sacraments. Why is Catholicism such an earthy religion, emphasizing physical things: water and wine, candles and statues and relics? We'll look at how all of creation is included in the work of redemption, and the role that physical things, including our bodies, play in that. Break Fast host Father Brian A. Graebe is the pastor of The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in Lower Manhattan. https://oldcathedral.org/ Music and Production by Josh Canevari. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

My grandparents loved Manhattan cocktails, and taught me how to make and enjoy them, too. We live in an age marked by such rapid advances in all sectors of life, that the wisdom of our forebears is largely ignored, if not mocked. We'll look at why Catholics value tradition so highly, how it differs from nostalgia, and the perils of forgetting what came before.  Break Fast host Father Brian A. Graebe is the pastor of The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in Lower Manhattan. https://oldcathedral.org/ Music and Production by Josh Canevari. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Have you ever been asked if you liked grasshoppers, and then been passed a bowl of them to eat? Was that question asked by a bishop in Africa? We'll look at why we call the Church catholic, and how one faith can take shape in so many diverse cultures. Break Fast host Father Brian A. Graebe is the pastor of The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in Lower Manhattan. https://oldcathedral.org/ Music and Production by Josh Canevari. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

Dom Pérignon is often called the Father of Champagne, and developed a number of techniques that improved its quality. We'll look at his story, and the story of Champagne itself, and see how they help us better understand the transformation that lies at the heart of Christianity. Break Fast host Father Brian A. Graebe is the pastor of The Basilica of St. Patrick's Old Cathedral in Lower Manhattan. https://oldcathedral.org/ Music and Production by Josh Canevari. Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices